Oakland County Real Estate Law Blog

Premises liability is probably something that all landlords think about but hope they never have to deal with the litigation that follows.  In most cases of premises liability, landlords are sued by their tenants or other people on their property, who have received injury as a result of an accident on the property.  And while some cases can be as simple as paying for the person's medical bills, other cases may not be as straightforward.

Michigan landlord's can take a case out of Louisiana as an example.  This month, an occupant from an apartment complex is suing his landlord after a light fixture fell from the ceiling and landed on his head.  But on top of asking for medical expenses to be paid, he is also seeking compensation for non-monetary damages as well.

The disclosure process when purchasing a home can sometimes be one of those necessart evils, expecially if the home you are trying to buy has a lot of problems that need attending to before you move in.  But the need of a roof replacement seems minimal when some Michigan residents compare it to the ordeal an Oregon family went through when they bought their first home recently.

Besides being a foreclosure, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary with the home so the couple put down the $36,500 payment and took the keys to their 850-square-foot home.  But just weeks into the renovation of the home, the couple began experiencing extreme headaches and their son became incredibly ill.  The events that followed eventially led to a real estate lawsuit against Freddie Mac which had sold them the home.

If you've ever been to Holland in the southwest corner of Michigan, you were probably struck by the beauty of the area and its old-world feel.  If you ventured into the history of the area you would have learned that if it hadn't been for the Holland Furnace Co., once the city's largest employer, the town may not have survived the Great Depression.

Among it's most popular landmarks is the famous Hazelbank estate that sits on a 38-acre plot with 885 feet of shoreline along Lake Macatawa's Pine Creek Bay.  Once an elegant retreat for the wealthy founders and owners of the Holland Furnace Co., the estate is now being touted as the most expensive listing in the West Michigan real estate market.

Just like the cleanup after a brutal storm, the state of Michigan is attempting to clean up after the recession. One of the hardest hit areas seems to be the housing market which has forced thousands of residents to relocate. As Congressman Dan Kildee explained recently, lost populations in cities across the state have led to an oversupply in vacant and abandoned housing, which in turn is driving down the property values for homeowners in the area.

But the introduction of a new congressional bill could change that. His first bill since becoming a member of Congress, Kildee has introduced this month the Revitalize America Act which would free up a significant chunk of federal aid to help reinvest back into communities. If passed, the bill would free up around $124 million to be used to remove blight from Michigan communities, allowing for new zoning and construction across the state.