LIEB BLOG

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Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Lieb School Student Question: If a client [Home Owner] informs me that there was a suicide in their home, do I have to inform my customer [buyer]?

Lieb School , Real Estate Agent
Lieb School Student Question: If a client [Home Owner] informs me that there was a suicide in their home, do I have to inform my customer [buyer]?
The applicable law is RPL 443-a(1)(b).

If you are a seller's agent in this situation dealing with a buyer that you don't represent, which appears to be the case by way of your terms client and customer, then there is no affirmative obligation to inform the buyer about the suicide. More so, you would be breaching your duty of confidentiality to the seller if you gave this information. Instead, you can only answer the question if the buyer asks in writing and you inform your client and your client approves of you answering.  
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Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Supreme Court Rules To Remove Housing Discrimination: Landlords And Developers Beware

Andrew Lieb , Dennis Valet
Supreme Court Rules To Remove Housing Discrimination: Landlords And Developers Beware
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Wednesday, August 05, 2015

The 5 Most Common Landlord/Tenant Disputes

Andrew Lieb , Dan's Papers
The 5 Most Common Landlord/Tenant Disputes
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. 
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Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Here’s Why to Secure Your Original Will

Estate Planning , tips
Here’s Why to Secure Your Original Will
Having an Attorney prepare your Will allows you to control the way your assets are distributed upon death. If you have a Will prepared, it is imperative that you secure your original Will in a safe location so that it may be produced for the Court following your death. Failing to do so may result in a Court making the rebuttable presumption that your Will has been revoked or terminated. See In re Fox’s Will. In other words, unless it is proven otherwise, the Court may conclude that you intentionally destroyed your Will while you were alive so that the Will could no longer be enforced.

Recently, the Courts reminded us why this principle is important in the Matter of the Estate of Robyn R. Lewis. In that case, the decedent (i.e. the person who passed away) had more than one original Will but not all of the original Wills were produced for the Court. As a result, the Court found that the decedent may have revoked the Will, even though that may not have been the decedent’s intent.  

Therefore, it is wise to only have one original Will, so that you only have to worry about securing that one Will for later production in Court. Options to secure a Will include, but are not limited to, leaving your Will at your Attorney’s Office, keeping your Will at your home, or filing the Will with the Court pursuant to Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act §2507. Do not keep your Will in a safety deposit box because it may be difficult or even impossible to access it after your death.

A person spends time and money to have a Will prepared, and all of that work may be undone due to a simple mistake, such as neglecting to tell someone where the original Will is located. If you want your friend to get that piece of jewelry you promised her in your Will, then you need to make sure you secure your original Will so that it may be enforced upon your death. 
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Friday, July 24, 2015

Top 5 Real Estate Lawsuits Aspiring Landlords Need to Know

Andrew Lieb , huffington post
Top 5 Real Estate Lawsuits Aspiring Landlords Need to Know
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. 
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