Property is a valuable asset, but it also comes with legal responsibilities. As a property owner, you’re responsible for maintaining your home and ensuring it’s safe for guests, tenants, and other visitors. However, if you fail to fulfill this responsibility by allowing illegal activity on your property or committing crimes yourself, you could be liable for any resulting injuries or damages on your land.
Personal Injury Cases at Your Property
While this is the case, it’s essential to know that slips can cause personal injury, falls, or other injuries. In fact, there are many ways in which homeowners can get sued for negligence if they don’t take care of their property correctly.
If the person who fell was a family member or a very good friend, there are chances that you might get a pass. However, if someone was visiting your home for some event or something else, he or she may file litigation. Now what does litigation mean in a personal injury case?
According to Fiore & Barber, LLC, litigation refers to everything associated with the case. It can be the lawsuit itself or even the expenses related to it. If your case goes into litigation, you may also have to go to court for hearings and to resolve the issue.
If you’re considering buying a home with a pool or trampoline, ensure they’re correctly maintained before you buy it! Also, ensure you have enough insurance coverage so that if something happens on your property, you won’t have any problems paying medical bills.
Likewise, you should also inform the visitors about any wet floors to prevent slips and falls. Data shows that almost 90% of the total slips occur when the floor is wet or has food on it. Hence, informing the visitors about wet floors and asking them to walk slowly can prevent personal injury lawsuits. In fact, even if the visitor falls because he or she was walking briskly instead of slowly, you won’t be at fault as you have already informed the person about the wet floors.
Besides the wet floors, you must also care for the concrete and asphalt in your house. According to Milliken Corporation, poorly maintained concrete and asphalt can have uneven surfaces, cracks, or potholes. Such surfaces can make it harder for people to walk. If anyone stumbles upon these surfaces and falls, it can cause trouble.
Hence, if you have uneven surfaces, hiring a concrete and asphalt contractor is best. You can do a quick Google search or ask within your network for recommendations. Once you find a concrete and asphalt contractor that fits your needs, connect with the company and schedule an appointment to get the surfaces even.
Not Paying Property Tax on Time
The first thing to know about property tax is that paying your taxes on time is essential. If you don’t, the consequences can be severe.
- Late payment penalties: If taxpayers do not pay their property taxes by the due date, they face a fine of 5% for each month of delinquency on their bill. For example, if you have an October 15th deadline and submit your payment after four months, you’ll owe 20% extra ($2) in interest charges. There can also be other applicable penalties associated with nontax payments.
- Tax lien: Failure to pay property taxes can lead to a tax lien being placed on the property. According to J. Hall & Company, it is a legal claim that government officials will file against the property as collateral for unpaid taxes. This means the property cannot be sold or refinanced until the taxes and related charges are settled. The website states that this can put you in a difficult financial situation.
- Foreclosure: In severe cases of prolonged non-payment, the taxing authority may initiate foreclosure proceedings on the property. This could result in the forced sale of the property to recover the outstanding taxes and any associated costs. Losing one’s property through foreclosure is a significant and distressing consequence of failing to pay property taxes.
- Impact on credit score: Delinquent property taxes can negatively affect a person’s credit score. Tax liens and foreclosure proceedings can be reported to credit bureaus. They may remain on the individual’s credit report for several years, making it challenging to secure loans or credit in the future.
One of the other legal repercussions of not paying property tax can be legal proceedings and court costs. This will be rare because you will get a lot of notices from the government to pay your property tax before the legal actions begin. However, this does not mean that you should take advantage of it and ignore their notices.
Unlawful Evictions
Eviction is not a foreclosure. Foreclosure occurs when someone buys a property at auction and takes possession of it. If this happens to you, consult an attorney immediately because steps must be taken before being evicted from your home.
Eviction is also not the termination of tenancy; this is when you move out voluntarily before your lease term ends and do not owe rent anymore but still have some kind of claim on recovering damages from any damage done during your stay in the unit or unpaid utility bills.
Fraudulent Property Sales
Fraudulent property sales are a significant legal trouble for real estate professionals. They involve the sale of a property not owned by the seller, either because they fraudulently sold it or because they were deceived into selling a property they did not own.
The most common scenario involves someone who purchases land with plans to build homes or other structures but then decides to wait to go through with those plans, or perhaps even before buying the land in question! In this situation, you could lose money in two ways: if there’s no market for such lots and if someone else buys them at auction and sells them later at a higher price than yours paid!
Forgery and Property Documents
If you forge a document, you may be committing fraud. Fraud is a crime that can lead to jail time and other serious consequences. For example, if you forge your brother’s signature on an application for a home loan and use it to buy a house with no money down, that could get him into trouble, too.
Forged documents can also be used to change ownership of properties or zoning laws, so they’re more profitable for developers than before. This means that people who bought homes in good faith might lose their property rights because someone tricked them into signing something without understanding it.
Many such fraudulent activities are going on everyday. According to recent data, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received 2.8 million fraud reports. Hence, people have become more wary of forged documents or other types of fraud. So if you try forging documents for your benefit, you will likely go behind bars.
Construction Violations
Construction violations can be costly and dangerous but also hard to spot. Here are some common issues that could put you at risk:
- Construction without proper permits: You might think that building a shed or deck is no big deal, but if you need the appropriate documentation from your local government, it could mean fines or even legal action against you. So make sure to do your research before starting any project!
- Construction without proper safety measures: If workers aren’t wearing hard hats or other protective gear, someone could get hurt, and then who knows how much trouble will follow? Keep everyone safe by ensuring these regulations are followed carefully throughout every stage of construction!
Conclusion
You can avoid these property-related legal problems by researching and being proactive. If you have any questions about your rights as a homeowner or landlord, we recommend contacting an attorney specializing in real estate law to help guide you through the process.
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