Imagine finding your dream house, touring the house, negotiating for the house and then getting an accepted offer on the house. Imagine attending a closing and receiving the keys. Imagine moving into your new house and making it your home.

Fast forward a few years.

Imagine coming home from a hectic day only to find a ticket from Code Enforcement at your doorstep. The ticket states that it’s a vacate order and that you are being fined and must appear in court. In simplest terms, you can no longer live in your home and are being fined $1,000, with each passing week’s continued violation resulting in additional fines, which can escalate up to $10,000 each (these fines vary between municipalities). To reiterate, you need to move out, find a new place to live, correct the violation and apply for a new Certificate of Occupancy; all before considering moving back into your home.

The Department of Financial Services has closed the door to the good old boys’club of title insurance kickbacks. Say goodbye to free meals and beverages, tickets to entertainment events, gifts, golf outings, parties, office supplies and the like. Two new regulations, Regulations 206 and 208, respectively at 11NYCRR35 and 228, have ended the party.

The first step to determine who owns a given parcel of real estate in the State of New York is to visit the County Clerk’s Office and to locate the latest recorded deed on the parcel. Recording of a deed is imperative because we live in a Race-Notice State and, under the Recording Act, priority of ownership is often determined by who records their deed first (i.e., the First in Time / First in Right Rule). The next step, which is of equal importance, is the realization that a deed can be rescinded or voided, and as such, the deed is not the last word on the topic of real estate ownership. As such, these top 5 lawsuits to set aside the deed should be considered in order to determine if the recorded deed is in jeopardy. Only then, should a property be sold.

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

Lieb at Law is proud to announce that Leslie Mendoza has passed the New York Bar Examination.

Andrew M. Lieb discusses the Appellate Division case of Vanderbilt Brookland, LLC v. Vanderbilt Myrtle, Inc., which clarifies the strict statutory recording requirements necessitated to establish bona fide good faith purchaser for value status when the recording is a memorandum of purchase and sale agreement rather than a contract of sale. This case matters when there are competing title claims of priority by differing contract vendees to the same real property. 

Read the full article published in the Suffolk Lawyer here. 

A Real Estate Salesperson recently asked the following question:

Question: "If a broker released my license, can I still take the CE 22.5 hours and get credit towards my license? Or do I have to wait until a broker hires me? "

Answer (from The Department of State of NY): A renewal license will be issued to any licensee eligible to renew who has not been expired over 2 years, has completed the 22.5 hours of continuing education or is exempt and is associated with a broker at the time of renewal. There is nothing in the continuing education regulations that require a sponsoring broker be in place to be eligible to complete continuing education.

Lieb School is thrilled to announce that we have been licensed in Connecticut. We plan on launching our license renewal package for Connecticut Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons in 2018. Stay tuned for more information!

A process server comes to your door. Now what do you do?

Read the 5 steps to respond to a lawsuit by Andrew Lieb, Esq. published in Behind The Hedges.