Category: Real Estate / Property

Last year the Supreme Court of the United States agreed to hear the eminent domain case Kelo v. City of New London. Eminent domain is the power of a governmental entity to take private real estate for public use, with or without the permission of… Continue reading →

Past issue we ran an article noting some of the major changes under the United States bankruptcy law.  On October 17, 2005, the majority of the provisions of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 took effect.  In this article, we will… Continue reading →

    In a recent decision US District Judge Stewart B. Dalzell ruled on a covenant not to compete of an employer in Telford, PA.  (Fresco Systems USA, Inc. v. Bodell).  Fresco, which supplies packaging supplies for companies that roast and package coffee, enters into written… Continue reading →

    Purchasing a home is one of the most important investments that an individual may make during his or her lifetime.  For many, the experience is extremely stressful.  One reason the process is so stressful is that most people are not familiar with it. … Continue reading →

    The U.S. Supreme Court has recently rendered several important decisions, none of which raised eyebrows as much as a Connecticut case.  The city of New London had formulated an economic development plan which was intended to revitalize the City and which involved the… Continue reading →

    A client recently called to inquire about the difference between a special exception and a variance in zoning law.                     A special exception is a permitted use under the zoning ordinance so long as the conditions for its availability stated in the… Continue reading →

    Most individuals need to obtain a mortgage in order to finance the purchase of a home.  Typically, the monthly mortgage payments will include one twelfth of a homeowner’s real property and school district taxes.  To provide for the payment of real property taxes… Continue reading →

In Pennsylvania, title to real estate (and most personal property) can be held by co-owners in various ways – tenants in common, as joint tenants with right of survivorship, as tenants by the entirety and as tenants in partnership. We are asked frequently what the… Continue reading →

The Rolling Stones couldn’t get it. Sometimes landowners can’t get it either. A mortgage is an instrument of security usually for an accompanying loan. When recorded at the county Recorder of Deeds’ office, a mortgage creates a lien on real property until the underlying debt… Continue reading →

From time to time clients ask us to represent them in connection with subdividing a property into two or more separate parcels. Exactly what is subdivision and how is it accomplished? In its simplest form, subdivision is the division of a single tract of land… Continue reading →