Real Estate Lawyers

You may have an executory contract under Texas law. There may be an argument to be made for an equitable title in the property. You need a lawyer to review the document to ensure compliance under applicable contract for deed or other laws. Without seeing the contract we simply have no way to know your options. Roquemore Skierski PLLC are experienced, Texas-based attorneys who support owner operated, owner-managed businesses and entrepreneurs with a full range of legal services. We believe we help clients achieve measurable financial goals by providing practical yet sound legal advice. Review our Google reviews at https://g.page/r/CWfqItvpB8gWEAE.

This situation should be reviewed before you agree to pay the $350,000. The first documents I would examine are your commercial lease, any landlord representations regarding code compliance or permitted use of the premises as a restaurant, the certificate of occupancy and permit history, and the notices or reports identifying the gas-line violations. Tennessee currently applies the International Fuel Gas Code to regulated construction, but the governmental authority responsible for permitting and inspection can depend on where the property is located. Whether the cost ultimately falls on you or the property owner will depend heavily on the lease. Commercial leases frequently allocate responsibility for code compliance, repairs, pre-existing conditions, tenant improvements, and governmental requirements differently. If the gas work predated your tenancy and the premises were represented as suitable for restaurant use, there may be substantial issues concerning the landlord's obligations, representations, and potentially your remedies under the lease. I would not assume that simply because the municipality is requiring corrective work before opening, you are contractually responsible for the entire cost. The pizza oven is a separate ownership issue. The fact that the prior restaurant operator filed bankruptcy does not automatically mean the oven belongs to its creditors. You would need to determine whether the oven was owned by the former tenant, leased, subject to a perfected security interest, abandoned or transferred through the bankruptcy, or legally became a fixture of the real property. Tennessee law recognizes separate creditor and priority rules for goods and fixtures, including circumstances in which a secured creditor may have rights to remove fixtures. Before removing, using, or disposing of the oven, I would review the prior tenant's bankruptcy docket and asset schedules, run a UCC lien search, and determine whether the landlord received title to or abandoned-property rights in the equipment. I would also obtain the complete permitting history for the building and have counsel review the lease before accepting responsibility for a remediation bill of this magnitude.

If your Texas home sold for more than what you owed, you may be entitled to what is called surplus or excess funds. These funds are held by the county or trustee after foreclosure. To claim them, you must file a petition for release of surplus funds with proof of ownership and sale details. An attorney can help confirm eligibility and make sure you recover the full amount before others claim it.

A quit claim deed is effective upon execution so long as the deed is dated as of the date of signature. Execution means that the deed is signed, in front of a witness and a notary. The witness and notary must also sign the deed. Finally, the deed must be recorded. This means that the deed must be submitted to the Superior Court recording office of the County in which the property sits. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks, Meghan K Thomas

You need to file it with the county recorder or registrar and pay the recording fees. You can take it in to the county to file (if the desk is open . . call ahead) or give it to a title company to record (and pay their service fee).