Questions tagged [homeownership]
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If a rift expands the surface of one's land (e.g., resulting from an earthquake), who owns the new land?
Looking at the geological pictures of the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake made me wonder: If a rift expands the surface of one's land, who owns the new land (i.e., the rift)?
I'm mostly interested in the ...
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How does the Florida homestead exemption apply to a house on .51 acres?
If my Florida primary residence is on a .51 acre lot in a municipality and I get sued, can the creditor take my house because I am over the .5 acre limit?
I understand that I would keep .5/.51 = 98% ...
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When you sue a realtor, are you sueing the agent or the company? [closed]
Long story short, a realtor that sold me a house failed to disclose some significant structural defects that had been communicated to her. I'm not really sure if this realtor is working for Coldwell ...
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Concealing One's Identity from the Public When Purchasing a Home
I have heard, that in the United States, some individuals are able to conceal their identities from the public when purchasing a home by setting up a LLC and buying the house through the said ...
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Personal Liability Renters Insurance
My renters insurance has section described as Personal Liability(Bodily Injury and Property Damage).
My question is, is this liability for this dwelling only.
If I am sued for bodily injury from auto ...
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In what situations can siblings inherit a home, but one sibling has more control over its management? (US)
I'm developing a story idea in which the protagonist co-inherits their grandmother's home with their sister and, long-story-short, I'm trying to create an obstacle where the sister wants to sell the ...
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Duty to disclose new construction to home buyers?
I recently bought a new house. After moving in I found out from some local people that a large subdivision is planned to be constructed immediately behind my property within the next 5 years. This ...
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Buying a 'first' home while having fractional ownership of another (UK)
The United Kingdom offers a special program for first-time home buyers who meet certain qualifying criteria.
Does a person who previously purchased a minority share (e.g. 20%) of a house qualify for ...
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Can I add a deadlock to the front door of my unit?
I have recently bought a unit in a rough area. The front door to the apartment complex does not click shut properly so anyone from the general public can walk in. The door to my unit has one of those ...
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Can a delayed-formation of a condo association enable required back-pay of fees?
John owns a condo unit in Philadelphia, PA. This unit is part of a single building, which houses 3 total units. John owns A, Janet owns B, and Chris owns C. John and Janet both bought their units from ...
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Does replacing a gated fence with a gateless fence reduce backyard liabilities?
When I put in a pond, the city engineer warned I must have it built within a fence, to reduce liability, e.g. if a child entered the backyard and fell in the water.
Though there is a fence, I'm sure ...
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UK - Can contracts override property deeds
If a property is held 50/50 on the deed by two people, can a contract be written up to adjust the ownership based on further conditions?
Is there a specific name for this?
For Example:
A home is ...
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Is a homeowner liable for the actions of a contractor?
Suppose a homeowner hires a contractor to haul debris off their property to the local dump. Can the homeowner be held liable if the contractor instead just illegally dumps the debris by the side of ...
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Does statute prescribe algorithm for calculating quorum?
Does Florida Condo Law FS718 or any relevant statute provide guidance as to how to determine the minimum number of Florida condo board directors must be present for a meeting if a 5 seat board has ...
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Am I a "first-time buyer"?
There's probably a very short and simple answer to this, but I have to ask anyway. I VERY briefly owned a house over 12 years ago (I think for less than 12 months). Is there any way I could still be ...
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Trouble understanding a paragraph within a French contract [closed]
I cannot understand the last paragraph of an article in a reservation contract to acquire our main residence.
The context: We advance 1% of the sum to "book" the Appartement we wish to buy ...
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Inadequately supported chimney on neighboring property above our extension with no building regulations
I asked this question on Home Improvement Stack Exchange here, but they recommended I posted it here as it is technically a legal matter.
I live in the United Kingdom. When we purchased our house ...
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What happens if a builder doesn't fully fix a problem, and then the home warranty runs out?
I (US citizen living in the US) have a home warranty on my property. This warranty, like all warranties, expires eventually. I have recently identified an issue that is covered by the warranty. What ...
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Purchasing an HMO for use as a family home
I am based in the UK and wish to purchase a house that is currently set up as an HMO (although I don't know what use class it's currently registered as - It was previously used as sheltered ...
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What are my rights if my neighbor is belligerent in his own home?
I live in a condo and my neighbor with a shared wall has violent and profane outbursts. We believe he has a mental problem and has episodes of loud yelling and slamming doors/throwing furniture. It ...
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HOAs and Personal Assistant
What can my personal assistant do when the HOA sends me a violation or other such letter? Can they research the CC&Rs, Bylaws or other such states, federal statues to help me better understand the ...
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Agreement with family member who wants to pay for home modifications
I have a family member who will live with me in a house I just purchased. They want to make a bunch of modifications to the property and have agreed to pay for these modifications with their money. ...
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Can HOA force you to pay for services in addition to dues?
My HOA (in CT) is asking owners to get their dryer vents cleaned. They asked last year and I obliged. I got them cleaned 12/18. They sent out an email today saying every unit must get them cleaned. I ...
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Liability after accidentally breaking neighbor's sprinkler head
Imagine you are out for an early morning jog. Someone has their sprinklers on, so you cross the street to avoid them. Unfortunately, there was a malfunctioning sprinkler head that you didn't know ...
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What is the legal term for enforcing things when an HOA has been lax previously?
Let's say an HOA has been very lax in enforcing its CC&Rs in the past. There are restrictions about fencing, but many owners got and received variances in the past and have put up fences that don'...
