LEGAL UPDATE
HOW THE COURTS CAN HELP REALTORS® MAKE MONEY Most REALTORS® hope they never see the inside of a courtroom. But some court proceedings can help REALTORS® make money. Here’s a short summary of four (4) of them:
SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE How many times have you lost a commission because the seller refused to close escrow? The Superior Court has the power to force a seller to proceed with a transaction. All conditions to a seller’s obligations must have been satisfied or waived, the contract has to be clear and unambiguous, and the purchase price must be fair to the buyer. But if those circumstances exist, a buyer can force a seller to complete a sale.
PARTITION Have you ever wanted to list property but one or more co-owners could not agree to sell? In California, coowners have the right to separate their interests legally. If a parcel is large enough, the court can order that it be physically divided. Where it is not possible to physically divide property – as in the case of a single lot that cannot be subdivided – the Superior Court will order it sold.
QUIET TITLE Sometimes you think you have a deal until the preliminary title report is issued and you learn that title can’t be insured for some reason. Maybe there is an old lien that was never reconveyed, or there are questions about a prior uninsured transfer of the property. There is a very flexible legal remedy known as “quiet title” in which the Superior Court can render judgement resolving title problems and allowing a transaction to close.
HEGGSTAD PETITION Where property was not transferred to a living trust a title company may be unwilling to insure title. If you have a transaction where that is a problem, keep in mind there is a much faster and less expensive alternative to probate known as a “Heggstad petition” (named after a court case that addressed the problem). If it can be proven that the now-dead trust creators intended the property to be owned by the trust, the Superior Court will issue an order that a title company can rely on insuring title. James E. Klinkert Ritchie, Klinkert & Gutierrez 1601 E. Orangewood, Suite 150 Anaheim, CA 92805 Phone: (909) 390-9999 Fax: (909) 390-9990 jklinkert@rkmattorneys.com
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Summer 2016| San Gabriel Valley Connection
