Real Estate Attorney Tampa Florida

Real Estate Lawyer Tampa Florida

 

At Kassel Law Group, our real estate lawyers have handled all aspects of real estate transactions and litigation throughout Tampa Bay.  We litigate real estate contract disputes, title disputes, commercial landlord/tenant issues, and many other real estate litigation matters.  Our services also include the closing of residential and commercial sales and refinances.

 

Our Practice Areas in Real Estate Law include:

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COLLECTIONS & FORECLOSURE ATTORNEYS

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At Kassel Law Group, our lawyers provide legal representation to creditors in post-judgment debt collection and defend consumers and businesses against the garnishment or attachment of assets.  We have extensive experience representing plaintiffs and defendants in collection and foreclosure matters which allows us to anticipate our opponent’s strategy and develop effective tactics to meet our clients’ objectives.  In the area of foreclosure and debt collection, we represent clients in matters related to:

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• Mortgage foreclosure actions;

• Homeowners association disputes;

• Condominium association disputes; and

• Garnishment and attachment.

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If you are a homeowner or business owner and have been served with a summons and foreclosure complaint, it is important you consult with a real estate attorney as soon as possible.  Once you have been served you have 20 days to respond. If you fail to respond, the bank or homeowners association can obtain a default judgment against you and take your property. Do not waive your defenses by not responding.  There may be settlement options available to you including but not limited to:

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• Obtaining a release and satisfaction of the debt;

• A waiver of a deficiency judgment; or

• Short sale.

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RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD TENANT LAW

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Kassel Law Group has years of experience representing landlords and tenants in residential landlord-tenant disputes involving:

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• security deposits;

• actions for a possession;

• actions for damages for breach of a lease; and

• evictions for a tenant’s nonmonetary noncompliance with the terms of the lease.

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All landlords should be careful to strictly comply with the pre-eviction notice requirements set forth in Chapter 83, Florida Statutes.  A failure to do so could result in the dismissal of an eviction and an award of attorney’s fees for the tenant. Landlords should strictly adhere to the following:

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• A condition precedent (i.e., a legal prerequisite) to a residential eviction for nonpayment of rent is a 3-day notice given to the tenant either by mail or by posting the notice on the door of the residence in substantially the same form as provided in F.S. §83.56(3).  A tenant cannot waive the notice requirement in the lease. F.S. §83.56(4).

 

• A condition precedent (i.e., a legal prerequisite) to a residential eviction for noncompliance of a non-monetary provision of the lease or the statutory obligations in the Residential Act is a 7-day notice. 

 

There are two types of 7-day notice:

 

• Type 1:  Noncompliance is of a nature that the tenant should be given an opportunity to cure.

  • If the noncompliance falls under this category, the landlord must deliver a written notice to the tenant specifying the noncompliance, and stating that if the noncompliance is not corrected within 7 days from the date the notice is delivered, the landlord will terminate the rental agreement by reason thereof.  F.S. §83.56(2)(b).

 

• Type 2:  The noncompliance is of a nature that the tenant should not be given an opportunity to cure.

  • Examples include but are not limited to, a subsequent or continuing noncompliance within 12 months of a written warning by the landlord of a similar violation or destruction, damage, or misuse of the landlord’s or other tenants’ property by an intentional act or a subsequent or continued unreasonable disturbance.

 

• Kassel Law Group also prosecutes unlawful detainer actions to remove occupants of the property.  An unlawful detainer action may be appropriate if there is (a) a transient occupant on the property who forced entry and refuses to vacate or (b) an occupant, who at one time was permitted to be on the property, but now refuses to vacate.  Unlawful detainer is only appropriate where no landlord-tenant relationship exists.

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COMMERCIAL LANDLORD-TENANT LAW ATTORNEY

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Kassel Law Group represents commercial landlords and tenants with the drafting, review, and negotiation of commercial leases, including retail, office, industrial, and leisure facilities in various Florida counties.  In addition to providing transactional leasing services, we represent landlords and tenants in eviction matters and other lease agreement disputes, including the collection of debt. We represent large and small companies alike and understand the importance of structuring individual solutions for each business.

