Articles Posted in Real Estate

International economic and public health crises are bound to have some effect on real estate markets worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic represents a public health and an economic crisis. Consequently, the pandemic has certainly had a significant effect on the Rhode Island real estate market. Earlier this month, a popular newspaper interviewed five Rhode Island real…

Rhode Island eviction proceedings, as well as those across New England, are designed to be streamlined in ways that allow summary cases to proceed quickly through the system to keep the courts from being overrun by those that could be quickly resolved. Because these summary proceedings are often simplified, state legislatures require that the procedural…

Beachfront property can be some of the most valuable and desirable real estate in Rhode Island. However, beachfront property owners often face difficulties in exercising their property rights and maintaining privacy when members of the public seek to use beaches abutting a property owners’ home. These conflicts impact not only beach-lovers, but also property owners…

Rhode Island real estate transactions often involve several parties in addition to a buyer and seller. Both the buyer and seller frequently use real estate agents, who, in turn, may be associated with brokerage firms to affect the transaction. Although real estate agents generally owe a fiduciary duty to their clients to act in good…

There are many circumstances where a Rhode Island property owner may wish to transfer ownership and title of their property to another individual or organization. The most common reason for a conveyance is when one party sells real estate to another party. However, transfers may also be made in the course of a larger business…

New England property owners generally owe members of the public a legal duty of care to maintain safe premises for people using or visiting their property. This responsibility can result in financial liability for injuries suffered by a person while on the premises as a result of the negligence of the property owner. Landlords have…

The global pandemic caused by the coronavirus known as COVID-19 has affected the United States tremendously. In addition to a death toll in the U.S. that exceeds 120,000, the virus (as well as the measures taken to slow its spread) has caused the U.S. economy to enter the worst recession since the 1930s. As a…

Several states, including Rhode Island, allow mortgage holders to pursue a non-judicial foreclosure of a mortgaged property if a borrower allows a loan to go into default. As a result of this legal framework, mortgage holders can seize and sell property from an owner without pursuing a formal judicial proceeding, potentially limiting a borrower’s ability…

Courts are often said to favor landlords and property owners in Rhode Island residential evictions or other landlord/tenant disputes. While the majority of judgments in summary landlord/tenant cases fall in favor of the landlord, this is not always the case. A recently decided appeal from an eviction judgment in nearby Massachusetts demonstrates that landlords must…

When large tracts of property in New England are broken up and subdivided into smaller lots for development, disputes can arise between the new owners of the properties over rights-of-way and access to public roads. In a recent state appellate case decided by the New Hampshire Supreme Court, a defendant was estopped, or forbidden, from…