Residential Home Sellers need to be on the Lookout this Spring

I have been hearing stories that some "Big Box" real estate companies are holding Sellers' listings until they can put together an "in house" deal where the "Big Box" real estate company gets to keep more of the commission. This is a HUGE disservice to the Seller and as Real Estate Professionals who are bound by a code of professional conduct and ethics this would be considered a violation. In our area Inventory is short, so there is a greater opportunity for bidding above asking price. This bidding is cut short or the pool made smaller by this "in house" dealing.  If you are looking to Sell your home. Make sure the listing go into the Multiple List System IMMEDIATELY and Choose your Listing Company Wisely.

In Jail for Blight?

 And behold, I shall be a blight upon the land, and everything I touch shall wither and die.  Blight- "Batman Beyond: Meltdown (#1.5)" (1999)

By Leslie A. Butler, The Law Offices of Leslie A. Butler PLLC and Ravi K. Nigam, The Law Offices of Ravi K. Nigam, PC

INTRODUCTION

In 2013, the Michigan Legislature further addressed a growing problem of blighted properties by passing Public Acts 188-192 of 2013 ("Acts") to provide additional enforcement tools to municipalities beyond the tools previously provided through the Home Rule City Act.

MODIFICATIONS

The Home Rule City Act authorizes certain municipalities to pass ordinances to address blight. The Acts provide additional methods to combat blight including new criminal penalties and additional civil penalties. The Acts lower the population threshold in the eligibility criteria for municipalities that can utilize these tools. The Acts exempt government-sponsored enterprises, financial institutions, mortgage servicers, or credit union service organizations that become the owner or property after foreclosure or after taking a deed in lieu of foreclosure.   

         

CONSEQUENCES

Property owners with multiple properties in the same municipality could be unpleasantly surprised when work at one property is not allowed when another property has been found blighted by the municipality. This is due to the Acts permitting municipalities to make any property owner who is delinquent in paying a fine or costs for blight obligations ineligible for rezoning, site approval or other zoning authorization. The Acts also permit a municipality to make such a person ineligible for a building permit, a certificate of use and occupancy or a variance.

POTENTIAL PITFALL

Practitioners assisting commercial property owners whose property has been tagged as blighted must consider another potential problem with the remediation or redevelopment of the property that could occur in certain municipalities. Some municipalities apparently will only remove the blight tag after the building is torn down and the slab and any parking lot removed from the subject property. From the developer's viewpoint, it is often desirable to keep both the concrete slab and the parking lot in place as it can expedite redevelopment and even decrease the costs of redevelopment as the slab and parking lot could be reused or, at a minimum, be used to keep the heavy equipment necessary for rebuilding from subsiding the surrounding ground. The new Acts could give municipalities more leverage in negotiations with developers when addressing these issues.

CURRENT STATUS

According to the  authors’ sources within Michigan, there has been no current municipal movement to amend or pass ordinances under these new Acts. However, that may change within the next six months as communities address their blight issues and seek to utilize these new tools.