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Like residential tenancies, termination of a commercial tenancy is appropriate both for certain monetary and non-monetary related defaults.  Generally, Florida courts are more likely to uphold the landlord’s termination of a commercial tenancy based on a monetary default than a non-monetary default.

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• Examples of monetary defaults may include but are not limited to the tenant’s failure to pay rent timely, the tenant’s failure to pay taxes, maintenance costs, or costs for repairs.

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If a commercial landlord seeks to terminate the commercial tenancy based on a tenant’s non-monetary default, the tenant’s noncompliance must constitute a material breach of a material obligation under the lease agreement.  An example of a non-monetary breach where a Florida court upheld the termination of the lease agreement is a tenant’s failure to carry proper liability insurance as required by the lease.​

 

Injunctions

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A commercial tenant seeking to lease a large space shared by many other tenants, i.e., a shopping mall, may enter into a lease agreement including a covenant not to compete.  A covenant not to compete in a commercial lease is a restrictive covenant, which means that it restricts the landlord’s ability to directly compete with its tenant and prevents the landlord from leasing neighboring space to a tenant’s competitor.  In the event a commercial landlord is in violation of a covenant not to compete, the appropriate remedy for the tenant could be an injunction. An injunction is an action filed in court to prevent the landlord from violating the restrictive covenant.  A competing tenant or landlord could result in major financial implications for the tenant and can influence the tenant’s ability to perform under the lease.

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REAL ESTATE LITIGATION ATTORNEY

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Real estate litigation encompasses several different practice areas and requires a real estate lawyer with well-honed business law acumen and in-depth knowledge of real estate, and in some cases estate planning.  Kassel Law Group’s law office fit that standard. In addition to our fine-tuned litigation and trial skills, our law firms have experience in real estate sales, handling title disputes for national underwriters, and syndicating sophisticated, high exposure deals.  We have provided investors, developers, and landowners with creative solutions to resolving any real estate dispute. At Kassel Law Group we are dedicated to aggressively representing our clients’ property interests.

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While this list is not exhaustive, some real estate cases we handle include:

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• Boundary line disputes

• Title insurance and escrow disputes

• Reforming defects in deeds and mortgages

• Quiet title actions (i.e., tax deeds, challenges to the title, curative actions to remove liens and clouds on title)

• Easement disputes

• Disputes involving residential and commercial real estate contracts

• Restrictive covenant litigation

• Constructive trusts

• Real estate and mortgage fraud

• Homeowners and Condominium Owners Association Disputes

• Breach of contract litigation

• Title insurance litigation

• Quiet title litigation (i.e., tax deeds, challenges to the title, curative actions to remove liens and clouds on title)

• Title services and closings

• Title inspection and review

• Bad faith lawsuits for wrongful denial of title insurance claims

• Lawsuits against title companies

• Lien priority disputes

• Ejectment actions

• Partition actions

 

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Failure to Disclose Defects

 

A robust real estate market attracts many ‘flippers’ who renovate homes for a quick resale.  While not every rehabber cuts corners at the expense of the buyer, some will. Some may even ignore or conceal material defects in the property.  When an unsuspecting buyer purchases the property, these rehabbers will often point to an “as is” clause in the purchase and sale contract to escape liability.  Do not be fooled. If you purchased a property with an undisclosed material defect in the foundation, roof, plumbing, electrical, or other structural components of the house, Kassel Law Group may be able to recover damages for the seller’s failure to disclose. 

 

 

Partition Actions

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Sometimes joint owners of the property cannot agree on what to do with their piece of property. Fortunately, almost every state has a legal procedure to divide real property when the joint owners decide to go their separate ways. One owner can file what is called an action for “partition”.  Typically if the joint owners are related they may be inclined to consult a family law firm where really a real estate attorney is the appropriate choice.

 

If you have any questions about how we can assist with a real estate dispute, please call our office today (813) 641-4535.