Tune into 88.3 WPPB Peconic Public Broadcasting on Friday 5/22/15 at 5:30pm to hear Andrew Lieb and John Christopher discuss issues with neighbors and how to resolve them.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Attention Nassau County Bar Association Real Property Law Committee Members - Andrew Lieb, Esq. will be speaking on ""Top Ten Changes in Real Estate Law of 2014" at the Real Property Law Committee meeting on Tuesday, May 26, 2015 at 5:30p.m. in the Founders Room at the Home of the Association.
CLE credit is available.
CLE credit is available.
Friday, May 15, 2015
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.
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
Read Andrew Lieb's full article published in The Suffolk Lawyer.
SCAR Proceeding Owner-Occupancy Requirement
Wednesday, May 06, 2015
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
Instructor: Andrew Lieb, Esq
Date: June 4th, 2015 at Newsday in Melville
Course Summary: Estate sales offer a unique opportunity to help the grieving by doing your job professionally. Starting with speaking the language of the Surrogate’s Court, this course will empower the real estate broker / salesperson to assist the Executor / Administrator in liquidating real property in order to satisfy debts of the estate. Additionally, disputes between beneficiaries and with the fiduciary, sales forced by the court, and foreclosures incident to the probate process will be discussed. Lastly, the student will be exposed to the overlay of brokerage and executor’s commissions where an Executor / Administrator is expressly exempt from the Real Estate License Law for Brokerage.
To Register: Login to Your Lieb School Account and Click "Enroll" or "Join Waiting List"
Date: June 4th, 2015 at Newsday in Melville
Course Summary: Estate sales offer a unique opportunity to help the grieving by doing your job professionally. Starting with speaking the language of the Surrogate’s Court, this course will empower the real estate broker / salesperson to assist the Executor / Administrator in liquidating real property in order to satisfy debts of the estate. Additionally, disputes between beneficiaries and with the fiduciary, sales forced by the court, and foreclosures incident to the probate process will be discussed. Lastly, the student will be exposed to the overlay of brokerage and executor’s commissions where an Executor / Administrator is expressly exempt from the Real Estate License Law for Brokerage.
To Register: Login to Your Lieb School Account and Click "Enroll" or "Join Waiting List"
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Instructor: Andrew Lieb, Esq
Date: May 12th, 2015 at Viana Hotel & Spa in Westbury
Course Summary: You get the client, spend months looking for the perfect deal, find it, negotiate it and send it to an attorney to close it. Then, what? It dies. Have you ever wondered if you could do anything differently to have more of your deals close? Learn some of the main reasons that deals die like issues with the Sales Agreement, Title, Escrow Deposit, Closing Date, Financing / Contingencies and the Seller’s Concession. Next, learn how to proactively save your deals and earn a commission. Knowledge is commission.
To Register: Login To Your Lieb School Account and Click "Enroll" or "Join Waiting List"
Date: May 12th, 2015 at Viana Hotel & Spa in Westbury
Course Summary: You get the client, spend months looking for the perfect deal, find it, negotiate it and send it to an attorney to close it. Then, what? It dies. Have you ever wondered if you could do anything differently to have more of your deals close? Learn some of the main reasons that deals die like issues with the Sales Agreement, Title, Escrow Deposit, Closing Date, Financing / Contingencies and the Seller’s Concession. Next, learn how to proactively save your deals and earn a commission. Knowledge is commission.
To Register: Login To Your Lieb School Account and Click "Enroll" or "Join Waiting List"
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
The Federal Government’s Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau (CFPB) recently released a Home
Loan Toolkit, a step-by-step guide through the mortgage purchase process,
for consumer use. This is a must use tool for real estate professionals to
create realistic expectations for their clients and customers.
This toolkit helps consumers to:
- Calculate affordable monthly mortgage payments;
- Understand the importance of credit scores to obtaining better mortgages;
- Pick their mortgage type;
- Choose the best down payment amount;
- Shop with different lenders;
- Understand and know about issues that may arise;
- Choose a mortgage closing agent; and
- Understand the overall closing process.
This Home
Loan Toolkit has fillable text fields, buttons, and list boxes, allowing
consumers to update the toolkit as they work through the process. It is
designed to be much easier and more accessible version of the existing Settlement
Cost Booklet that is currently provided to consumers and should be used in
connection with the new (and simpler) Loan Estimate
and Closing Disclosure forms that will be effective on August 1, 2015.
