Fairhope Real Estate Litigation Attorneys
When a real estate transaction goes sideways, you have no time to waste. You likely have tens of thousands of dollars on the line—if not more—and a limited timeframe in which to resolve the issue or lose your investment. A number of issues can lead to litigation, and you need an attorney who can fight aggressively on your behalf and protect your best interests.
At Wilkins, Bankester, Biles & Wynne, we are committed to helping clients like you navigate all types of real estate transactions—including those that go off without a hitch and those that result in messy legal entanglements. Find out how we can help you now by calling our Fairhope office at 251-928-1915.
You Deserve a Real Estate Attorney You Can Trust
Whether you are buying or selling a piece of residential or commercial real estate, there are huge financial consequences that come with every single transaction. When one party doesn’t follow through on their end of an agreement or a neighbor begins a boundary line battle that threatens your property value, it’s easy to spend a lot of money without getting any real results.
When you choose a real estate litigation attorney, you aren’t hiring an expert in just one field. Attorneys in this area come with an in-depth understanding of contract law, local real estate regulations, and the penalties and consequences associated with broken contracts. This is a highly nuanced area of law, and you want an attorney with a proven track record in this area.
Disputes That Arise During Real Estate Transactions
There are several types of issues that you may encounter in real estate transactions, as well as those that happen when you already own a property. They include:
- Breach of contract. Real estate contracts include crucial information about deadlines, closing dates, obligations of both parties, financing requirements, and what is included with the property. Contracts are extremely specific about what must be done by both parties to close a deal, as well as what will happen if either side fails to uphold the contract. Unfortunately, property buyers and sellers occasionally get roped into bad or unenforceable contracts. Boilerplate contracts often include terms and conditions that do not relate to you, while failing to include terms that are relevant to your transaction. A real estate attorney can help ensure that the contract you’re signing is in your best interests, while a real estate litigation lawyer can help you enforce a contract.
- Breach of duty/negligence. If your real estate agent makes a critical mistake that causes you to lose money, you may be entitled to compensation. Legally, real estate agents must perform their duties to the best of their abilities and to certain standards. Additionally, they must tell clients anything that may benefit them when purchasing a property. For example, consider a home that has a defect known to the real estate agent. They do not tell their client about it because they want their client to purchase the home. When the defect becomes known and the buyer discovers that the agent knew about it, they may be able to sue them.
- Failure to disclose. Sellers, too, are bound by certain laws and regulations. When selling a home, they are obligated to disclose defects that could affect the home’s value. This is one reason that agents often recommend inspections. Not only is it beneficial to you, if you decide not to follow through on that property, but the seller must also then disclose the issue to the next purchaser. If a buyer completes a sale and finds a huge defect that costs them money, they may choose to sue the seller for their losses.
- Specific performance failure. Both parties in a real estate contract are required to uphold the terms and conditions laid out in the contract. If they don’t, the other party may sue them for specific performance failure. For example, consider a seller who agrees to a purchase price, gets close to the closing date and realizes that they could get much more for the property on the current market. They attempt to back out of the contract, putting the buyers in a position where they must either lose out on a home and a substantial amount of money or sue the seller.
- Boundary disputes. It’s a tale as old as time. One neighbor believes their property extends to a certain location, and the other neighbor believes that their own property extends three feet into the other neighbor’s purported land. This can lead to drawn-out legal battles, especially when you consider issues like adverse possession. If a neighbor is laying claim to property you believe is yours, building on your property, or trying to fence in part of your property as their own, you need to act quickly and talk to a Fairhope real estate litigation attorney.
What’s At Stake?
There is a lot at stake when real estate litigation is on the table. If you’re purchasing or selling a property, it’s entirely possible that the entire transaction will fail to go through unless the legal issues are remedied. Should that happen, you may end up with a property you did not want (or without property you did want) and huge financial losses.
This could leave you in a time pinch where you need to find another buyer quickly, look for another home that meets your standards, or completely change your plans. A family or business owner left without a property they planned on purchasing may have to spend a substantial amount of money paying for storage, renting another property until a suitable alternative can be found, or enforcing the contract.
Contact Wilkins, Bankester, Biles & Wynne Now
The best way to protect your own interests in a complicated real estate transaction or property line dispute is to connect with a real estate litigation lawyer. At Wilkins, Bankester, Biles & Wynne, we know that real estate problems can take over your life and finances if they aren’t handled quickly. Let us step in and advocate for you. Call our Fairhope office at 251-928-1915 or send us a message online.