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Home maintenance: contractor paying separate company to obtain permit
tl/dr: I'm trying to perform some home improvement projects in preparation for selling in 6 months. My jurisdiction requires a permit for one part (replacing siding on one side of the house). I know ...
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Do I need to report a subcontractor injury?
I have a house that I purchased that has been under a major renovation for 7 months. We hired a general contractor to oversee the project.
Today when I got to the house to check in on things, one of ...
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If a homeowner's liability from an insurance claim exceeds total coverage, can a court order that the payout all go to satisfying the liability?
Here is an extreme, hypothetical scenario that will hopefully explain what I mean by my question: Let’s say a court finds that Bob’s negligence somehow caused an explosion that destroyed Bob’s house ...
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Owner Move In San Francisco
Can the owner of a residence in San Francisco sublease during the 60 months following an owner-movein eviction? The specific example I'm imagining would be if a single person purchased a 2 bedroom ...
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For a homeowner, is foliage a fence?
My city regulates fences to be no more than 6' in height. In many cases, the fence as a support for growing tall hedges that could exceed this height. I can't find a definition of a fence in my city ...
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Can previous homeowner file a claim for hidden damage on their old property?
We purchased a house in Texas 5 months ago. 3 months ago we discovered hidden water damage from a roof leak within exterior walls.
Our insurance hired a third party engineering firm who concluded the ...
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Who owns an un-documented cellar/bunker? (UK Law)
A relative of mine purchased a house about 35 years ago. After a few years he discovered a bricked-up doorway leading to what was probably started as a WW2 bunker. It was abandoned and empty, and ...
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Can a bank foreclose on a home of a person who has been kidnapped?
Say that an American homeowner is traveling overseas and then he/she is kidnapped by a terrorist organization.
Does the American bank which gave that person the home loan have the legal right to ...
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What is a transfer of title document?
My father passed away, and I want to put the house under my mothers name.
The loan servicing company is asking for a transfer of title document.
I am unsure what that is, or how I would go about ...
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Legality of unwritten covenants - Architectual Review Process - HOA
I'm preparing to submit house plans for approval by my Architectural Review Committee.
I felt confident. We prepared a house to the specifications of the covenants and studied them carefully. I just ...
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What if you lived in a shed?
There are many companies such as Tuff Shed/Home Depot that sell portable sheds. These are usually marketed as being for storage/utility purposes, but some of them can be quite sizable with fairly nice ...
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Does the language “willing to take” provide a way to not follow through with a term on a contract?
My wife and I are selling our house in Illinois. As part of the sale, the agent of the buyer said that they will take a 1% commission instead of 2.5% to cover some of the closing costs. The costs are $...
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Strata corporation installing keyless entry system and logging entrance times/dates
My concern is the strata is forcing people to sign for specified id numbers this information is then stored so they know who enters the building when and how often. I am an owner and I believe I ...
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What recourse do I have if I can't meet a tight deadline to complete on a house purchase?
I've recently put down a reservation to buy a new-build flat in London, UK. This is one of the last flats available in the block and the builder is in a rush to complete and get the money as soon as ...
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Home insurance was never signed by homeowner
I made a change to my homeowners insurance back in 2016 and the forms were never signed by me. I made all payments in good faith.
Recently made a claim for some minor damage due to hurricane Katrina....
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How much ocean does a person with a beachhouse own and what can he do with it?
Assume a person owns a beach house in California.
How far into the ocean does this person own as a landowner?
Does the person own all coral reef, rocks and other things in the ocean in his owner ...
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Can I Rent My USDA Mortgaged Home Out?
Background:
I purchased my home in Maryland on October 2015 with a USDA mortgage loan. I would now like to rent my home out and move because I'm getting a new job somewhere else in Maryland. I read ...
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How do I (politely) get contractual agreement from my neighbor to let me attach my fence to theirs?
This is pretty straight forward, but unfortunately I can't find a straightforward answer anywhere.
What all do I need to address when asking my neighbor(s) if I can attach my fence to their existing ...
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Is it illegal to claim an address as your "primary residence" if you don't live there most of the time?
I currently live and work in NJ. I am single and live with my parents. The apartment we currently live in is small and I want to buy a house, but my state is pretty expensive.
My parents found a ...
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Is my orchard property, particularly the house, able to become a restaurant?
The house resides in the middle of an orchard. I'd like to retrofit my "empty nest" home into a restaurant similar to this one, but I believe there may be zoning laws that could prevent me from doing ...
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Homeowner's insurance industry blacklisting?
Due to the obscenely cold weather the northern latitudes have been experiencing this year, I had a pipe burst in a detached studio on my property overnight. It's a small space; ~200 sq. feet, and my ...
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A plumber left the job in the middle, how do I close out the job [closed]
I gave a plumber $2,000. That is about half of the price on his proposal.
The plumber is no longer on the job. (See https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/99203/plumber-asking-for-a-lot-more-money-...
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If the government obtains property through a tax lien, does the homeowner's association contract make it through?
If a person owns (100%) a property and is subject to a homeowner's association (HA) contract, but defaults on taxes, after which the property is sold via a tax lien sale, does the HA contract become ...
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Can a Home-Owner Association's Manager place a lien on property?
Scenario: HOA Property Management in Las Vegas, NV vs me over unpaid monthly dues.
I wasn't aware that my HOA had changed its Payment P.O. Box a few months ago and hence, my automated monthly ...
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Breaking a housing association contract
I own 45% of a part-ownership flat, shared with a large well-known housing association here in London, UK.
I pay a mortgage to my lender for the 45% and rent the rest from the housing association. In ...
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