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When determining premises liability, it is important to consult with an attorney, as the laws can vary from state to state. The basis for premises liability law rests in responsibility for certain injuries to an individual which occur on the property, or premises, possessed by someone else. These can be simple “slip and fall” cases or be more involved. However, as the law now tends to favor the premises owner more than formerly, it is a good idea to have your case assessed by an attorney who specializes in such matters. The owner of the premises should also be sure to file an immediate claim with his property insurance carrier, who may hire an attorney to handle any lawsuits.

Determination of the person who possess the premises or real property where an injury occurs in based on several factors, such as whether or not the person occupies or has been in occupation of the land with intent to control it, whether any other person has subsequently occupied or controlled the property and/or if said person and no other person is entitled to occupy the property.

Under the law, the status of the injured party must be determined. This could be as an invitee, a licensee or a trespasser. The duty of the premises possessor varies depending upon this status and is different in various jurisdictions.

The term invitee means that the injured party was invited to be on the premises for some commercial benefit to the premises possessor, such a customer in a grocery store, where the invitation is implied, or as a vendor restocking merchandise, where the invitation is express. The owner of the premises owes invitees the highest duty of care in such a situation, and must take precautions to warn or protect them from harm while on the possessor’s property, if the risk of harm is unreasonable and the possessor knows of or should know of the risk of harm to an invitee. Therefore, the possessor’s duty could include periodic inspection of the premises to ascertain any hazards to invitees.

A licensee is an invited guest to a premises by the possessor for personal, rather than business or commercial purposes. For instance a dinner guest would be a licensee. The licensee must prove the following to hold the premises possessor liable for injury on the premises: That the possessor knew or should have known of the risk and should have expected that the licensee would not know; that the possessor failed to make the condition safe or to appropriately warn of the risk; and, that the licensee had no way of knowing of the risk. For example, if the owner of the property is aware that there is a hole in his yard that is not discernable to anyone looking, he allows the licensee to walk through his yard without warning, and the licensee is injured by a fall, the homeowner may be liable for those injuries.

Although a trespasser is on the possessor’s premises without either express or implied invitation for purposes of their own and not in any way performing a duty to the owner, the possessor can still be liable for injuries incurred. While a possessor does not have to establish unlawful intent, they must prove that they were unaware of the trespassers, in which case they do not have the duty to warn trespassers of any risks on the property. However, if they are aware, the possessor may be obligated to warn of risk and take care to maintain the safety of trespassers.

A premises owner is also generally responsibility for maintaining public walkways, etc., located on and around their premises. Also, these duties can not typically be delegated to anyone else. For example, if a property owner has hired a company to provide maintenance on his parking lot and a customer is injured in a fall, the property owner remains liable for the injury because it occurred on his property.

If you have spent any time at all looking at homes or thinking about owning your own home, you know how difficult it can be to accurately evaluate how “good” a home is. One person might value something like hardwood floors far more than new tile, while others may feel tile is far more versatile than hardwood. Coming up with your own home evaluation form is absolutely vital if you are to judge the plethora of homes you are going to see, as studies have shown that the average home buyer looks at over a dozen homes before making a decision. Let’s look to see what goes into a proper home evaluation form.

To start, make sure you have a space at the top for the complete address and city of the home you’re looking at. It would be a shame to completely fill out a home evaluation only to leave off which home it was you’re looking at.

Next, have a space where you can describe what the home looks like on the outside. Include the style (ranch, duplex, etc.) color and what the outside of the home looks like (shingles, siding). Make sure you include things like a garage and even small things like a doghouse or any interesting landscaping features that might help you make a better decision down the road. Of course, you want to include any major outdoor amenities like a pool or a tool shed.

Before you even head inside the home, you can fill out part of the evaluation based on the information the realtor has given you, such as how many bedrooms the home has, how much square feet it has and the number of bathrooms. You want to leave spaces near each of these for your comments so you can give the home a far more detailed evaluation.

If you can remember, try to record your initial impressions once you walked into a particular room. How does the space make you feel, what sort of decorating ideas immediately jump into your brain? How do you envision your furniture in this space and how do you see the traffic flow working from room to room. This is a lot of information to process, but take your time, buying a home is one of the biggest decisions of your life, you don’t want to rush it.

