Owners of commercial and residential real estate should watch this informative video to learn more about the Uniformity Principle. Property values have decreased over the past few years. If you believe your property is assessed at a rate higher than its fair market value, contact John Fiorillo for information on how you might be able to reduce your property tax bill by filing a real estate tax appeal.

Attorney John Fiorillo is a partner in the firm of Unruh, Turner, Burke & Frees, PC., with offices located in West Chester, Malvern and Phoenixville, PA.

Watch Attorney John Fiorillo as he addresses ways to reduce your property tax assessment and tax bills and the reasons that your assessment might change.

This is the first in a series of videos for residents of Chester County, Montgomery County and Delaware County, Pennsylvania who need to reduce their personal or business property tax assessments.

John Fiorillo is a partner of Unruh, Turner, Burke and Frees with offices located in West Chester, Malvern, and Phoenixville Pennsylvania.

Read my recent blog about charter schools being subject to real estate taxes.

For more information, contact Anthony Verwey.

With the approach of Spring and Summer comes a more active residential real estate market. The process of buying or selling a home may have become just a little more complicated due to the recent decision handed down by the Pennsylvania Superior Court in Trowbridge v. McCaigue.

Buyers, sellers, and real estate agents need to be aware that, under certain circumstances, what is intended to be only an “offer to purchase” can instead be a legally binding and enforceable “contract for sale.” According to the majority of the Court in Trowbridge, this occurs when an “offer to purchase” real estate contains all essential terms. However, one of the judges, Justice Shogan, felt the majority ignored the plain language of the document as well as the intention of the parties. He indicated that what was clearly identified as a “purchase offer” was an “agreement to agree,” and it was not on its face intended or otherwise to be an express and binding contract.

To avoid the result that was obtained in Trowbridge, one lesson seems to be that when making an offer to purchase real estate, clearly specify that any essential terms referenced in the offer are intended to be the subject of further negotiations.

For more information, contact Nancy Glidden.

Every County in Pennsylvania conducts periodic sheriff’s sales of real estate.  The sales are conducted in an auction format with open bidding.  The properties at sale are being sold as the behest of a creditor attempting to recover money owed.  While there are numerous opportunities, there also exist numerous risks.  In order to minimize the risk, you will need to identify some of those risks.

Please read my article setting out some helpful tips if you are interested in buying a property at sheriff sale.  Keep in mind that this article does not identify all potential risks.  The first tip is to contact me for more information.

Contractors, subcontractors and material providers have various legal remedies for protecting themselves against general contractors and/or property owners who fail to pay for construction services and materials. One of these remedies is the Pennsylvania Mechanics Lien Law. This law permits contractors, subcontractors and material men, under some circumstances, to place a lien on the real property for which they provided work or materials for which they were not paid. Although the statute is essentially in the same form as it was when originally enacted in the early 1900s, and so can be difficult to navigate, significant changes were made in 2007 and, more recently, in October 2009. To view a more in depth discussion about the recent amendments, please click here.

Please contact Daniel Dwyer for more information.

We can easily and quickly assist you in evaluating whether your property is over assessed. Your real estate taxes usually support your local school district, County and in many instances, your local municipality. Two things factor into your real estate taxes; your tax rate and your assessment. The tax rate is a political matter and one that only your local school board, county commissioners and municipal officials can address. The assessment is a different story. Your assessment is supposed to represent a specified percentage of the fair market value of your property. If you are assessed at a higher percentage of your fair market value than the average for your county, you should consider an appeal. You have the right to challenge your assessment on an annual basis. Usually, this is in the late spring or during the summer months. Each county has a different period for filing an annual appeal. We can quickly determine whether your property is over assessed and explain the appeal process. Simply pull out your current or most recent tax bill and call us with your assessment. It will be listed on your bill. If you do not have the bill available, we can look up your assessment for you and help you determine if you are paying too much. A simple phone call could result in significant savings that will compound year after year. Please contact John K. Fiorillo for more information.

It cannot be denied that the struggling economy has adversely affected the real estate market. As a result, some sellers of residential real property who are desperate to sell their property are failing to disclose known defects with their home. These defects cover a broad range and include, but are not limited to defects with the Seller’s roof, basement, water/sewage systems, plumbing, electric, heating and air conditioning as well as damage to the structural integrity of the home caused by termite infestation. Buyers damaged by such defects are naturally wondering “what can I do?”

If you have recently purchased residential real property and have been affected by defects to such property, you should be aware of the Pennsylvania Real Estate and Seller Disclosure Act (the “Act”) and its underlying rationale. Under the Act, a Seller who intends to transfer an interest in real property is required to disclose to the Buyer any material defects with the property which are known to the Seller by completing all applicable items in a property disclosure statement. The Act requires that such seller property disclosure statement be provided in all residential real estate transfers except for certain fiduciary transfers and transfers of new residential construction that have not been previously occupied and have been inspected for building code compliance and received a certificate of occupancy or code compliance.

A Seller of residential real property will be liable in the amount of actual damages suffered by the Buyer if such Seller willfully or negligently violates or fails to perform any duty prescribed by the Act. However, a Buyer’s action for damages against a Seller for violations of the Act must be commenced within a certain time period that begins to run from the date of final settlement on the affected property.

In addition to a cause of action under the Act, liability may also be imposed under alternative legal theories. There may also be causes of action against the Seller’s Agent and/or the Buyer’s Agent. Such options should be discussed with an attorney.

For more information, please contact Chris Turner in our litigation department.

If you are involved in the design, planning, supervision or construction of improvements to real estate in Pennsylvania, you should know that there are state laws that limit the time period to make claims based on defective design or construction and for injuries that arise out of design or construction defects. For more information on this 12-year statute of repose that provides significant protection to Pennsylvania construction and design businesses, read the full article that is posted on our website, or contact our office.

In these challenging economic times, commercial landlords need to be mindful of the advantages of Confession of Judgment Clauses. These clauses permit a landlord to obtain a judgment either for money damages or for eviction against defaulting tenants without the need of a trial.

Additionally, priority of the judgment is established as of the date the judgment is confessed.  As a result, at the time of entry into new leases, landlords should attempt to obtain clauses permitting Confessions of Judgment for both money damages and in ejectment. Similarly, in the event a landlord is confronted with a defaulting tenant, the landlord should review the lease agreement and determine whether he or she has a Confession of Judgment Clause contained therein. If it is available, it can prove a very effective mechanism or collecting money and/or possession of property.

Whether initially drafting such clauses or seeking to enforce them, extreme care must be taken by the landlord.  Because these provisions provide prompt mechanisms for executing upon a judgment and without need for a trial, the courts routinely require strict adherence to Pennsylvania Law and its civil procedure with respect to their interpretation and enforcement.  In summary, if carefully drafted and strictly followed, these clauses provide a landlord with one of the more effective remedies available to him or her when dealing with a defaulting tenant.

For more information about Confessions of Judgment, contact our office.