Location, Location, Location. Have you ever driven by a property and questioned why THEY don't just put XYZ (i.e., Coffee Shop, Apartments, Offices, Gym) in over there? Then, you thought to yourself: "I can do it, I'm going to be rich!!!" The problem with your get rich plan is that what you see is not what you get when you solely focus on the visual of a given property (i.e., Location, Location, Location). Before becoming a first-time developer of residential or commercial real estate you need to understand these five invisible location issues.

The U.S. supreme court ruled that victims of discrimination under the Fair Housing Act can sue based upon a legal theory called disparate impact discrimination, which addresses conduct that appears neutral on its face, but which nonetheless has a discriminatory effect. 

Read the full article in New York Real Estate Journal, written by Andrew Lieb, Esq., and Dennis Valet, Esq. here. 

Long Island is developing its rental inventory in droves with mixed-use downtowns and multi-family construction. We saw development first boom in the emergence of Patchogue. Now it’s Riverhead, with the recent sale of the Sears building and the prospective redevelopment of the site to include 160 apartments in a revitalized downtown. Yet, this is nothing new to the East End, where our summer rental community has supported the economy for decades. While rentals offer a great housing option that supports the community, they also involve many disputes that find their way into our courts.

Read the full article in Dan's Papers, written by Andrew Lieb, Esq. here. 

There are so many get-rich-quick schemes for investing hard-earned savings in real estate to generate a huge passive income through rentals. Wake up--nothing in life is always roses, and not everyone can be Kiyosaki's Rich Dad. This is the list of the Top 5 litigation issues that income-producing property owners face incident to living the landlord's dream.

Full article in The Huffington Post, written by Andrew Lieb, Esq. here. 

Both buyers and sellers need to know what side a real estate salesperson is on in a transaction and also what duties they can expect from their real estate brokerage and salesperson while being represented.

Full article in Behind The Hedges, written by Andrew Lieb, Esq. here. 

Learn about real estate brokers' duty to disclose to those that they do not represent. Recent case creates more questions than it answers.

Full article in The Suffolk Lawyer, written by Andrew Lieb, Esq. here. 

Last evening, Lieb School taught a continuing education course, Estate Deals, at Newsday's Headquarters to over 100 real estate salespersons from the region.

Before the class began, I told the audience about a discussion happening right now between attorneys on the New York State Bar Association's Real Property Law Section's Listserv, called "Real Estate Binders". I advised of the conclusion of the attorneys about how terrible the results are for transacting parties when they sign Sales Agreements prepared by real estate brokers / salespersons who procured the transaction without having such an agreement drafted by a competent attorney. To my shock, many brokers thought I was wrong and they insisted to continue this practice of having their clients sign this one (1) page form contract.

After reading, I hope they will rethink their position because it is quite possible that transacting parties will end up being in a binding contract by way of this Sales Agreement, which is the furthest thing from their intended goal when working with a real estate broker and/or salesperson. The case of Pescatore v. Manniello addresses such a situation wherein the Appellate Division stated that the "agreement satisfied the statute of frauds, as it identified the parties to the subject real estate sales transaction, described the realty to be sold with reasonable particularity, and it stated the purchase price of the realty, the down payment called for as well as its due date, and the balance due upon closing. The agreement also provided for a closing date, and stated that the transaction was not subject to mortgage financing. The additional fact that the agreement stated that a more formal contract was to be signed does not render the purchase deposit agreement unenforceable".

Plus, a real estate salesperson owes their client duties of loyalty, accountability and the use of reasonable care so isn't the salesperson breaching those fiduciary duties to their client by having their client enter into a contract without knowledge of its binding effect and without advising them to utilize instead the twelve (12) page "RESIDENTIAL CONTRACT OF SALE Jointly Prepared by the Real Property Section of the New York State Bar Association, the New York State Land Title Association, the Committee on Real Property Law of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and the Committee on Real Property Law of the New York County Lawyers' Association. (11/00)", which is supplemented by a tailored Rider by most attorneys in Downstate New York.

