By Joel A. Hilgendorf, Esq.

Recently there have been some significant changes to the Landlord/Tenant statute that was enacted at the end of May. As a courtesy to our clients and friends of the firm, we wanted to be sure you knew about these. Below are some of the highlights.

By Ryan J. Wartick

Unfortunately, too many land owners are familiar with the old adage, "you can't fight city hall". However, knowledgeable land owners know that this old adage is not always true. Minnesota has a number of statutes that protect land owners from unnecessary delay and arbitrary action by the government in regard to land use decisions.

One such statute is Minn. Stat. § 15.99, which provides that an agency must approve or deny within sixty days a written r

By Sarah E. Fisher, Esq.

"Green" building has become increasingly popular as consumers look for ways to conserve resources, protect their health and, ultimately, save money. Cutting edge green building methods and products are no doubt exciting, but are too new to be used without first considering their unknown risks. Issues can arise from the performance of a particular system or product, or from a difference in the anticipated and actual return on a green build investment. A

Joel A. Hilgendorf, Esq.

Most readers of this article are well aware the emerald ash borer has arrived in Minnesota, and poised to potentially devastate nearly a billion trees within the State. Seemingly overnight, trees have sprouted in our newspaper stories, television news features, and have become a concern for many property owners. Trees provide countless intangible benefits to us. The cost of removing a damaged or diseased tree can range from a few hundred dollars for a small on

David G. Hellmuth

Due to the current economic crisis, lenders are commencing a record number of foreclosures of delinquent mortgages. Recent statistics show that mortgage foreclosures, lender mediated short sales and loan work outs are at all time high levels.

What is a short sale? A "short" sale ("Short Sale") occurs when the proceeds from the sale are insufficient to pay off the indebtedness secured by the property being sold. To be successful, the lender(s)

Although we had all hoped that the fraud related to the "subprime mortgage meltdown" was behind us, perpetrators of fraud seem to create new schemes with each new moon, and some of the more "lucrative" schemes of the past remain a risk today.

Fraudulent Promissory Note & Bonds

The U.S. Treasury, Office of Inspector General (OIG), has recently published an alert regarding a new fraud scheme. Real estate professionals should be aware of the scheme and its potential impact on a purchas

One day, while walking near the boundary of his neighbor's land, Smith was troubled to discover that several thousand trees that he had planted had been destroyed and several fence posts had been removed. Smith contacted his neighbor Jones and inquired about the trees and fence posts. When asked, Jones responded that he had hired someone to plow his land and that this person "must have gone too far." Jones agreed to pay for Smith's damages related to the trees and fence posts; however, as tim

It is an increasingly common circumstance for two or more unmarried persons to own real property together, either by choice or circumstance. The type of real property - standard residential, investment or recreational – is as wide ranging as the relationships between owners, who may be a parent and child, a group of siblings, two or more friends or investors, or an unmarried couple.

Unless the parties agree from the onset, disputes can arise over issues regarding acquiring, maintaining

In Parkos Construction v. Anchor Distribution, the Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal of a misrepresentation claim against Anchor Distribution, when Anchor allegedly recommended the use of staples instead of nails in a roofing project.

In the winter of 1999, Parkos Construction was hired by the Kraus-Anderson Construction Company to install cedar shingles on the roof of the White Bear Yacht Club. The specifications for the project called for six-penny galvanized nails.

On December 20, 2007, President Bush signed the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, which implements a change to the federal tax code whereby "debt forgiven on a qualified principal residence" is excluded from the definition of gross income subject to income tax. This law applies to discharges of indebtedness on or after January 1, 2007.

This law is aimed specifically at "short sales" -- those in which the purchase price is less than the total outstanding balance on a mortgage again