Take a good look at the walls and flooring in the home. Your realtor probably told you that there was carpet or hardwood flooring in place, but what condition is it in? Are there visible signs of wear and tear? Does it look like any of it will need replacing any time soon?

Also, use your ears when you evaluate a home. Listen to the creaks and groans that you hear since you might be living with them. The same goes for plumbing sounds. Try to leave space on your evaluation form to write all of this down.

Making your own home evaluation form is a necessary part of home shopping and if done right, it can be a valuable tool.

A home purchase form, also known as an offer to purchase real estate form is one of the most important types of forms you will ever fill out. Not only is the form somewhat complicated, but whenever you find yourself dealing with big money offers, you will find that the forms involved are exacting, since no one wants to make a mistake that could cost them in the long run. Here are a few tips for creating your own home purchase form and for filling one out properly.

Since more and more people are bypassing the option of using a real estate agent, more and more people are designing and writing their own real estate forms. While this can be a bit dangerous, careful crafting of a home purchase form is possible, but it is always a good idea to seek the advice of a lawyer before you officially submit the form.

Start the form off with the date, addresses of everyone involved, including the property that you are looking to buy and a formal yet polite greeting. Simply state in plain words that you wish to put a monetary offer down on a specific piece of property located at a specific location. It may seem redundant to restate the exact location of the property so many times throughout the letter but it is better to be repetitive and clear than it is to be vague and unclear. Also make sure that you include a description of the property, such a single family home, an apartment building, etc. You also need to include the land that you are buying along with the piece of property that is sitting on it.

Next, clearly state how much of a deposit or earnest money that you have on hand that you will be putting down as part of your offer. This is often the biggest deciding factor when it comes to your offer. In almost all cases, the people you are tendering the offer to will take which ever offer gives them the most up front cash.

The next part of the letter should state the purchase price of the property and then you can state what your offer is (either more, less or equal to the asking price). You don’t need a paragraph justifying your offer, simply state it in relation to the asking price. You should also include the closing date should your offer be accepted so that the seller has an idea of when everything would be wrapped up by.

If you are going to be getting a mortgage, include a section about your current status (pre-approved, haven’t applied yet, etc.) and how long they can expect to wait for you to be fully approved for your mortgage.

Finally, include a paragraph about inspections to the property and when/if they would be done and by whom and make sure you also include a section about any other parts of the home that you want included in the sale, such as furniture or belongings that would be included in the purchase price.

If you are like the millions and millions of people out there that have decided to sell your own home, you are likely in need of do it yourself forms that you can easily create on your own home computer, either as a Word document or even as a spiffy .pdf. Making your own home sale form isn’t as difficult as it sounds as long as you follow a few essential steps along the way. It is important to note that it is always a good idea to have any legally binding form that you create at home evaluated by a lawyer to ensure that the form is, in fact, worth the paper it is printed on.

First, before you start, make sure you understand the rules and regulations that govern contracts such as these in your state or jurisdiction. Even if you’ve sold a home in a nearby state or even a nearby county, the rules where you are now may be different.

First, start with the full, legal names of the buyer and seller. Do not use nicknames or informal names at any point, even if you are good friends with the people you are doing this transaction with. Next, include a full description of the property you are selling. Include everything from the address of the property, what kind of property it is, what style of home it is, how much land is being included with the sale and if any goods are being included with the sale, such as curtains or any personal belongings or furniture.

Next, state the purchase price that you are selling the home for and make sure you include the deposit amount that you are getting up front. Make sure you also state the amount you will be receiving from a mortgage or from a third party source to cover the rest of the cost of the sale.

You will want to also state the closing date of the sale and any sort of payments that will be required either by you or by the seller at closing. Even if you think that parts of the closing costs are common sense, you need to spell them out here, cost by cost, so that there aren’t any second guesses on the day of closing that could gum up the works.

In the next paragraph, include the evaluations by the inspector or inspectors that viewed the property. If they saw any kind of defects or any sort of problem, make sure that it is included here so that a year down the road, the buyer can’t come back and say they didn’t know about a potential problem.

