How Does Seller Financing Work in Colorado Real Estate Deals?
By Michael Smeenk
Q: I've listed my home for sale. A potential buyer is interested, but can't qualify for a loan. Is there some way to facilitate the sale without an outside lender being involved?
A: Yes - if the seller acts as the lender. This article will describe seller financing generally, discuss the key instruments and terms used in these transactions, and explain how our firm assists parties in complying with the myriad of new federal and Colorado-specific requirements that affect owner-carry deals.
Continue
Firm Secures Favorable Ruling from Appeals Court Upholding Trial Court’s Decision on Lender Lien Priority Dispute
By Jordan May
With the downturn in the economy beginning in 2008 and corresponding uptick in lender foreclosures and collection actions, Colorado courts have been revisiting the arena of secured transactions. In certain cases, competing lenders have skirmished over the assets of a common borrower. These skirmishes can be expensive and inefficient for lenders to resolve through litigation. Fortunately, a recent Colorado Court of Appeals decision has clarified the process of determining the category of asset under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). This decision may help competing lenders avoid costly litigation and resolve lien priority disputes without resorting to protracted formal legal proceedings.
Specifically, the Colorado Court of Appeals recently addressed a lender lien priority dispute in Millennium Bank v. UPS Capital Business Credit, 327 P.3d 335 (Colo. App. 2014). This dispute involved two lenders both of which asserted a secured, first position interest in the proceeds of a substantial arbitration award granted to a common borrower. One lender claimed that the arbitration proceeds were proceeds of an account receivable under the UCC in which it had a secured priority interest, while the other lender argued that the arbitration proceeds where general intangibles under the UCC in which it had a secured priority interest.
Note: The successful appeal case referenced in this article, Millennium Bank v. UPS Capital Business Credit, 327 P.3d 335 (Colo. App. 2014), was won by Frascona, Joiner, Goodman and Greenstein, P.C. attorneys Jordan C. May and Corey T. Zurbuch.
Continue
Personal Liability For A Company’s Unpaid Wages
By G. Roger Bock
You read that right — an individual can be personally liable for a company's failure to pay wages it was legally obligated to pay to its employees. Depending on the circumstances, the person liable could be the company's owner, a manager, or another individual with operational control who is directly responsible for the employing company's failure to pay statutorily required wages.
Continue
Rights Of Lenders, Heirs & Surviving Spouses Upon The Death Of The Reverse Mortgage Borrower
By Tasha Power
Overview of Reverse Mortgages
A reverse mortgage can provide a source of income for elderly individuals while allowing them to stay in their home. Many elderly individuals have much of their wealth tied up in the equity of their home — a non-liquid asset. A reverse mortgage allows elderly individuals to access that equity without selling their home. The borrower receives the loan proceeds as a lump sum, periodic payments, a line of credit, or some combination of these options. The loan does not need to be paid off until a triggering event occurs such as the borrower's death, the conveyance of the property, the home ceasing to be occupied as a primary residence (with certain exceptions), and/or the failure to satisfy one or more conditions of the loan. Thus, a reverse mortgage is different than a traditional home equity loan in that repayment is deferred, so the borrower does not make monthly payments to the lender. As a result, the loan balance increases and the equity decreases over time as the borrower receives payment from the lender.
Continue
|
|
IN THIS ISSUE
How Does Seller Financing Work in Colorado Real Estate Deals?
Colorado Court of Appeals Helps Clarify Lender Lien Priority Disputes
Personal Liability For A Company’s Unpaid Wages
Rights Of Lenders, Heirs & Surviving Spouses Upon The Death Of The Reverse Mortgage Borrower
Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements - The New 2014 Colorado Laws
Stripping Junior Liens in a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
Can I Keep My Dog Even Though My Association’s Covenants Don’t Allow It?
Meth Labs and Properties for Sale
Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements - The New 2014 Colorado Laws
By Gregg Greenstein
Colorado passed new laws concerning marital agreements and pre-marital agreements, effective for agreements signed on or after July 1, 2014. The new law is called the "Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act," and radically changes the prior law concerning prenuptial and postnuptial agreements. This article highlights some of the more significant changes from the prior law.
Because there are no cases that have gone up on appeal concerning the new prenuptial agreement and postnuptial agreement laws, there is uncertainty concerning enforcement of prenuptial and postnuptial agreements under the new law.
Continue
Stripping Junior Liens in a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
By Karen Radakovich
One of the major benefits of a chapter 13 bankruptcy is the ability of a homeowner to "strip" second and subsequent "consensual" liens - like deeds of trust - from a residence under certain conditions. This type of lien strip, sometimes more useful than the type that can only remove non-consensual liens like judgment liens, is so beneficial that it is reserved for debtors who file and complete one of the "reorganization" bankruptcies (under chapters 11, 12 or 13 of the US Bankruptcy Code; chapter 13 is the most common for individual debtors). So debtors will sometimes choose to file a Chapter 13 even if they also qualify to file a Chapter 7, which is normally the preferred form of bankruptcy due to cost, length of the proceedings, and timing of discharge.
Continue
Can I Keep My Dog Even Though My Association’s Covenants Don’t Allow It?
By Cinthia Manzano
The “seeing-eye dog” of yesterday has been replaced by many different kinds of animals that assist persons with many kinds of disabilities. Today, “service,” ”companion,” “therapy,” “support,” and “assistance” animals provide mobility for the sight and hearing impaired and emotional support for persons with depression, anxiety, or mental disabilities. They can help people with epilepsy, diabetes, chronic pain, or other medical conditions. Despite uncontroverted evidence that these animals (we'll call them “service animals” for simplicity going forward) are useful, therapeutic, and needed by disabled persons, owners who want to keep them may run afoul of pet restrictions in their community associations, condominium associations, and HOAs. Also, an association resident may try to keep a pet by falsely claiming a disability and/or claiming that the pet is a service animal. This article explores the legal issues surrounding the keeping of service animals in associations with pet restrictions.
Continue
Meth Labs and Properties for Sale
By Cinthia Manzano
Sellers have to disclose known material defects and complete a Seller's Property Disclosure form when listing property for sale. There can be health risks associated with living in a house where meth was produced or used. Some telltale signs that a property could be contaminated by meth include discolored walls, strong ammonia-like odors, empty over-the-counter drug packets, and areas of dead vegetation in the yard. Homebuyers have the right to have a house tested for meth during the contractual inspection process whether or not any of these signs are present.
Continue
|
|