Though creditors are required to provide the toolkit to all
potential homebuyers, the CFPB encourages that real estate agents understand
and provide this toolkit to their clients as well. The more informed the
parties, the smoother the real estate transaction will go.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Check out Andrew Lieb's latest article published in The Suffolk Lawyer.
Friday, April 17, 2015
Andrew Lieb, Esq discusses 10 secrets to dealing with neighborly disputes.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
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.
Read the published article written by Andrew Lieb, Esq. in Dan's Papers by clicking here.
Monday, April 06, 2015
Tax Assessor James Ryan will be at the Manorville Fire Department at 14 Silas Carter Road on April 29, 2015 at 6pm.
Bring your questions as Grievance Day is May 19, 2015.
Bring your questions as Grievance Day is May 19, 2015.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Andrew Lieb's latest article has been published in The Suffolk Lawyer.
In January 2015, a new Human Rights law went into effect in Suffolk County, to wit: Local Law No. 25- 2014. While the Suffolk County Human Rights Law (hereinafter “SCHRL”) is similar to the Federal Fair Housing Act and the New York State’s Human Rights Law, the SCHRL now adds the protected class of “lawful source of income” to prohibited housing discrimination throughout the county; a protected class that does not exist in either the federal or state law.To read the full article, click here.
Friday, March 20, 2015
Monday, February 23, 2015
We are thrilled to announce the opening of our 200th Lieb School Class!
Divorce Deals: Selling the Marital ResidenceInstructor: Andrew Lieb, Esq., MPH
Date: March 5th, 2015
Location: 230 Elm, Southampton NY
Click Here to Register
Class Description: Watch out! Here comes a headache, exposure to liability and impossible commissions. Ever work with divorcing spouses before? Then you know. Good luck getting them to agree on anything from sales price to showing dates while selling their homes or commercial properties? What happens when they start asking you to write letters about how their spouse is not cooperating on the deal? Ever get a call from their lawyers? How about when you get subpoenaed to appear and testify in their Contempt Hearing? What do you do? Where do your duties lie? What can you say and which documents can you provide?
A divorce can pull everyone and everything into its grasp. This course is designed to teach real estate agents how to navigate through all of the complexities of divorce deals from properly listing the property to procuring a purchaser and receiving commission in compliance with License Law.
Learn about the Domestic Relations Law’s concept of marital property. Prepare yourself to stay above the fray, make the deal, get paid and keep the divorcing clients responsive and cooperative along the way. Good luck.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Your neighbor's commercial vehicle (with loud and colorful electrician advertisements throughout the truck) is parked on the street abutting your driveway every day. Crews meet for coffee out front every morning at 5 AM, prompt, in order to gather for their workday. Your spouse parks in your driveway and you have to park down the street. The morning noise drives you nuts and you can't take it anymore.
Regardless if the business is lawful, pursuant to the local municipal code (i.e., zoning code), New York's highest court has said that "no one may make an unreasonable use of his own premises to the material injury of his neighbor's premises". Meaning, that there are no hard and fast rules in this field of law, which is called a private nuisance cause of action, but, instead, a trier of fact (i.e., judge or jury) must determine if a given business activity is unreasonable at the location where it is being conducted.
In determining if an activity is unreasonable, the following factors should be analyzed to assess the totality of the circumstances under which the activity is being conducted:
A private nuisance cause of action has been used to shutter the following types of business operations: raising and keeping of pigs, quarry operations, nightclubs, auto racetrack and open air concerts. In fact, the Courts of New York have held that a business cannot defend such an action by arguing that "the defendant's business or works is lawful, and is a great benefit, utility, and convenience to the public, and is rightfully carried on in a proper, suitable, and convenient place, and in a careful and orderly manner, and in the best and most improved manner". Such a defense is irrelevant.
So, if you wish to shutter the business, exercise your rights and make a claim that the business is a private nuisance to your use of your property, you can let a court decide if the activity should be stopped. Further, let a court decide if you should be compensated for your lost use and enjoyment during the time that the business operated. To establish your lost value, look to the diminished rental value of your property during the time that the business operated from what that value would have been if there was no such business existing during that time. Now, go live in peace and quiet.
Regardless if the business is lawful, pursuant to the local municipal code (i.e., zoning code), New York's highest court has said that "no one may make an unreasonable use of his own premises to the material injury of his neighbor's premises". Meaning, that there are no hard and fast rules in this field of law, which is called a private nuisance cause of action, but, instead, a trier of fact (i.e., judge or jury) must determine if a given business activity is unreasonable at the location where it is being conducted.
