Handbook
Residential and commercial transactions, leasing, and land-use regulation.
Real estate is where contract law, consumer protection, and local government meet — usually at a closing table. A home purchase runs on contingencies and disclosure statutes; a storefront lease runs on operating-cost clauses that can double the rent; a renovation runs on whatever the zoning board decides on a Tuesday night.
This handbook covers the documents and hearings that decide property outcomes: purchase contracts and closings, the landlord–tenant rules that govern deposits and evictions, commercial lease economics, and the permits, variances, and appeals of land-use practice. State and local law dominate here, and the guides say exactly where to check your jurisdiction.
A home purchase agreement controls everything from earnest money to closing day. Here is how contingencies, seller disclosures, and federal mortgage-disclosure rules fit together.
Buyers and sellers should start with the purchase-contract guide — contingencies decide who keeps the deposit when deals wobble. Renters and landlords should begin with the landlord–tenant guide, and developers with zoning.
Residential renting is governed by state statutes, local ordinances, and court-made doctrines like the implied warranty of habitability. Here is how the five core pieces work.
Commercial leases are long, negotiable, and lightly regulated compared with residential ones. Learn how rent structures, expense pass-throughs, transfer rights, and default remedies really work.
Zoning decides what you can build and operate on your land. This guide covers reading the code, seeking variances and conditional use permits, hearing procedure, and appeals.
A mortgage-financed home purchase runs on two clocks: the contract's deadlines and the lender's federal disclosure timeline. Here is how underwriting, title, and settlement fit together.
Foreclosure follows one of two very different tracks depending on the state. This guide explains both, the federal loss-mitigation rules that run alongside them, and the alternatives to a sale.
An assessment appeal challenges value, not the tax rate. This guide covers what to gather, how informal review and board hearings work, and why filing deadlines are unforgiving.
Agency law decides whose interests your agent must protect. This guide covers fiduciary duties, dual and designated agency, required disclosures, and compensation rules.
Section 1031 lets investors defer gain when real property held for business or investment is exchanged for like-kind real property. The rules are strict, and the clocks do not stop.
A quiet title action asks a court to declare who owns land and to extinguish competing claims. Here is when it is needed, how the case is built, and what the judgment does.
Most states require a homeowner to notify the builder and allow a repair opportunity before suing over construction defects. This guide covers notice, claims, warranties, and deadlines.