We handle a variety of real estate litigation. We do quiet title actions, which mean we resolve ownership issues, or disputes as to who owns parcels of land, whether that is whole parcels, strips, or easements. We also handle zoning issues, property owner, tenant cases, and breach of contract cases related to real estate. In addition, any type of court case that would involve real estate. In the state of Utah, you do not need an attorney to close, buy, or sell real estate; you typically use a title company for that. There are attorneys that do closings in Utah, but it is rare. Most of the title work is handled by title companies.
What Types Of Real Estate Litigation Matters Do You Handle? Who Are Your Clients?
We represent both businesses, and individuals.It would be helpful if maybe I gave you a brief overview of some of the cases that we have recently worked on, because that might explain it a bit better. A recent case that we worked on was representing a family, a husband, and wife, who inherited property from his mom. We are talking about several acres of lands, some is farmland, and some of it developed. Mom and dad, before they passed away, they sub-divided the property. They kept relatives, brothers, sisters, and other family members on the property. What happened back in the 1990s, in this case is some of the brothers and sisters signed off, deeded, or quick-claimed their interests in the land to our client.
About twenty years later, they said, “No, we didn’t do this. This was forged, these are incorrect documents. We never transferred ownership of this property”, and so litigation began.The brother and sister are trying to get the property back that they gave away in the nineties, because mom and dad requested it. Therefore, that is a real estate dispute. In that case, we are looking at ownership of land, so it is a quiet title action, there is also a forgery, or a fraud element involved, because one party is claiming that the documents were forged. Another example would be we represented a commercial shopping center, and had to deal with commercial tenants breaking their leases early.
In addition, there have been some tenants who have had leases that the owner no longer wants, because they are not maintaining the property, not keeping store hours, and things like that. Therefore, we are dealing with an eviction in this case. We also deal with private property owners in doing residential evictions. For example, the one we have worked on recently is a home. It is actually a condo that was owned by our client, and they basically said, “Hey, we’ll sell it to her nephew”, and her nephew made some payments, started making some more payments, but there was nothing in writing about this transfer, and after about four years of this yo-yo back and forth, she has decided to evict him. He has filed suit to get ownership of the condominium and she of course had to counterclaim for ownership. This case is still pending.
Why Is It Important For A Business Or an Individual To Hire A Real Estate Attorney?
When it comes to real estate, most of us, when we buy things that are probably the most expensive item we purchase. Cars come and go, the trinkets, doodads, computers, and other gadgets that we use come and go, and are upgraded on a regular basis, but real estate is hundreds of thousands of dollars, and usually represents somebody’s life. It usually takes thirty years or more sometimes to pay off a piece of real estate. Therefore, real estate is incredibly valuable for people and for businesses as well. Anytime someone encroaches on your property, or tries to say, “This is mine and not yours” and you have paid for it, it tends to make people upset.
Anytime you are transferring ownership, if it is not done either through a title company, or through an attorney, there is a huge risk of miscommunication.This can happen even if you handwrite it yourself which, unbelievably, we saw last week. We had an individual, a very wealthy construction company owner who purchased a house for his brother and sister-in-law, and signed the contract literally, it was handwritten. It said that they would pay him back. It was not done properly so he could record what we would call in Utah, a deed of trust, and obtain a promissory note for him to be repaid.
It is not that he had bad intent, this was his brother and sister-in-law, so he trusted them, but now there is a dispute, because there has been a falling out. They do not want to repay him, and so we are looking at another lawsuit. It is always better to have these documents drawn up by an attorney, or go through a title company, so you do not have these problems in the future, which literally can cost you tens of thousands of dollars, rather than a few hundred in advance.
Free Consultation with a Real Estate Lawyer
For more information on Real Estate Litigation In Utah, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (801) 676-5506. We want to help you.
8833 S. Redwood Road, Suite C
West Jordan, Utah
84088 United States
Telephone: (801) 676-5506
