Real Estate Law
Larranaga Law handles a huge variety of real estate cases and law including partition actions, buy and sales contracts, broker law, leasing, landlord-tenant issues, business entity formation, title issues, deed preparation, private contracts, public record searches, litigation including breach of contract actions for fraud, failure to disclose, unjust enrichment, promissory estoppel, statutory violations including security deposit matters and so on.
While Larranaga Law is a solo practice, I Michael Larranaga strive to bring you quality legal service.
Clientele
My clients range from commercial clients looking to open their next business to first times in the real estate market. Larranaga Law serves a wide variety of people. The facts are much more critical to the case versus individual backgrounds. Hence, any type of client is welcome here.
Sample Areas of Practice- Real Estate Law
Leases: Leases are one of the most common real estate documents that I encounter. In short, a lease is a contract granting the lessee specific rights to use a piece of property. I have dealt with both commercial and residential leases from a variety of different locations within the state of Colorado.
Deeds: Deeds are your lifeblood of land ownership. Deeds serve to transfer title while leases serve to document the delegation of certain rights. Just as important, deeds serve to document ownership when filed correctly. Nothing is scarier than ownership problems because they can be hard to fix and catastrophic if not fixed. As such, it is important that you can find an attorney that knows how to navigate the various government websites. Here at Larranaga Law, I regularly conduct high-level meaning limited title searches, draft deeds, and identify problems. Deeds can also serve as estate planning tools when used properly.
Real Estate Contracts: Because most real estate agents are not attorneys, they are limited on what they can put into a contract. Brokers are required to use standardized contracts issued by the Colorado Real Estate Commission.
In most situations, you do not need an attorney. A good real estate agent may serve you better. But in other situations, it may make sense to have an attorney to draft or review a non-standard contract that covers specific points that you need to address such as a buyback provision, a lease, warranties, and so on. Larranaga Law has done a variety of specialized contracts for buyers and sellers including transferring title to real estate, cash-out refinances, adding clauses specifically designed to protect one party, leases and so on.
Landlord Tenant Issues: Larranaga Law routinely handles landlord-tenant issues including lease review and drafting, security deposit actions, negotiation, and evictions. There are very few items that you can cleanly classify as a landlord-tenant issue. They often involve multiple areas of law and different concepts including litigation concepts, contract concepts, statutory concepts, and so on.
Breach of Contract Actions: Examples of contracts include real estate buy and sale contracts, leases, broker agreements, hand-shake deals, and so on. Larranaga Law has handled multiple breach of contract situations in a variety of areas. Some require litigation while others do not.
Quiet Title Actions: Quiet Title Actions allow landowners to resolve questions about the ownership of their land. Sometimes the record becomes too complex, and litigation is required to resolve the question of who owns what. This situation often arises in rural communities.
For example, if Grandpa transfers title to his niece as Joint Tenants in Common With The Right of Survivorship but Grandpa’s personal representative deeds the property to Grandpa’s brother after he dies, what deed controls? To complicate the matter, Billie, the neighbor ripped down the fence and moved it 30’ into Grandpa’s yard. Grandpa never did anything about it. What does that mean? These are the type of questions that can arise. These may seem like easy answers and some are but throw in emotions, stubborn parties, and a sketchy paper trial then you have the makings of a quiet title action.
Partition Actions: A partition action is a statutory action that permits the owner of real property (such as land) or personal property (such as cars) to petition the court to divide and/or sell the property. I have done partition actions but more importantly, I have also helped to avoid multiple partition actions through the use of negotiation and contracts.
These actions are used when two or more parties have an interest in the same property and cannot decide what to do with it. In short, they are asking the court to make the decision for them. Courts have broad discretion and power to make an equitable distribution of the property. This may include paying off any creditors and/or allocating the property between the parties.
If you jointly own property with another individual and cannot agree on what to do with the property, then a partition action may be a good option for you. If anything, the filing of such an action can often prompt settlement negotiations.
Land Negotiations: Negotiation is an art by itself. While you do not need to be an attorney to be a successful negotiator, knowledge of the law can help to facilitate negotiations. Larranaga Law not only handles contract negotiations, but litigation as well. As such, negotiation is a regular occurrence
Mineral Rights: In Colorado, your mineral rights are severable from the surface estate meaning that you can sell your house without selling your mineral rights. In certain locations, mineral rights can be very valuable. This is a situation where a real estate broker may not be enough. You need someone that understands how to sever the estate and review any associated leases you may need in the future. Luckily, while this is an uncommon one, Michael Larranaga did receive a scholastic achievement award in oil and gas law while at DU. In short, most mineral transactions either deal with leases or deeds which are very familiar territories.
Other Real Estate Services: Real Estate Law is a very expansive topic. I cover a wide variety of issues. Contact me today to learn more.
Articles
I am always conducting research, gathering my thoughts, and working on fun things such as advertising. As such, I like to write articles because they not only help with my website ranking but, they also help to educate readers on various different topics. While none of these articles are legal advice they are aimed at helping you to identify times where you may want to call an attorney.
Breach Of Contract Actions In Colorado
Elements of a Breach of Contract Claim In Colorado
6 Basic Steps To Help Prepare You For Breach Of Contract Litigation
How do Partition Actions work in Colorado?
Colorado LLC Operating Agreement Tips
The Upstream Oil and Gas Life Cycle
Colorado’s Security Deposit Law
Colorado Security Deposit Law Notice Example
Colorado’s COVID-19 Eviction Rules
Colorado’s Rental Application Fairness Act