In determining if an activity is unreasonable, the following factors should be analyzed to assess the totality of the circumstances under which the activity is being conducted:
- The location of the property at issue;
- Who was at the location first, the complainant or the business operator;
- The nature of the business' use of the property;
- An overall character assessment of the neighborhood where the activity is occurring;
- With respect to the injury claimed, how frequent is it occurring and to what extent or level is it occurring; and
- How, specifically, the business is effecting the complainant's enjoyment of life, health and property.
A private nuisance cause of action has been used to shutter the following types of business operations: raising and keeping of pigs, quarry operations, nightclubs, auto racetrack and open air concerts. In fact, the Courts of New York have held that a business cannot defend such an action by arguing that "the defendant's business or works is lawful, and is a great benefit, utility, and convenience to the public, and is rightfully carried on in a proper, suitable, and convenient place, and in a careful and orderly manner, and in the best and most improved manner". Such a defense is irrelevant.
So, if you wish to shutter the business, exercise your rights and make a claim that the business is a private nuisance to your use of your property, you can let a court decide if the activity should be stopped. Further, let a court decide if you should be compensated for your lost use and enjoyment during the time that the business operated. To establish your lost value, look to the diminished rental value of your property during the time that the business operated from what that value would have been if there was no such business existing during that time. Now, go live in peace and quiet.
Wednesday, February 04, 2015
Not only can the offensive smell be stopped, but damages may be available to you as the neighbor who has had to endure the offensive smell throughout its existence. In fact, the law in New York is not so extreme that it requires odors to adversely impact your health in order for you to have rights. Instead, you have a claim so long as the odors are unpleasant and offensive. Odors that typically give rise to these types of disputes are caused by chemicals, farms, factories, restaurants and the like. To stop the smell, the claim that you should bring is called a private nuisance cause of action and to win on such a claim you will have to demonstrate that your enjoyment of life and property has been rendered objectively uncomfortable based upon unreasonable activities causing the smell.
Specifically, the courts explain that the following five (5) elements must be proven to prevail on this claim:
You should take note that you don't even have to be forced from your home by the smell in order to win on your claim. Instead, and even if you stay in your home, as long as your property experienced a diminution in its rental value during the course of the existence of the smell, you can recover that diminution in addition to having the smell's cause be stopped.
Shockingly though, secondhand smoke infiltration emanating from a neighbor's own home is almost never considered a private nuisance and no action can likely be brought to stop the smoke. The only exception to this rule, where smoking can be stopped, is when there is an express prohibition against smoking in residences within the locality where the neighbors reside. Such a rule prohibiting smoking can come from either a local statute / code or from a private contractual right existing in the house rules of an apartment building, cooperative apartment or condominium building.
So, before trying to stop the smoking check all county, town, city and village codes for such a law. Additionally, if you live in a multiple dwelling unit (i.e., an apartment), check the rules of the building contained within its house rules, lease, by-laws and/or operating agreement before proceeding. Knowing the rules will be the difference between winning and losing your case.
Specifically, the courts explain that the following five (5) elements must be proven to prevail on this claim:
- An interference substantial in nature
- Intentional in origin
- Unreasonable in character
- With a person's property right to use and enjoy land
- Caused by another's conduct in acting or failure to act
You should take note that you don't even have to be forced from your home by the smell in order to win on your claim. Instead, and even if you stay in your home, as long as your property experienced a diminution in its rental value during the course of the existence of the smell, you can recover that diminution in addition to having the smell's cause be stopped.
Shockingly though, secondhand smoke infiltration emanating from a neighbor's own home is almost never considered a private nuisance and no action can likely be brought to stop the smoke. The only exception to this rule, where smoking can be stopped, is when there is an express prohibition against smoking in residences within the locality where the neighbors reside. Such a rule prohibiting smoking can come from either a local statute / code or from a private contractual right existing in the house rules of an apartment building, cooperative apartment or condominium building.
So, before trying to stop the smoking check all county, town, city and village codes for such a law. Additionally, if you live in a multiple dwelling unit (i.e., an apartment), check the rules of the building contained within its house rules, lease, by-laws and/or operating agreement before proceeding. Knowing the rules will be the difference between winning and losing your case.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Unfortunately,
the term shared is such an inexact state of being and only through first
deciphering how the driveway is actually owned can the mutual obligations for
maintenance be precisely determined.
