You step outside to enjoy your backyard, only to find your neighbor building a new fence that looks suspiciously close to your side of the property line. Suddenly, you find yourself in the middle of a boundary dispute. Disagreements over property lines happen more often than you might think. Whether it involves an encroaching driveway, …
Buying your dream home is an exciting milestone, but the process is full of real estate terms that can quickly feel like a foreign language. One of the most important phrases you need to understand before making an offer is earnest money. If you are planning to buy a home, here’s a clear breakdown of …
Buying or selling a home in Ohio involves a unique system for handling property taxes. Unlike states where residents pay for the current year, Ohio bills property taxes one year backward. Understanding this billing system and how it affects the closing process ensures a smooth transaction and prevents unexpected financial surprises. Paying a Year in …
Read more Understanding Ohio Real Estate Taxes: Arrears, Prorations, and Closing
A firm handshake used to be the gold standard for sealing a deal. When you buy a used lawnmower from a neighbor, a verbal agreement works fine. But when you apply that same logic to a real estate transaction, you set yourself up for disaster. Buying or selling property involves massive financial investments and complex …
Buying a home is incredibly exciting, but the closing process can sometimes feel overwhelming. One detail that often causes confusion is title insurance. Simply put, title insurance protects your legal rights to own and use your new property. To help clear things up, let's bust the 10 biggest misconceptions about title insurance! 1. It is …
A real estate deal can look perfect on paper, only to fall apart at the closing table. Often, the culprit is a hidden defect deep in the property's history. Here are 5 title issues that quietly kill deals: • Undisclosed liens • Boundary disputes • Old mortgages not released • Probate issues • Contractor liens …
Imagine you are at the finish line of buying your dream home. You have saved for years, signed a mountain of paperwork, and finally wired your down payment. You are ready to get the keys. But then, you get a call: the money never arrived. Or worse, the person handling the transaction has disappeared with …
Read more Closing Protection Coverage in Ohio: Costs, Benefits & Risks
As a real estate attorney practicing in Ohio, I frequently encounter situations where co-owners of property find themselves at an impasse. Whether it's siblings who inherited the family home, former business partners, or partners parting ways, disagreements over real estate can create significant legal challenges. Fortunately, Ohio law provides a solution through the partition process.
Read more Ohio Real Estate Partition: When Co-Owners Can’t Agree
John Yonas explains what "good funds" are and how they are used in a real estate transaction.
Learn more about death and real estate in Ohio.