Palm Springs Real Estate Lawyer
Palm Springs Real Estate Lawyer Sebastian Gibson
For Your Most Valuable Investment, Palm Springs Real Estate Attorney Sebastian Gibson
Palm Springs Real Estate Lawyers have never seen more fraud in the real estate industry than there has been in the most recent economic downturn. There has been loan modification fraud on a huge scale, loan fraud, and individual acts of fraud in the sale and purchase of real estate throughout California.
The Law Firm of Palm Springs Real Estate Lawyer Sebastian Gibson has been at the forefront of warning clients about loan modification fraud in the real estate field. Real estate and loan contracts can be traps for the unwary. Know your rights and understand what you’re signing. If you’re in doubt about anything, call our firm for a consultation with a Palm Springs real estate contract lawyer to review your legal situation.
Palm Springs Real Estate Lawyer Sebastian Gibson has been recognized by Palm Springs Life Magazine as One of the Top Lawyers of 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011. If you want a top Palm Springs real estate lawyer on your side, call Sebastian Gibson. Call us today at (760) 776-1810.
California Real Estate Law
Now that people are buying real estate again, you need to remember what to look for in a real estate contract and how dangerous it can be to act without a qualified and experienced realtor on your side and a real estate lawyer to review your contracts.
A real estate contract can be written, oral, or implied. But in real estate law, only some real estate contracts can be oral such as commission sharing agreements, while almost every other type of real estate contract must be in writing.
The Statute of Frauds in California requires these contracts to be in writing: leases for more than a year, commission agreements between principals and real estate licensees, and contracts for the sale of real estate.
The required elements of all contracts in California are: the capacity of the parties to enter into the contract (not minors, not people of unsound mind, not intoxicated or drugged parties), an offer containing all the material terms, acceptance of that offer, communication of the acceptance, mutuality of consent, and consideration (anything of legal value).
While in many real estate contracts, a good faith deposit is made, this deposit is not required for there to be a valid contract.
In real estate law, there are common situations that arise which don’t arise as often in other situations. For instance, real estate offers often have expiration dates. Options are used frequently by builders in land contracts. Counter-offers can be numerous.
Additionally, in real estate situations, and especially in bad economic times, parties try to avoid being bound by contracts more often. Grounds for avoidance include duress, undue influence, fraud or misrepresentation, and mistake.
A party can be defrauded in the inducement to sign the contract for instance by failing to disclose material facts. A party can also be defrauded in the inception by making a person believe they are signing something else all together. When obtaining celebrity autographs, it’s therefore not a good idea to try to get them to sign for your meal at the same restaurant.
A party can also illegally be induced into breaching a contract. This tort requires proof of the following: a valid contract with another, knowledge of the contract, intent to induce a breach, a breach, improper or unjust conduct in inducing the breach, and damages.
One can also be sued for interference with an existing contractual relationship. For this type of lawsuit to be successful you must prove the existing valid contract, knowledge, intentional acts to interfere with the contract, actual interference and damages.
Remedies for breach of contracts include damages, specific performance of the contract despite its breach or rescission of the contract. Real estate contracts often provide for liquidated damages, i.e. a specific amount of damages to be paid, in the event of a breach.
While in general there are no punitive or emotional damages available for breach of a contract, there are exceptions. And if the contract provides that the prevailing party is entitled to attorney fees and costs, the losing party will be responsible for both his or her own attorney fees and costs as well as the other party’s attorney fees and costs.
The Palm Springs Real Estate Lawyer for Your Real Estate Matters, Sebastian Gibson
With law degrees in both the U.S. and the U.K. and over 40 years of practice in both the U.S. and internationally, Palm Springs Real Estate Lawyer Sebastian Gibson has been recognized by Palm Springs Life Magazine as One of the Top Lawyers of the last 12 years and by Avvo as a “Superb” Lawyer, for good reason. A former real estate broker, Sebastian Gibson is the Palm Springs real estate lawyer you want who knows the ins and outs of the industry and who can work tirelessly on your behalf.
Today, Palm Springs real estate lawyer Sebastian Gibson has been frequently interviewed on radio and TV for his expertise, his wit and humor. The author of thousands of articles on the internet, Sebastian Gibson has also written for the Los Angeles Daily Journal newspaper and the San Francisco Daily Journal and is the author of book published in 2012.
If you’re looking for the best Palm Springs real estate lawyer for your home or investments, consider Sebastian Gibson. With offices in Palm Desert and Newport Beach, our lawyers can assist you with your real estate issues in the Coachella Valley, Orange County and throughout Southern California.
