By Adam Leitman Bailey and Matthew Eichel January/February 2016 Vol. 30 No. 1 The doctrine of adverse possession, under which a party can obtain title to real property owned by another, is surprisingly uniform throughout the eastern portion of the United States despite being a state law concept. The basic elements a party must demonstrate Full Article…
Understanding Single-Room Occupancy Laws
February 10, 2016 Single-room occupancy housing, or more commonly called SROs, exist throughout New York City. When purchasing such a dwelling without the proper paperwork, you will not be able to obtain a permit to do renovations, a buyer cannot evict the residents who are rent-regulated tenants, and the owner may be required to maintain Full Article…
The Rules for Allowing Pets in ‘No-Pet’ Buildings
April 13th, 2016 By Adam Leitman Bailey and John M. Desiderio When determining whether an owner’s pet qualifies for admittance in no pet buildings, cooperatives and condominiums must be extremely careful to follow the federal, state, and city fair housing laws governing how far a board can go when investigating and denying an animal’s entrance. Full Article…
Court Clarifies Condo Owners’ Right to Inspect
December 20, 2016 By Adam Leitman Bailey and John M. Desiderio In their Condominium Law column, Adam Leitman Bailey and John Desiderio discuss the recent First Department case ‘Pomerance v. McGrath,’ in which the court has clarified the rights of condominium owners to inspect management books and records. In its 2013 decision in Pomerance v. Full Article…
Seven Secrets to Drafting An Effective Commercial Lease Default Lease
An effective commercial lease will dictate the future relationship between a commercial landlord and tenant. The more clauses forcing the commercial tenant to comply with its obligations, the better chance the landlord will have in not only have a successful relationship but also ensuring that the rent is paid and the tenant behaves. Below are Full Article…
Recent Efforts to Speed Up Foreclosure Proceedings in N.Y.
As a result of governmental intervention, New York boasts one of the longest foreclosure timelines in the country, taking an average of 1,061 days from the date of the filing of the foreclosure action to the sale of the property at auction, which is almost double the national average of 625 days.1 Most of these Full Article…
Discharge of Ancient Mortgages in New York
Title Insurance companies are under attack by governmental officials. Few other real estate businesses suffer the unjustified, frequent assaults by government officials like the title insurance profession. The difficulty in understanding their function and underestimating their necessity for the safe transfer of real estate requires real estate practitioner’s to raise their pens to protect our Full Article…
Setting the Law Straight on Terminating Easements
At the present time, finding real estate property to buy has been compared to finding the Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot. Buyers of land have become more creative and aggressive than ever before in trying to develop property for an anxious public. This search has resulted in a demand to discover options to remove restrictions Full Article…