To
force your neighbor to share in the upkeep and maintenance of a driveway or, better
yet, to force your neighbor to pay for the entirety of the driveway maintenance
is a complex proposition. To do this, you should first look to the deeds for
all of the properties sharing the driveway. Typically, the deeds will show how the
driveway is owned. There is only a true sharing of the driveway when there is a
separately deeded right for the ownership of the driveway, in addition to both
neighbors’ ownership of their individual properties, and as such, the driveway
is titled in the neighbors as tenants-in-common or joint tenants. In this
situation the driveway can be thought about in the same terms that one would
view a lobby of a condominium with respect to ownership responsibilities and
permissive use.
The
typical shared driveway is not generally owned by both neighbors jointly, as
previously described, but, instead, one neighbor usually owns the driveway
while the other neighbor will hold an easement to use the driveway, or a right
of way over such driveway. Here, the owner of the driveway is considered to
have the servient estate whereas the easement-holder is considered to have the dominant
estate. The dominant estate has rights that exist on top of that of the
property owner who must, in turn, moderate his own rights for the purpose of
serving the dominant’s intended use. In consequence to the owner’s subordinated
rights, and as New York’s highest court has explained, “[o]rdinarily, a
servient owner has no duty to maintain an easement to which its property is
subject”. Instead, the servient landowner only has a passive duty not to
interfere with the rights of the dominant easement-holder. As a result,
maintenance and snow removal would typically fall on the shoulders of the
easement-holder (a/k/a dominant estate), by default, who has a corresponding duty
to keep the easement in sufficiently good repair so as to avoid harm to the servient
landowner’s property.
A
properly drafted deed should obviate the need to understand these default rules
because such a deed should spell out the respective duties and limitations of
the parties’ rights with respect to the driveway. The deed should go so far as
to speak in terms of the specific maintenance obligations of each neighbor by explaining
if the dominant estate-holder’s rights are just to use the easement as a
passageway, or, instead, if the dominant estate-holder can maintain the
easement with such things as plantings, fencing, paving, etc. A properly
drafted deed should allocate the costs and decision-making powers of the
neighbors so that there is no ambiguity as to the neighbors’ ability to
co-exist into the future. More particularly, the deed should unequivocally
state if the servient landowner is completely excluded from use of the driveway
existing for the benefit of the easement-holder, or if both the servient and
the dominant estate can use the driveway in a shared manner. The latter being
the default rule if the deed is silent as to this issue. In such a situation and
absent an express agreement to the contrary, all persons benefited by an easement
must share ratably in costs of its maintenance and repair.
Assuming
that both the servient and dominant estates actually utilize the driveway, the
ownership rights will be looked at as an easement-in-common by a court when
allocating the costs of maintenance. As a consequence either neighbor can take
initiative to maintain the driveway. However, a neighbor can only look to the
other to share ratably in its repair if that neighbor, who is undertaking the
repair, gave the other neighbor both adequate notice of the repair issue sought
to be addressed and a reasonable opportunity to participate in deciding how the
repair is made. Thereafter, the neighbor, who is undertaking the repair, must
ensure that the repairs were performed adequately, properly and at a reasonable
price. Failure by the neighbor, who is undertaking the repair, to satisfy any
of these obligations will prove fatal in any subsequent claim upon the other
neighbor to share in the cost of maintenance of their shared driveway.
If
you don’t have an agreement concerning the maintenance of a shared driveway
with your neighbor, before going to court, you should invite your neighbor to
enter into such a private agreement and thereafter file it with the deed, at
the county clerk’s office, as a covenant and restriction that runs with the
land. This type of agreement will not only avoid your instant conflict with
your neighbor, but it will also prevent future neighbors who are living at your
properties from existing with the same type of ambiguity, as to the rights and
responsibilities for driveway maintenance, that created your conflict in the
first place. As a consequence, it will enhance your property’s value.
A public utility company is permitted to enter into an agreement with a private Jewish group to erect displays of religious significance on the utility poles said the courts on January 6, 2015.
In 2008, there was discussion of putting up an eruv in the Village of Westhampton Beach. An eruv
is a religious boundary that permits observant Jews within the enclosed space
to carry and push items on the Sabbath, which, under ordinary circumstances, is
forbidden. This boundary is usually established by attaching strips of woods to
telephone poles around the community, thereby requiring private contracts with
telephone companies.
A religious group called the Jewish People for the Betterment of
Westhampton Beach (or JPOE) sued the Village
of Westhampton Beach to oppose the erection of the eruv, arguing that it
was a wrongful exception to Jewish practices on the Sabbath and that the government,
which was contracting with private parties to establish the eruv, was overtly endorsing
one sect of religion over another.
