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If 2020 and 2021 have taught us anything, it is how important it is to get away from home sometimes. Many Michigan families own property up north or on the lakeshore. These homes away from home can provide a great get away, but they often sit empty for months of every year. That could lead you to wonder whether you can turn your Michigan lake house into a short-term rental through sites like AirBnB, VRBO, or Home-Away.com. The answer depends … Read more
Acting as a homeowners’ or condo association board member often involves making demands of your neighbors. When those demands take the form of unpaid association dues collections, you need to be careful. Make certain your HOA or COA is following the law for collections by following these do’s and don’ts:
Running a commercial construction company involves big risks. General contractors often put forward substantial resources in materials and labor, trusting their customers to honor their real estate improvement contracts. When they don’t, you may need to fall back on construction liens to get paid. But collecting construction costs through the Michigan Construction Lien Act depends on having the right paperwork in place, even before you start the project.
Michigan has a long history of family farms and closely held agricultural businesses. However, depending on where that farm is located, Michigan’s Right to Farm Act may or may not protect you from local ordinances limiting how you do business. Here’s what you should know about the limits on agricultural uses of urban and suburban land.
Quiet Title Actions Problems with real estate transfers can hold up the probating of a loved one’s estate. Beneficiaries who are depending on their inheritances can find access to those assets blocked by clouds the titles of real property within the estate. When that happens, your estate may need a quiet title action to set the record straight and allow your personal representative or trustee to transfer the property properly.
Michigan has thousands of miles of shoreline, on the Great Lakes and over 10,000 inland lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water. However, limits on Great Lakes riparian rights can affect the way you use and develop your property, and which government you must approach before building a dock, wharf, or privacy fence on your property.
Michigan Marketable Record Title Act Author: Michael King Introduction Interests held in real property are often extremely valuable to the interest holders, and can affect the character and uses of the land in which they are held. The validity and enforceability of such property interests in Michigan are governed by the Marketable Record Title Act. On December 29, 2020, Michigan effectively amended the Marketable Record Title Act, and in so doing provided property interest holders in this state additional … Read more
Variance Requests: Navigating Zoning Regulations and the Zoning Board of Appeals Author: Jake Vande Zande Almost any time you want to do something with your property, zoning is going to play a role in that project. Whether you want to build a new house, add an addition, build a deck or split your lot, you are going to have to navigate your city’s zoning ordinance and possibly your city or township’s Zoning Board of Appeals (“ZBA”). One of the most … Read more
Michigan Adopts Remote Witnessing and Notarization Legislation Author: Jake Vande Zande Governor Whitmore signed several new bills into law related to remote witnessing and notarization due to the hardships created by the COVID-19 pandemic, which will be advantageous for people and businesses that frequently work with notarized or recorded documents. The new legislation that allows electronic signatures, remote witnessing and notarization will replace Governor Whitmore’s prior executive orders that were struck down. The new legislation concerns documents that have been … Read more
Author: Jake Vande Zande January 13, 2021 Michigan Zoning Board Appeals (ZBA) & How to Appeal Unfavorable Decisions As discussed in “Variance Requests: Navigating Zoning Regulations and the Zoning Board of Appeals,” almost any time you want to do something with your property, zoning is going to play a role. This often includes a decision made by your city or township’s Zoning Board of Appeals (“ZBA”). Besides being difficult, expensive, and time consuming, zoning requests and their subsequent decisions can … Read more
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Grand Rapids, MI 49503
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