No Good Deed (no pun intended)

Last Updated on Sunday, 27 August 2023 03:17 Written by Chris Griswold Thursday, 12 February 2015 02:52

Have you ever been approached by a neighbor, a good friend or a family member to deed over a piece of property to them which is currently part of your property (e.g., a rural piece of property, or even a parcel in the city limits, which you currently own but the other person would enjoy, or, through some necessity, really wants)?  If not, you could be some day, and it doesn’t really matter whether they’re paying you fair market value or a heavily discounted price….  Giving a child, a business partner or a close friend a piece of your property is something that can warm the heart (especially when it’s basically been given for free), however, it can also become problematic when a deed doesn’t switch hands before someone starts improving/altering the property to make it their own.  Take a look below as this should be helpful to everyone… (and don’t forget to click on my Facebook or YouTube links below to also see my short video on this material).

No Good Deed (no pun intended)

Scenario:  You neighbor wants you to carve off the south 50 feet of your property at your lake house so they can widen their driveway access to their lake house.  However, before lawyers and title companies work their magic to produce a good closing and a recorded deed conveyance on the piece of property, your neighbor wants to start moving fences, doing excavation and pouring concrete.  Again, you’ve known this neighbor for over 40 years and are very close friends, what bad could come from letting them get underway with their construction and renovation on the widened driveway before closing on the conveyance?

Issue:  Your receipt of the purchase money aside, you want to have a closing first.  Why?  Once your friend starts excavating and pouring concrete, you may get a friendly visit from a code inspector who tells you that something about the way the concrete was poured wasn’t to code (e.g., it wasn’t poured thick enough for building code).  In some instances, depending upon other surrounding facts, the code inspector may also tell you that the fire marshal has a problem with the way the work was done and isn’t to fire code, or maybe not even ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended) compliant.

The sad part is that, no matter what your friend is paying you for the parcel of property (if anything, other than the $10.00 minimum consideration required for the conveyance of real property), the problem is going to have to be fixed soon by you (since you’re still the record owner of such piece of property).  In fact, the cost of the repairs may be more money than your neighbor has to spend at the time, so you’ll get to front the money for such repairs while still not in possession yet of the purchase money for the property.  No good “deed” goes unpunished….

What My Clients Are Saying

“Chris Griswold has a unique skill set for a Real Estate attorney.  He is equally adept in the courthouse as well as in a transactional setting.   We have worked with him in lease negotiations where we found him to be pragmatic and fair minded while representing his client.  As result of working on the other side of the table with Chris, we engaged him to assist us with various lease enforcement issues.  We have used many attorneys to assist us with FED’s, collections etc. and Chris has by far been the most efficient and cost effective counsel we have ever used.”
Jeff Norman /  President / JAH Realty, L.P. / Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Last Updated on Sunday, 27 August 2023 03:17 Written by Chris Griswold Friday, 9 January 2015 03:05

Icy, snowy, slippery sidewalks (say it 3 times fast).  We’ve all seen our share this winter.  In response to a large number of inquiries I’ve received from concerned hotel, restaurant, office and retail owners and tenants, as well as the several requests I’ve received from our local insurance underwriting community that I write on the topic, I wanted to write a short piece in the hopes it saves some of you needless worry and, possibly, money.  Accordingly, I’ll answer the two most commonly asked questions from the groups mentioned above.  This should be helpful to everyone… (and don’t forget to click on my Facebook or YouTube links below to also see my short video on this material).

Ice, Ice Baby (Vanilla Ice, To The Extreme, 1989)

Question #1:  “If I put out snow melt on my sidewalks, does it somehow serve as an admission of guilt if someone should subsequently slip and fall on the premises?”

