Philadelphia Real Estate Blog

Should you lease or buy your commercial property?

On behalf of Avallone Law Associates on Friday, September 13, 2019.

Finding the right location for your Philadelphia business is not easy. First, you must find something that fits your budget in the right location. You also have to make sure the space suits your needs and will work for your company operations. Once you find the right place, you may want to sign on the dotted line and move forward as quickly as possible, but this is not always prudent.

Before you do anything, you may want to think carefully about whether you should lease commercial property or buy it. The right answer depends on factors unique to your situation and specific to your real estate market. There is a lot at stake for your company, and it's prudent to give your actions a lot of thought before you sign any type of contract.

Surveyors may provide key information on commercial properties

On behalf of Avallone Law Associates posted in Commercial Real Estate on Thursday, September 12, 2019.

Buying a commercial property in Pennsylvania may be a complicated process, especially for investors who are planning on undertaking renovations or new construction. There are several aspects potential buyers may want to consider before finalizing a transaction, and a surveyor could provide essential information.

Commercial properties are often subject to unique zoning laws and may have easements and environmental features that could affect building plans. According to FindLaw, an easement is a nonpossessory interest that allows someone access to or use of land that another individual owns. In most cases, easements transfer with the sale of the property. As such, if an investor buys commercial property with existing easements, construction plans may have to account for the easement by allowing continuing access to the easement holder.

Having a survey on your property can help you avoid problems

On behalf of Avallone Law Associates on Tuesday, September 10, 2019.

When you buy property in Pennsylvania, you probably already have plans regarding what you want to do with it. Maybe you want to develop it, or maybe you want to build your dream home or office building. Before you move forward, you will want to make sure that you know everything there is to know about your property.

If you have plans for your land, you want to avoid anything that could cause you to experience financial loss or legal complications. This means finding out if there are issues that stand between you and your goals down the road. One way that you can do this is by having a new survey of your property done before you move forward.

Why are more millennials getting prenuptial agreements?�

On behalf of Avallone Law Associates on Saturday, September 7, 2019.

A prenuptial agreement, also known as a prenup, is a legal contract both parties sign before marriage to protect their personal assets in the event of a divorce.

Prenups used to be viewed as superficial or pessimistic. But today more millennials are getting prenups than previous generations. According to a recent survey, over half of lawyers found increasing numbers of prenups for millennials. Here are a few reasons for this trend:

How building the border wall may affect property owners rights

On behalf of Avallone Law Associates posted in Eminent Domain on Wednesday, August 28, 2019.

People who live in Pennsylvania may not feel all that concerned about how the proposal to build a border wall may affect their property rights. After all, they are several states away from the south. However, for people who own land in any of the border states or who stand to inherit land in these areas from family members, the situation may be different.

In 2017, CNN reported that the Trump administration had already begun to seize land at the border even without approval to build the wall. Some of the actions taken involved restarting dormant litigation against property owners in the border states. Approximately, two-thirds of U.S. land bordering Mexico belongs to private owners.

Investor-bought homes reaches all-time high

On behalf of Avallone Law Associates on Saturday, August 17, 2019.

If you are a Philadelphia resident looking to invest in homes, you’re not alone. New research shows that investor home buying – especially for smaller investors – is on the rise.

A new CoreLogic study released in June of this year revealed that investor home buying reached a record high in 2018. In the US, investors bought 11.3% of homes. When comparing individual cities, Philadelphia was second highest in the country at 23.3%. Only Detroit had a higher rate at 27%.

How to decide whether to rent or buy a home

On behalf of Avallone Law Associates posted in Residential Real Estate on Thursday, August 15, 2019.

There is a lot of talk in Pennsylvania and the rest of the United States regarding whether or not it is a better market for renting or buying. Most experts now recommend renting because it is cheaper. However, for those who can afford it, building equity may be better than paying someone else’s mortgage.

According to Fidelity Investments, there are a few things potential buyers should keep in mind when deciding if renting or buying is right for them:

Predictions for house prices to climb higher
The length of time the buyer plans to spend in that location
How the recent changes in mortgage interest deduction may affect tax liability

Four tips to follow if you are planning to divorce a narcissist

On behalf of Avallone Law Associates on Wednesday, July 31, 2019.

Although men are more often associated as narcissists than women (they outnumber women two to one on the extreme end of the narcissist spectrum,) women can also be narcissists. If your husband or wife is arrogant, filled with anger, an ego-maniac or even heartless at times, don’t just assume they are a narcissist.

Narcissist often display one key trait that shadows all others; a complete lack of empathy and admission of guilt. Whether they emotionally or physically abused their spouse or ran over the neighbor’s pet, a narcissist will show zero empathy and will always manipulate the conversation to direct guilt away from themselves.

Using quiet titles to resolve boundary disputes

On behalf of Avallone Law Associates posted in quiet title on Tuesday, July 30, 2019.

When people in Pennsylvania saw the CNBC headline about Facebook's CEO suing hundreds of Hawaiians to force them off their property, it turned heads. However, a deeper look at the article, which included an amendment with the founder's statements on the matter, may tell a different story.

A few years ago, Facebook's CEO bought 700 acres of land in Hawaii for $100 million. The CEO has raised eyebrows in the past for taking extreme lengths to secure privacy at home for himself and his family. He took similar measures in Hawaii by filing eight quiet title suits in a Kauai court. These forced the courts to find out who the land actually belonged to. Some of the owners are long deceased, but others or their descendants are still alive.

How limited partnerships work in real estate

On behalf of Avallone Law Associates posted in Commercial Real Estate on Friday, July 19, 2019.

Big commercial rebuilding projects can be complex matters and will likely require large transactions of money to fund the building materials, tools and vehicles needed for the job. But to get to this point, building owners and investors may need to pool a sizable amount of financing to make the project go forward. This is why Pennsylvania entrepreneurs sometimes form limited partnerships to finance a new construction project.

Chron.com explains that limited partnerships are created between a general partner and a limited partner. A general partner has the responsibility of managing the business while the limited partner, commonly referred to as a silent partner, contributes financially to the partnership but does not have any active responsibilities in running the business. The silent partner also enjoys limited liability for decisions made by the business, although silent partners can lose their investments in the business in the event of bankruptcy or civil litigation.