http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers-search/residential.html Avvo.com - Residential Questions http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/can-i-file-a-lien-for-nonpayment-on-a-contract---166433.html I am a residential architectural consultant. I was hired by a company to design a custom home from one of their clients. I have a signed contract with this company. The company which hired me did not have a contract with their client. After recieving all final architectural drawings from me and just prior to final payment the company which hired me notified me that thier client was no longer need thier services. The companys' owner then informed me that I was not going to be paid my final payment. What can I do about this? It has been almost a year and I would like to get paid for all the work I did, Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:13:21 PST http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/fraud-against-a-municipality-166431.html Scenerio: Mr. Jones’s projects include some of the largest residential subdivisions within the city. While Mr. Jones’ business was developing the infrastructure of its newest and largest subdivision, the city discovered an easement for a city utility line on the subdivision that did not belong to Mr. Jones. The owner of the property where the utility easement is located also discovered the error. The city is threatening to close down the subdivision and Mr. Jones’s business and is threatening to sue Mr. Jones for fraud against a municipality. The adjacent property owner is also threatening to sue the client for damages to his property and for trespassing. The adjacent property owner is a citizen of Switzerland. Question: What would be the proposed resolution of the civil aspects of the situation with the criminal acts resolution. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:12:22 PST http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/if-my-rental-unit-is-condemned-and-i-have-no-money-166375.html I live in ca and my house is not habitable. The electrical wiring is all done by owner, the cast iron pipes have failed and leak raw sewage, the windows don't open, there are no locks on any of the doors, there are holes in the floor that show through to basement, the sinks drain down wall and into basement.....The problem is I have no money, lost my job and no where to go with my son if they should condemn the place. The owner refuses to make repairs instead gave me an eviction notice. I am on section 8 wait list but no voucher till june 2010. What can i do? Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:32:19 PST http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/if-homeowners-that-live-in-a-community-with-an-hoa-166355.html We live next door to a family that throws their bags of trash on the ground. Two years ago, they moved their trash can to the side of their house, it is now facing our family room window. For some reason, even when the can is empty, they dump their bags of trash on the ground next to the can. Animals are chewing through the bags. We have had to pick up trash that has gotten into our yard. After asking them to stop myself, which they did not, I asked the HOA to stop them. With no luck, it is still happening. This has been an issue for two yrs. now. It clearly states in the Bi-laws, that their trash can must be kept out of view of neighboring lots and traffic. What can we do? This is unsanitary, and looks horrible. We try to get along with them. I don't get what's going on here! thanks! Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:59:58 PST http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/neighborhood-harassment-166290.html i have a neighbor who is mentally disturbed - we suspect. he constantly harasses people, preys on the weak/nice/polite people by walking literally into their homes (they leave their doors open, but close their storm doors), gives dirty looks, verbally threatens, uses foul language, flips people off, stands on his very dark porch to watch people come in and go (he's darker skinned and cannot be seen), stands on the common area, and looks at a neighbor's house, smirks, stares, has 4 previous assault charges and is driving w/ a suspended license. The guy is 60, has no job, and has been tormenting everyone in the neighborhood for almost 2 years now. He "pretends" that he leaves, but he is actually inside of his house for months at a time (which we love!) He bangs on h Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:55:58 PST http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/who-is-responsible-for-picking-up-leaves---have-ne-166240.html I always thought that if a leaf fell in your yard, you pick it up no matter what. We do have more trees but really no way to tell which tree a leaf comes from. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:10:33 PST http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/is-there-wisconsin-legislation-such-as-atcp-134-th-166174.html Unfortunately, it seems that the provisions don't apply to this situation. To quote from Chapter ATCP 134 RESIDENTIAL RENTAL PRACTICES: ...This chapter applies to the rental of dwelling units located in this state, but does not apply to the rental or occupancy of any of the following: ....(4) A dwelling unit, such as a dwelling unit in a hotel, motel or boarding house, that is being rented only by tourist or transient occupants..... Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:45:26 PST http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/cotenant-problem-166067.html My cotenant is breaking our residential lease early and leaving for a foreign country. I think I am screwed because there is something in the lease called "joint and several liability" which I heard makes me liable for my cotenant's stupidity more or less. My question is, however, what rights do I have against my deadbeat cotenant? Can I sue him for this? I realize there are jurisdictional problems with this now. I just want to know if I could hypothetically do this if he were to come back to the U.S. Thank you. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:43:55 PST http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/behind-on-maintenance-fees--what--can-they-do-to-u-166032.html We own a condo in florida. We have a mortgage on the property for more thanthe property is currently worth. Last November we fell behind on our maintenance fees. Since then we have paid every month. They take the payment out of our acct automatically so it is on time each month but we still owe 2 months from when we got behind. We got a letter saying if we don't pay $1400 in 10 days they will foreclose on our property. Only about $650 of that is maint. Fees. The rest would be late fees and attorneys fees. This is the 1st letter we got. Can they really foreclose on our property? We don't have the money to catch up. We were planning on catching up with our tax return. Thanks for your advice. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:48:30 PST http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/is-it-a-conflict-of-interest-for-a-board-of-direct-165912.html Two years ago before this director was on the board he was fined, appealed his case, lost and paid the $200 fine. Now he is sueing the associaton for the fine and additional fees for a total of approximately $800. Do we have the right to ask him to step down as a director? If it is not a conflict of interest, can he be allowed to vote on any other legal issues, rule changes or anything to do with fees or fine increases? Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:06:17 PST