Author name: Ian D. Ghrist

The bankruptcy process is much more complex for lenders than it is for landlords. To understand bankruptcy essentials for lenders, it helps to understand some basic concepts. There are three main types of bankruptcies that can be filed: (1) Chapter 7, (2) Chapter 13, and (3) Chapter 11. Chapter 7 bankruptcies are liquidation bankruptcies. In […]

Notice to Vacate: The notice to vacate in Texas tends to become the most pernicious part of eviction litigation for no good reason. Courts have found that defect in notice to vacate should cause a landlord to lose an eviction suit. Geters v. Baytown Hous. Auth., 430 S.W.3d 578, 586 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2014);

When a small claims case is appealed from the Justice Court (aka the Small Claims Court) to the County Court at Law, the parties tend to get serious about the litigation. Often, attorneys do not get involved until the case has been appealed to the County Court at Law from the Small Claims Court. The

The more savvy real estate investors tend to have a hard rule against buying occupied property unless the occupant signed a written lease agreement, the seller had a detailed payment ledger, and there is a transferable security deposit. Even then, best practice would be to also personally ask the tenant whether the tenant claims any

Dealing with lenders that are slow or unresponsive to requests for payoff quotes and lien releases can be one of the most frustrating and obnoxious parts of a real estate transaction. Borrowers have several laws to rely upon to induce and incentivize their lenders to provide payoff statements and lien releases in a timely and

Texas allows nonjudicial foreclosure under a power of sale granted by a deed of trust for most real estate loans. Nonjudicial foreclosure is not available in Texas for certain loan types, like home equity loans and property tax loans. When nonjudicial foreclosure is unavailable, the foreclosure must be done through either judicial foreclosure or an

Bankruptcy law is federal and bankruptcies are filed and litigated in federal court. Texas landlords who are accustomed to waltzing down to their local justice of the peace court to evict their tenants can be shocked and intimidated by the complexity and difficulty of dealing with a tenant who files for federal bankruptcy protection. As

When a buyer in a real estate sales contract starts to think that the seller is getting cold feet, the buyer may want to file a “Memorandum of Contract” or “Memorandum of Agreement” in the county deed records to cloud title, put subsequent purchasers on constructive notice of the buyer’s equitable title, and ensure that

Eviction suits in Texas are governed by Rule 510 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and by Chapter 24 of the Texas Property Code. Most of the important laws governing eviction suits exist in either Tex. R. Civ. P. 510 or Tex. Prop. Code § 24.001 to 24.011. The Texas legislature enacted these rules