Courts
said on January 6, 2015 that it is lawful for public utility companies to
erect eruvs as part of a contract with a private party. LIPA’s contract to
erect an eruv using its telephone poles was neutral and did not establish a
noticeable and overt display of religion throughout the town. In fact, no
reasonable observer would conclude from the strips of wood on the utility poles
that the government was endorsing one religion over another. Furthermore, since
private parties had agreed to finance, install and maintain the strips on the
utility poles, there was no excessive government entanglement with religion.
This decision is a victory for religious freedom as a fundamental
First Amendment right but is also a victory for real estate in the area. As the
strips of woods on the telephone poles are not very noticeable, they will not
in any way diminish the appearance of the community. In fact, real estate sales
and rentals may skyrocket in the Village
of Westhampton Beach now since observant Jews will seek out the community
for its eruv.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
It's imperative to realize that the east end of Long Island is a massive place. It's over 30 miles from Westhampton to East Hampton on the south fork and not that much shorter on the north fork between Riverhead and Orient. As a result, the experience of summering on Shelter Island as opposed to staying in Southampton is drastically different. The fact is that each community on the east end has its own unique offering of features that are "fabulous" to some and that represent "shortcomings" to others.
Read the full article in the Huffington Post.
Read the full article in the Huffington Post.
Now that 2015 is here, NYers should know the top changes from the past year in real estate laws that affect property owners and tenants in our community. This is not a list about the best events from 2014, but, instead, a list that highlights the new legal landscape that you face in 2015.
Read the full article in The Huffington Post.
Read the full article in The Huffington Post.
Monday, January 26, 2015
Andrew Lieb's latest article is now available on Dan's Papers.
Keep these tips handy when planning your seasonal rental search.
Keep these tips handy when planning your seasonal rental search.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
By the end of this year, Ocwen
Financial, one of the largest mortgage servicers in the U.S., may lose its
mortgage license in California.
Ocwen has been subjected
to numerous investigations over the years regarding improper foreclosures,
misplaced and mislabeled borrower documentation, billing issues, and overall failure
to comply with federal and state laws and regulations. In December, Ocwen settled an ongoing investigation by the NYS Department of Financial Services (DFS) by
agreeing to pay $100 million, which was to be used to support foreclosure
defense programs and other relief and $50 million to Ocwen borrowers who reside in New York. As a
result, not only did the company’s chairman step down from his position, but
DFS will continue to monitor Ocwen in the
upcoming years for further unlawful conduct. Although this settlement greatly
impacted borrowers in New York, it was held as a victory for borrowers all over
the country because it was supposed to put Ocwen
in check and to stop it from continuing its cycle of financial abuse.
Unfortunately, the story does not end there. California now
wants to suspend
Ocwen’s mortgage license in the state as a result of Ocwen’s failure to
provide mandatory documentation to the Department
of Business Oversight, which is responsible for determining whether Ocwen is complying with state regulations in
California. Ocwen issued a press
release on January 13, stating that it is committed to resolving the issues
in California, especially since its shares are crashing as a result of the news.
It is crucial that Ocwen turns its business practices around and finally
provide high quality assistance to its borrowers. Otherwise, it will surely
fail.
Settlement conferences will begin in February. If nothing is
resolved, Ocwen will not be able to do business in California for at least a
year. If that happens, Ocwen may not be able to survive such a huge blow.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Property Manager Liability: Requirements, Responsibilities and Fair Housing
Instructor: Andrew Lieb, Esq., MPH
CE Credits: 3
Price: Free
Date: 02/06/2015 at 1:30pm in
CE Credits: 3
Price: Free
Date: 02/06/2015 at 1:30pm in
Maximize your client's investment while minimizing your exposure to great liability. Be cautious, property management is a serious business that has many liability landmines for the weary. Do not just dabble in property management. Do not just help out a landlord brokerage client in dealing with their tenants. Learn why the Department of State considers property management to be a licensed activity in this State. Understand how to mitigate exposure to license law liability, premises liability, and fair housing liability. Get real life examples of what can go wrong. Most importantly, learn what must go into your Property Management Agreement and why a top property manager should get paid.
*** THIS COURSE SATISFIES THE ONLY MANDATORY CLASS REQUIREMENT FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE (DOS) FOR AT LEAST 3 HOURS OF INSTRUCTION PERTAINING TO FAIR HOUSING AND / OR DISCRIMINATION ***