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I’ve never really gotten on the Zombie movie and TV show bandwagon. I think it’s because they’re just so far-fetched, that it’s difficult for me to buy into the premise. When it comes to the reality of the Zombie Property Apocalypse though, it’s a completely different story. You may have read or heard about “Zombie…

It is common in exclusive real estate listing contracts for agents to include provisions regarding "Protected Buyers." Included in many standard Wisconsin listing contracts is a clause that a "Protected Buyer" includes a potential buyer who "negotiates directly with Seller by discussing the potential terms upon which the buyer might acquire an interest in the Property." Subject to…

It is common that at a foreclosure sale the mortgagee Bank will submit the winning bid at the amount owed on the mortgage of the property at issue.  But what if the amount owed is significantly less than the “market value” of the house?  Can the court under Wisconsin law refuse to confirm the sale as unconscionable?  The answer in Wisconsin appears to be  – the court can only refuse to confirm the sale  if there is a demand by the Bank for a deficiency judgment and either the price is inadequate due to a mistake, misapprehension or inadvertence or the price is so inadequate that it shocks the conscience of the court.  In other words, if the Bank doesn’t seek a deficiency judgment, then mere inadequacy of price is not a sufficient reason for a court to fail to confirm a sale.  Such propositions were set forth in a recent unpublished Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision, Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. v. Daniel J. Russ, et al, Appeal No. 2009AP2873.  Continue Reading Inadequate Price Not Enough to Allow Courts to Stop Confirmation of a Foreclosure Sale

Back on March 30th I wrote that homebuyers needed to act fast to meet the then fast approaching expiring deadline for closing on the purchase of a residence.  Since then, Congress has acted once again by extending the closing deadline from June 30 to September 30, 2010, for eligible homebuyers.  Again, for qualifying purchases in…

The following was posted by Thomas Kertschner of the Journal Sentinel on July 5, 2010:

Oak Creek – The Common Council, which was hit by a storm of denunciation after it considered using eminent domain to acquire a 94-year-old farmer’s property, will be asked Tuesday to pay the man’s $9,081 legal bill.

The request comes from Michael Schober, the attorney who represents Earl Giefer.

Giefer’s family has said it has no interest in selling the farm at 10523 S. Howell Ave., which has been in family since the 1800s.

City officials had argued that the 25-acre property would impede plans for a business park nearby and believe the farm qualifies as blighted.

The council decided June 1 to stop discussions of the possible use of eminent domain.Continue Reading Oak Creek Will Be Asked To Pay Farmer’s Legal Bills

My good friend, Ed DeFrance, at Baird, just sent me an article Baird puts out about the new health care law and a new tax which will affect high income filers. It seems that if you have household income over $250,000, starting in 2013, a new Medicare Tax of 3.8% will apply to interest, dividends, capital gains, rents and royalty income. This is in addition to

Continue Reading Is It Time To Sell The Farm?