Category Archives: Real Estate

Estate Planning Avoids Ancillary Probate for Vacation Homes

Do you own a second home or vacation property? Is it located in a state other than the state in which you live? Without the proper planning, dealing with the home or property upon your death can become a very expensive matter.

Ancillary Probate

Often times, a probate proceeding is required in order to deal with the disposition of real estate and other assets upon a person’s death. If the deceased person owned real estate in more than one state, a probate proceeding may be required in each state where such properties are located. Often times, a probate must be started in a person’s home state, (where he or she resided), and an additional probate proceeding, known as an ancillary probate, must be started in each of the other states where the person owned real estate. This process can result in the need to hire an attorney in each state where a probate proceeding is required, potentially resulting in significant and unexpected legal fees and expenses. Continue reading →

Buying and Selling Real Estate with a Land Contract

Land Contract

A land contract is a financing contract between a seller and buyer of real estate. It is a legally binding contract under which the seller, also referred to as the vendor, agrees to finance a portion of the purchase price for the purchaser. With a land contract arrangement, the purchaser takes possession of the property and becomes the owner in equity, but the seller retains legal title to secure the outstanding balance until the purchase price is paid in full.

Information Contained in a Land Contract

The terms and provisions of a land contract are legally binding. The specific terms of a land contract will vary depending upon the circumstances of each transaction, and it is not possible to address them all in this article. But some of the basic matters to be addressed include the proper identification of the parties; a full and accurate legal description of the property; the purchase price, down payment, and interest rate; the length of the contract term and the amortization period; any balloon payment requirement; and whether the contract can be prepaid without a penalty. Continue reading →

Say Goodbye to Wisconsin’s Rental Weatherization Program

Wisconsin’s Rental Weatherization Program has been in effect since 1985. The program was the result of State legislation passed at that time which directed the Department of Safety and Professional Services to develop energy conservation standards for rental properties. If you are a landlord or own a residential rental property in Wisconsin, chances are that you’ve had to deal with the legal requirements of this program.  However, due to recent legislation, the program will sunset on January 1, 2018.

What was the Purpose of the Program?

The original intention of the Rental Weatherization Program was to ensure that residential rental properties met certain minimum energy conservation standards at the time such a property was transferred to a new owner. The intended benefits of the program included: reducing the overall demand for heating fuels, shifting the costs of weatherization and energy-related repairs from the tenant to the landlord, and decreasing the state’s dependence on imported fuels, just to name a few. Certain types of properties and transfers were exempt from the program requirements, but many rental units fell within the program’s guidelines. Continue reading →

Selling Your Home? Be Aware of Your Legal Duty to Disclose Defects

Real estate prices are up again, and you are considering selling your home. It’s a great home and you feel that you’ve done an admirable job maintaining it, but it does have its flaws and defects. Do you need to disclose these defects to your buyer? In Wisconsin the answer is “Yes”. The law requires persons who transfer real property located in this state to furnish a completed Real Estate Condition Report to the prospective buyer no later than 10 days after accepting a sales contract.  Whether you are represented by a realtor or selling your home as a For Sale By Owner, you must comply with these legal requirements.

What is a Defect?

Under the Wisconsin disclosure law a “defect” is defined as any condition that would have a significant adverse effect on the value of the property; that would significantly impair the health or safety of the future occupants of the property; or that if not repaired, removed or replaced would significantly shorten or adversely affect the expected normal life of the premises.

What Defects Must You Disclose to Your Buyer?

The Real Estate Condition Report required under Wisconsin law lists several defects and conditions that could potentially apply to a property. When completing the report a seller must honestly identify the applicable defects or conditions of which the seller is aware (of which he or she has notice or knowledge). Such defects or conditions include things such as: defects in the roof, electrical system, plumbing, heating and cooling system, cracks or seepage in the basement walls, boundary line disputes, unsafe levels of radon, along with a long list of other possible defects. The report also has a catch-all question that asks the seller to identify any “other” defects affecting the property of which the seller is aware. Continue reading →

Wisconsin Adverse Possession Law: Do Recent Changes Matter?

FenceThe legal doctrine of adverse possession allows a person or entity to assume ownership of another’s property if that person or entity adversely possessed the land and certain conditions have been met. One might think that this old common-law doctrine is no longer relevant. Yet, adverse possession claims continue to cause numerous real estate disputes in Wisconsin and elsewhere.

What Is Adverse Possession?

A typical adverse possession case involves a fence. Take this situation as an example: one farmer accidentally builds a fence 12 inches over the property line of his neighbor’s land. After a certain period, usually 20 years, the farmer who built the fence could obtain title to those 12 inches under the law of adverse possession. This 20-year period is shortened to 10 years if the claim is supported by a written instrument that transferred the property to the adverse possessor. It is shortened to 7 years if supported by a written instrument and the adverse possessor had been paying the real estate taxes during that period. Continue reading →