The grass is always greener
on our side of the fence
Real Estate Magic: The origin of the deed There is a lot of magic and ritual in the history of law, and in real estate some of this magic is particularly charming. Below, we outline one of the most important rituals of real estate practiced in medieval Europe, and how it evolved (and is continuing to evolve) in modern real…
Creating an LLC for Real Estate Transactions It’s common to use a “limited liability company” (LLC) to buy and sell real estate, or conduct other real estate transactions, whether residential or commercial, and it can be a smart way to protect your personal assets when something goes wrong. The purpose of a “limited liability company” is to separate the owners…
Cloudy Skies – Title Defects and Clouds At Greenacre Law, we prefer blue California skies—but in real estate, the weather doesn’t always cooperate. One common snag you may encounter when buying or selling property is discovering a “cloud” or “defect” on the title. The title company typically uncovers such clouds doing a title search to confirm legal ownership and the…
Bankruptcy & COVID-19 As of December 2020, California’s unemployment rate rose to 9%, and the fallout from COVID-19 is far from over in 2021. It may be a long time before many industries recover, and many jobs are gone for good. The latest stimulus checks may bridge the gap for some, but for many debts are piling up and economic prospects remain…
LLCs (limited liability companies) can be very useful for conducting business while protecting your personal assets and the assets of other investors (for example, see our previous article “Creating an LLC for Real Estate Transactions.”) At the same time, the liability shield and anonymity provided by an LLC can be misused to avoid debt or commit fraud. The first step when…
Torts: Personal Injury Tort Liability in the Wake of COVID-19 Many businesses have contracted, evolved, and adapted to stay afloat through waves of COVID-19 cases and the corresponding restrictions, especially in California, which was hit so badly in recent months. As we hope that the vaccine begins to reduce cases and bring these restrictions to an end, 2021 carries with…
The Floating Easement An easement allows you the right to use a property in some manner that you do not own. It is typically established by a specific grant: the standard example of an easement would be where one plot of land (owned by Fred) does not have access to the main road, because another plot of property (owned by…
Bankruptcy is governed by Title 11 of the United States Code, commonly called the Bankruptcy Code. The chapters of this code govern the process of bankruptcy, which is why we refer to a “Chapter 13” bankruptcy. (The chapters run to 15, although there are only 9 current chapters because several have been repealed over the years.) A Chapter 13 bankruptcy…
Bankruptcy is governed by Title 11 of the United States Code, commonly called the Bankruptcy Code. The chapters of this code govern the process of bankruptcy, which is why we refer to a “Chapter 7” bankruptcy. (The chapters run to 15, although there are only 9 current chapters, because several have been repealed over the years.) A Chapter 7 bankruptcy…
Bankruptcy: California Homestead Exemption Increase On January 1st, 2021, the new California Homestead Exemption amount went into effect, exempting a minimum of $300,000 equity, up to $600,000, adjusted annually for inflation. The old California exemption was woefully low for modern real estate prices, between $75,000 and $175,000, meaning that there was often no way to protect your home from creditors…
