Kevin J. Connolly's Answers

How long does it take to get a lien place on a house?

The plumber has no right to file a mechanic's lien because he did not "perform a permanent improvement" to real estate. If he files a lien, you will be able to have the lien cancelled quickly and you can then sue the plumber for double the amount of the lien that he claimed.

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Can a landlord evict me if I am awaiting my answer from "one shot deal" for backed rent and am paying my current rent on time?

There is a rule in New York known as "stale rent." Put simply, a landlord cannot let bback rent grow for month after month and then say "Pay up or move." The court will make a reasonanble determination of how much rent is fresh, usually around three months. For rent that is more than three months old, the landlord can sue you for money but not for eviction. Only fresh rent defaults can support an eviction.

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Am i liable for damage done to condo unit below me because my hot water tank leaked?

Let me get this straight: you own a condo unit and you don't have insurance? Expect that State Farm will reduce their claim to judgment and let the lien grow at 9% per year. Eventually, the judgment will be large enough to warrant a sheriff's sale to take the condo unit and pay State Farm their subrogation claim. If you can't settle with State Farm, then you will eventually lose the condo, or be obliged to pay State Farm out of the proceeds of any sale of the unit.

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I found construction error in my property. Insurance company is saying “we didn’t found any error”. What I should do?

And you have a ten year warranty. I do not understand what the insurance company has to do with this--unless you accepted some kind of insurance in lieu of a proper builder's warranty. Or perhaps you have the insurance as a backup to the builder's promise. In any case, you have a lawsuit to file. You need to hire a lawyer. I have an office in Philadelphia. You can get my number from the profile and call me to set up a meeting if you like. But do not expect an insurance company that you did...

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Should I tell my real estate broker my home's appraised value?

The broker is NOT your broker. The broker works for the seller. She has an obligation to use the information against you if possible. There is no good reason to give the broker the information. The broker is not on your side.

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Landlords, tenants bed bug fight till me Woo is responsible For expenses

Bedbugs are a violation of the warranty of habitability. This excuses payment of rent. Landlord takes you to court: you appear and answer "Tenant, Inspection." This freezes the case until the Housing Dept. conducts their inspection and, if bedbugs are found, results in a rental abatement. Maybe not 100%, but unless landlord can prove that YOU introduced the bedbugs, you will get a substantial discount on your rent, and you can sue the landlord for the injuries (the bites).

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What demands can a landlord make?

They have no rights to demand anything that is not in the lease. Prepare to move. It should not be hard to find nice accomodations these days, as more and more people have to downsize or move to lower-rent digs outside of New York.

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Is it possible to say that the landlord didn't do his job to give us a proper gas supply when he gave a small stove?

You are entitled to the apartment as it was when the lease was signed, and the landlord's obligation is to repair the appliances and plumbing. You are entitled to a rent abatement. As a practical matter, you need to demand that in writing from your landlord. He will ignore you. Stop paying rent (but put the rent in a savings account so you can show the court that you're not a deadbeat). Landlord will bring a proceeding to evict you. When you go to court, ask for an inspection by the Housing...

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My mother Quit-Claimed her condo to my daughter & I. What supporting documents do we need, if any, to assure we are legal?

You need to look at the Condo Plan for this property. In most cases, the Board of Managers of a condo has a right of first refusal, which means that when you sell the condo for, say, $50,000, the condo has the right to take over the contract and buy the property for the $50,000 that you were going to sell for. The fact that it's a quit claim means, most likely, that you paid nothing for the house. There are other, better ways to handle this, because if the condo decides to give you a hard...

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A sub contractor filed a false lien againt my project. 6 mths later its still there. How do I get it off.

Well, the lesson is that you should have paid the mason nothing without an acknowledgement on his part that he would accept the insurance proceeds. You did not say how long ago the claim was filed, but here's the weird part: why are you waiting on the mason's insurance? Wasn't there a builders risk cover for this project? THAT is the insurance you should be claiming under. If you did not pursue the builders risk claim, then you are in trouble with respect to recovering anything from anyone....

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