The Sales Agreement used by many on long island is hyperlinked.

As can be seen on the face of the agreement, it states: "THIS IS A LEGALLY ENFORCEABLE CONTRACT, YOU SHOULD CONSIDER WHETHER YOU WISH TO CONSULT YOUR ATTORNEY PRIOR TO SIGNING THE SAME". Further, the Sales Agreement contains an attorney approval clause, but such clause is waived unless the Sales Agreement is disapproved by a party's attorney within "3 business days after full execution thereof". Wouldn't it be smarter to just fill out the form without having any party sign the agreement and send the information to an attorney to negotiate within a formal contract of sale?

It comes down to this: Do real estate salespersons care more about the best interest of their clients when creating a meeting of the minds or would they rather mislead the clients that it's a good idea to be in a terrible contract just so that the salesperson feels more secure about receiving a commission?

You decide.

If you are counting on rental income, you cannot let a relative stay at your place, even for the weekend.

Read Andrew Lieb's latest article in Behind The Hedges to find out why.

Ever have your neighbor's tree fall on your property? Andrew Lieb shares tips on how to handle the issue, the default rules in New York, and who is responsible...

Read the full article in The Huffington Post

Even the most affluent buyers and sellers want to save money on their real estate transactions beyond negotiating the sales price. Many find themselves shopping mortgage brokers for best rates, trying to negotiate commissions out of real estate brokers, or finding the attorney who charges the least. There are many other ways that real savings in real estate transactions are realized beyond squeezing your service providers and commoditizing their services. Instead, buyers and sellers should realize true savings by utilizing these five tips in real estate transactions.

Read Andrew Lieb's full article in The Huffington Post or Dan's Papers.

The Court of Appeals recently held that a single-family home is not “owner-occupied” for purposes of qualification in a Small Claims Assessment Review (SCAR) when such home is occupied “by an owner’s relative but not by the owner” “during the relevant tax period.” In so ruling, the court limited SCAR proceedings’ availability to fact-patterns that clearly establish occupancy by the owner.

Read Andrew Lieb's full article published in The Suffolk Lawyer.

SCAR Proceeding Owner-Occupancy Requirement

On Saturday May 2nd, Andrew Lieb, Esq. joined Dottie Herman's 'Eye on Real Estate' radio show on AM970. Topics discussed included:

• Latest Real Estate Trends
• Inheritance
• Reverse Mortgages
• Commercial Real Estate

Check out Andrew Lieb's latest article published in The Suffolk Lawyer.

Andrew Lieb, Esq discusses 10 secrets to dealing with neighborly disputes.

These are the top 10 legal issues that you may face with your neighbor and how they will be resolved, in court, according to the law. Perhaps, this article will show you that a private, non-legal, neighborly, agreed-upon resolution is a better option for your predicament than turning to the courts. Then again, perhaps not.

Read the published article written by Andrew Lieb, Esq. in Dan's Papers by clicking here.

Residential leases are now required to contain a notice to tenant(s) concerning the existence of sprinkler systems.

“Sprinkler system” shall mean a system of piping and appurtenances designed and installed in accordance with generally accepted standards so that heat from a fire will automatically cause water to be discharged over the fire area to extinguish it or prevent its further spread.
See Executive Law 155-a.

Read the new law at Real Property Law 231-a.

The law specifically requires:

• Notice in bold face type;
• Notice that a maintained and operative sprinkler system in the leased premises is in - EXISTENCE OR NON-EXISTENCE; &
• The last date of maintenance and inspection of any EXISTING sprinkler system.

Dennis Valet, Esq., an Associate Attorney at Lieb at Law, P.C. writes about the FAA banning the use of drones in real estate brokerage. This article was featured in The Suffolk Lawyer.

Click Here To Read The Article