Slip or Trip and Fall Cases Can Yield Multi Million Dollar Settlements By William Henry, PhD It may come as a surprise to many that a slight defect in a sidewalk could result in a multi million dollar settlement by your local government to the injured party. Yet a recent accident on a public sidewalk outside of a New York City Hospital yielded the victim a settlement of 2.25 million dollars. The City preferred to settle this claim rather than risk exposure to a larger award by a jury who could empathize with the victim’s plight. Since we at RGA […]
The Conflict: New Urbanistic Vs. ‘Pseudo Urbanistic’ By William Henry, PhD The Conflict Between ‘The New Urbanistic Approach Embraced By Government Urban Planners Vs. The ‘Pseudo Urbanistic’–Market Rate Approach Implemented By The Private Sector Consumers and casual observers will note that the various urban plans currently being fostered by government officials and private commercial developer/builders vary greatly in both the substance and style of the plans. The differences are significant! As may be expected, government seems of late to be enamored with the creation of a ‘new urbanism’ with mixed zoning uses all clustered together creating ‘mixed use urban centers’. […]
Designer Liability From A Forensic Architects Point of View? By William Henry, PhD “Your Architect Cannot Deliver Perfection” As a forensic architect and court certified expert witness, I am often engaged by both plaintiff and defense counsel to opine on whether an architect has committed errors and omissions that would lead to liability exposure. What actions by architects constitute errors and omissions (E&O) that could lead to damages incurred by property owners, clients, and/or victims of construction site injuries? A Take On Errors And Omissions Prior to attempting to offer up yet another definition of E&O, we need to establish […]
Determining Cause…Who Is To Blame? By William Henry, PhD Overview As design forensic experts we are often tasked with investigating sites where injuries and/or fatalities arise from unsafe building conditions. Often times, no photographic or other visual record exists of the actual incident. In these cases, the expert must rely on third party accounts from eyewitnesses who provide testimony as to their recollection of what occurred. Documentation of onsite condition There are some instances where actual videos record the incident from security cameras, or a passerby may have photographs immediately following the incident derived from sources such as cell phone […]
Premises Liability From A Design Expert’s Standpoint By William Henry, PhD Avoiding the pitfalls and detecting the guide posts for success in personal injury claims As an experienced court certified forensic expert, I am often retained by personal injury and construction litigation attorneys. As an architect, they seek my opinion regarding potential design errors and omissions, code violations, as well as any and all construction defects that may have contributed to a premises liability claim. These claims are filed in order to seek recovery for slip and fall victims, injuries sustained by construction workers, and other injuries or wrongful deaths […]
Cash Can Make You The King, Queen Or Jester By Anne L. Weintraub, Esquire Anne Weintraub P.A. The sales professionals in the movie “Pretty Woman” were not the only ones who made a big mistake when they ignored Julia Roberts, cash buyers make big mistakes too. For example, a cash buyer will insist a survey is not necessary to close on real property. For cash buyers, this concept rings true. However, buyers who close without a survey take a big risk. Some buyers learn the hard way. It is not fun to know your home intrudes onto your neighbor’s property and […]
The Clock Is Ticking -Check Your Watch,Your Customers Are By Anne L. Weintraub, Esquire Anne Weintraub P.A. In the age of “technology mania”, time matters more than ever. Your clients now expect to hear from you yesterday and you must be prepared. If you do not respond to phone calls or emails immediately, there is a good chance your prospect will move on to another Realtor. It happens to me from time-to-time. A potential client will call-I will be out to lunch-and by the time I get back-sometimes even one hour later-they have already located another attorney. And, there is […]
Luxury On The Rebound By Michael Saunders It’s no coincidence that our region’s highest residential sale in two years occurred at the same time that the Dow was closing-in on an all-time high, restoring virtually all of the $16 trillion dollars in personal wealth that was wiped out during the Great Recession. Also restored is buyer confidence in the real estate market at precisely the moment when home prices have tilted upward after shedding as much as 50% of the artificially-induced appreciation that occurred during the boom years. This confirmation that our market has bottomed is exactly what buyers were […]
Leave Emotions For The Movies – They Have No Place In A Home Closing By Anne L. Weintraub, Esquire Anne Weintraub P.A. Since the beginning of time, a man believed his home was his castle. Not much has changed in 2013-almost every Seller believes his home is his castle and almost ever Buyer questions whether that castle is even good enough to purchase. The Buyer may want to know everything about the Seller’s background. The Seller may want to know where the Buyer is from and what the Buyer does for a living. The Seller’s wife may dislike the Buyer’s […]
1031 Exchange The third in a three-part series By Jefferson Riddell, Esq After the real estate downturn, the number of 1031 exchanges decreased significantly. However, lately we’ve noticed an uptick in 1031 exchanges, perhaps a sign that the market is recovering or just an indication that investors are realizing it’s still one of the best tax shelters available.
1031 Exchange The second in a three-part series By Jefferson Riddell, Esq Although 1031 Exchange has been in the internal revenue code since 1921, the scope of its use in recent years is unprecedented. Originally an “out west” phenomenon, the use of 1031 Exchange has spread rapidly east in recent years.
How To Sell Your Business Tax Free The first in a three-part series on 1031 Exchange By Jefferson F. Riddell, Esq. Most people are aware that they can sell vacant land and rental properties via 1031 Exchange and defer payment of capital gains taxes. Fewer people are aware that, if they sell an active business–be it a manufacturing facility, store or professional practice–there is also an opportunity to take advantage of the 1031 Exchange. Simply stated, 1031 Exchange is a provision in the tax code that allows you to defer the capital gains tax on the sale of real estate […]
Was It Something I Said? By Anne L. Weintraub, Esquire Anne Weintraub P.A. Let’s face it: deals die. We all go into the purchase and sale contract of a home with a goal of closing, not just to push paper and let it fall apart. Some deals rightfully die because they should. The cause may be property damage, undisclosed problems, death, divorce, bad inspections, a poor title that cannot be corrected, survey issues that are too expensive to correct, the discovery of an Indian burial ground or eagle’s nest, or simply, the closing date has come and gone and someone […]
Have H.A.F.A.? By Anne L. Weintraub, Esquire Anne Weintraub P.A. It was billed as an exciting new government program to assist homeowners who did not qualify for loan modifications under the Obama administration’s HAMP program. Under the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Program, or HAFA, a borrower could qualify for a short sale by submitting a HAFA application to their lender to receive a pre-approved listing price within 10 days. With the pre-approved price, the borrower would receive total forgiveness of the note on the first mortgage AND the second mortgage, with an additional $3,000 in relocation expenses as an incentive. […]
Top 10 Questions to Talk Over with Your Attorney Prior To The Pre-Foreclosure Decision By Jim Soda It is imperative that any homeowner seeking to determine if a short sale is in their best interest, be able to distinguish between their own interests and the interests of lenders, buyers, investors, and real estate-related professionals
Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook
Youtube
RSS
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
0 Comments