http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/ en-us Copyright 2009 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:58:00 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Joseph & Joseph has moved its offices to The Waterford, 155 West Main Street, Suite 200, Columbus, Ohio 43215. We are very excited about our Expansion!!! See photo on the home page of our web site. http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/11/new_offices_for_joseph_joseph.html http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/11/new_offices_for_joseph_joseph.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:58:00 -0600 ]]> http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/10/high_profile_divorce.html http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/10/high_profile_divorce.html Divorce, Family Law and Domestic Relations Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:06:35 -0600 In the department of watch what you tweet, Amanda Bonnen may have thought it was amusing to tweet about her Landlord, "....Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it's okay." Horizon Group Management wasn't amused and filed a complaint in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. The complaint alleges that Ms. Bonnen's statement damaged the Landlord's reputation in its business and was libelous per se. The plaintiff seeks damages in excess of Fifty Thousand Dollars. See the complaint http://bit.ly/72hyR http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/07/watch_what_you_tweet_tenant_tw.html http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/07/watch_what_you_tweet_tenant_tw.html Wed, 29 Jul 2009 09:53:33 -0600 If you are collecting rent on behalf of someone, you need to be licensed, at least according to the Office of Attorney General of Ohio. The issue revolves around the fact that there appear to be a number of unlicensed property management companies that are managing rental properties without obtaining a real estate broker's license. Ohio Revised Code Section, 4735.01 (5) defines a Real Estate Broker as one who "operates, manages, or rents, or offers or attempts to operate, manage, or rent, other than as custodian, caretaker, or janitor, any building or potions of buildings to the public as tenants." A real estate broker must be properly licensed under the laws of the State and are subject to regulation and monitoring by the State. That is the key. The Attorney General wants the ability to regulate those that are handling money on behalf of the Landlords. As always, there are exceptions to the rule, including certain employees and owners of the Landlord as well as out of state commercial brokers acting through a local broker's license. http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/06/collecting_rent_for_a_landlord.html http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/06/collecting_rent_for_a_landlord.html Mon, 08 Jun 2009 10:15:49 -0600 With the onslaught of foreclosures, and with some investors trying to capitalize on the bargains at a foreclosure sale, some are finding out about the pitfalls of such a purchase. A reminder of one pitfall came recently from the Eighth Appellate District Court of Ohio addressing an appeal out of Cleveland in Sky Bank vs. Joseph A. Mamone, et. al. 2009 Ohio 2265; 2009 Ohio App. LEXIS 1911, May 14, 2009. In this case the successful purchaser at the sale sought to vacate the sale on the basis that it believed that it was buying a building with 39 rental suites within two connected buildings, when in fact only one building with 20 rental suites was included in the sale. The trial court vacated the sale and denied the motion to hold the purchaser in contempt. Even though there was no transcript of the trial court's hearing (which usually precludes appellate review), the appellate court reversed the trial court, saying that there was no justification for the trial court's decision, and held that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to hold the purchaser in contempt. The lesson from this decision is that a thorough due diligence must be performed before purchasing at a foreclosure sale. A purchaser needs to know what is being sold, and cannot hope that a friendly judge will provide relief if things don't turn out as expected. http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/05/investors_beware_a_purchaser_a.html http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/05/investors_beware_a_purchaser_a.html Wed, 27 May 2009 12:38:59 -0600 With the downturn in the residential real estate market, some investors are exploring fracture condo deals. Fracture condos describes a condominium complex where some units have sold, but the bulk of the remaining units remain unsold or are being rented out as rental units. Investors may try to strike a deal with the developer (or lender/owner as the case may be) to purchase at a discount a bulk or the remainder of the unsold units. The deeper the discount, the greater the delight, but, as is true with most things that are too good to be true, these transactions can be fraught with disaster. A thorough due diligence is not just prudent, but mandatory before closing one of these transactions. Structuring the deal properly is important. Often the developer is in trouble with the project, in which case the investors do not want to step into the shoes of the developer, thus taking on the developer's liability. The Declaration and By Laws of the Condominium Association need to be thoroughly analyzed to assure that the investor buyers can do what they intend to do with the units. If the investors intend to rent the units, there may be restrictions or prohibitions on renting. Owning only a portion of the project, the investors will not have total control of their destiny. They will be marrying into the family of the other unit owners, and therefore, the economic feasibility of the project must be analyzed. Often developers have kept the initial homeowners association dues artificially low. The true future expenditures and burden of the project need to be studied. With an understanding of the risks, and care and discerning selection, there is fertile ground for investors in the fractured condo market. http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/05/fractured_condo_deals_investor.html http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/05/fractured_condo_deals_investor.html Real Estate Fri, 22 May 2009 12:30:19 -0600 http://bit.ly/ff3Of]]> http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/05/housing_affordability_surges_t.html http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/05/housing_affordability_surges_t.html Real Estate Mon, 18 May 2009 16:38:32 -0600 http://bit.ly/CVqZ2 ]]> http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/05/commercial_and_multifamily_mor.html http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/05/commercial_and_multifamily_mor.html Fri, 15 May 2009 07:32:10 -0600 http://bit.ly/wpBMG ]]> http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/05/an_ecology_center_in_the_cente.html http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/05/an_ecology_center_in_the_cente.html Wed, 13 May 2009 09:00:37 -0600 http://www.josephandjoseph.com/article16.html ]]> http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/05/new_article_about_real_estate.html http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/05/new_article_about_real_estate.html Tue, 12 May 2009 14:13:05 -0600 http://www.josephandjoseph.com/article17.html ]]> http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/05/new_article_about_modification.html http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/05/new_article_about_modification.html Tue, 12 May 2009 14:06:44 -0600 .http://bit.ly/bbhoB ]]> http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/05/not_all_of_the_us_is_in_a_deep.html http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/05/not_all_of_the_us_is_in_a_deep.html Real Estate Tue, 12 May 2009 12:45:15 -0600 http://bit.ly/18JRT2 ]]> http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/05/promusica_30th_anniversay_gala.html http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/05/promusica_30th_anniversay_gala.html General Mon, 11 May 2009 06:12:53 -0600 http://bit.ly/ZxQrM]]> http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/05/residential_foreclosures_getti.html http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/05/residential_foreclosures_getti.html Real Estate Thu, 07 May 2009 21:08:09 -0600 http://tinyurl.com/dzpsdu ]]> http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/05/a_purchase_money_deposit_is_al.html http://blog.josephandjoseph.com/2009/05/a_purchase_money_deposit_is_al.html Real Estate Wed, 06 May 2009 09:29:37 -0600