Answer: No.  The very act of putting out snow melt, etc… in an effort to prevent people from slipping, falling and hurting themselves cannot later be used against you.  In other words, you can’t use someone’s efforts to avert an accident against them later on if and when the accident occurs.  If you could, it would be tantamount to saying “…I’m suing you for trying to help me.”  Now, there are other relevant factors including, but not limited to, whether or not another person slipped and fell in the same area just before the plaintiff slipped and fell, whether you put out enough – and many others.  However, the fact that you put out snow melt, in and of itself, is not an admission of guilt; nor can it later be used against you in showing negligence.  Accordingly, don’t be afraid to put out snow melt when the weather gets bad.  However, and most importantly, when you put it out, put out enough to really do the job (including getting out your shovel if need be so the area(s) in question are clean, clear and safe).

Question #2:  “When should I put out snow melt?”

Answer: It depends.  Actually, the legally correct answer to this question is “when it’s reasonable to do so.”  Say what??!  I know…, it’s legalese and not really clear.  However, you can pretty much nail it down if you ask yourself the following question: “Given the current weather conditions; if my mother came to see me at work today, should I put out snow melt?”  If the answer is yes, put it out.  Otherwise, don’t sweat it.

What My Clients Are Saying

“Chris Griswold was instrumental in negotiating a very solid, long-term lease for our new bank branch in Oklahoma City.  His industry knowledge helped us avoid several potential pitfalls with a landlord that was somewhat difficult at times.  It was a pleasure to work with Chris because of his professional style and easy going demeanor.”
Charlie Crouse / President / Summit Bank / Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Contract Self-Help

Last Updated on Sunday, 27 August 2023 03:17 Written by Chris Griswold Monday, 17 November 2014 04:09

While some deals are bigger and merit a lawyer’s attention, some deals don’t.  With that in mind, I wanted to hand out a few, handy bits of information for those who economically have to figure out legal contract language on their own.  This should be helpful to everyone… (and don’t forget to click on my Facebook or YouTube links below to also see my short video on this material).

Contract Self-Help

Basic, essential contract concepts, there are many.  What are some of them?

1. Recital of Consideration. The concept of consideration is presumed to be implied in all contracts, written or oral.  However, if contested by one of the parties to the contract as not having, in fact, been provided by the other party, this implied presumption can be rebutted at trial.  Accordingly, you always want to recite consideration up top in the agreement.  Something like this usually works well to cover your bases:
   “NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing promises, terms, provisions, covenants, warranties, representations and agreements contained within this Agreement and the exchange of the sum of ten and no/100 Dollars ($10.00) by and between the parties hereto, and for the exchange of other good and valuable consideration by and between the parties hereto, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged by both Seller and Buyer, Seller and Buyer hereby agree as follows:”If the contract isn’t dealing with real property or the granting of easements but rather with personal property (e.g., a tractor, a car, an airplane, machinery), switch the amount from $10.00 to $1.00 instead.
2. Indemnity Language. If you’re looking at the indemnity provisions of a contract, at a minimum, you’re going to want to make sure that whatever you’re having to indemnify the other party for, they’re indemnifying you for the same/similar things (subject to proper revisions, depending upon the circumstances, so don’t just change all the names in the paragraph from landlord to tenant or buyer to seller – read the language to get a feel for what’s going on). Simply put, you’re going to want to make sure that the indemnification provisions “mirror” one another for each party – that’s only fair.
3. Insurance Language. If the contract doesn’t discuss this, it should.  Big picture, insurance language ensures that the indemnity provisions aren’t unfunded liabilities for either of the parties.  Call up your insurance agent and send over the insurance language for your agent to walk through with you – they’re great folks who have a good eye for identifying unaddressed concepts and they usually have a knack for knowing what should stay in and what needs to come out of the document.

   What My Clients Are Saying

“I have been very pleased with Chris’s legal work on real estate matters.  He gets a project completed when he says it’s going to be completed.  He is a real estate law expert.  I not only use him for our legal work, but have referred him to several of our customers. And they have been pleased with the attention and follow through he devotes to the project.” J.R. “Bud” Fulton, SIOR, CCIM / President, J.R. Fulton & Associates / Oklahoma City, Oklahoma