You should also include any type of bug or pest evaluation that was done, as well. This is especially true if you have a wood home and there is a fear of termites.

Include a spot where all parties can sign and include a place for a witness, and you’re done. It can seem a bit overwhelming, but writing your own home sale form isn’t that difficult.

Making the big decision to purchase a piece of real estate is one of the most exciting and nerve racking decisions a person can make. Even if you are buying real estate solely to invest and sell off, the sheer amount of money changing hands is enough to make even the most stoic person shake in their boots. Writing your own intent to purchase real estate form isn’t that difficult as long as you follow along with a few key phrases and clauses. Let’s get some pointers on how to do one ourselves.

Most intent to purchase real estate forms contain two separate sections, one for the buyer to fill out and one for the seller. The section for the buyer is much larger, so let’s start with that. You want to start off with clearly identifying yourself, the name of the seller and the address of the property you wish to buy. Make sure that you include a full description of the piece of property you wish to buy, including what type of property it is, what it looks like and what is included in the property you are buying (land, belongings, etc).

Next, include your purchase offer and how much of the total cost you will be able to pay up front via your deposit or your cash on hand. This section is essentially the heart and soul of your offer and it will often by the deciding factor if your offer is accepted or not.

The next part of your letter should state how and if you are getting a mortgage or other form of financing and how far along you are (pre approved, just now applying, etc.) This will also help the seller decide if they will accept your offer or not.

For the next part of your offer, include any information about the inspections that have happened on the property. This is the part of your letter where you state any sort of changes or alterations that need to be done on the property for your purchase to commence. Don’t be afraid to be extremely detailed here as this is an extremely important part of your offer sheet.

Finally, take the last part of the letter to state each and every additional item that is to be included in the offer. If you have previously rented the property and are now considering buying it, you would have to include things like furnishings that came with the apartment that you now want to include in the overall purchase price. It can seem a bit tedious listing every small item, but you don’t want any second guesses down the road when it comes time to close on the property.

As you can see, an intent to purchase real estate letter can be a bit complex, but it isn’t impossible to write one in the comfort of your own home. It is essential, however, that you understand the rules and laws in your area before you attempt to write a legal form of this kind.

Of all of the forms one can sign in their life, a lease can be one of the most complicated and one of the most misunderstood. If you rent from a corporate held apartment complex or building, your lease likely looks quite official and contains many different sections covering any eventuality you can think of. If you are looking to write your own lease, you don’t quite need something like that, but it is important that your lease covers many main points. Let’s take a quick overview of the lease you can write from your own home computer.

Just like any other major form, start with the formal names of both parties involved. Next, list the address in question that is being rented out. Once the formalities are out of the way, you want to include the first main section to be about rent. Include how much rent is, when it is to be collected and for how long the lease is valid for (six months or a year are the usual terms).

The next section usually talks about payments of rent, when it is due, how it is supposed to be paid and by when. You can include any other kinds of rent related information in this section as well, such as any conditions that you want to include about how rent is paid.

Section three usually talks about security deposits, the terms in which they will be returned and how they are collected (cash, check, etc.). Section four often talks about any late fees that are charged if rent is late. Some leases fold this section into the first two sections that talk about rent.

Depending on the arrangement you have with your tenant, you might want to include a section about who pays what utilities. Be specific here so there can be no wrangling by your tenant at a later date.

Next, outline a section that gives details on occupant limits to the unit you’re renting and how long guests can stay before they need to be included in the total number of permanent occupants.

Some people choose to include a clause on pets further up in the lease for added emphasis, but many people place it near the middle. Make sure you make your rules about pets absolutely clear. The number one cause of evictions is people ignoring the pet provisions in their lease.

The rest of the lease is up to each landlord, and can include clauses banning waterbeds, a clause on parking if necessary, a clause on noise and when quiet hours should start, a clause or two on the conditions of the rental unit and any defects that are already known and haven’t been caused by the renter moving in, a clause on changes the tenant can make to the unit, a clause on termination of the lease and the rules regarding it and finally a section on the number of keys that are being made.

Writing your own lease is very common and can be a bit of a hassle, but if done right, you will have a great template you can use again and again.