Locate Delaware Real Estate Lawyers

In Delaware, real estate law is a very broad area of law governing anything that has to do with the ownership of land and buildings.

Real estate law can apply to many numerous facets of a personal and professional life. It can apply to anything from the purchase of a vacant lot, to renting prime downtown office space.

Delaware real estate law can be very intricate, because it's really a collection of a lot of different areas of law. These areas of law include property rights, contracts, land use, and many others.

Having a good general knowledge of Delaware real estate law can make a lot of transactions, such as purchasing a house or renting an apartment, much easier.

Common Real Estate Issues in Delaware

Financing: Most people in Delaware probably can't afford to buy a house or a piece of land up front. Consequently, most individuals and business use some form of financing to purchase real estate, typically a mortgage. A mortgage is a loan used to buy a piece of real estate, with the purchased real estate simultaneously securing the loan.

Disclosure: When selling a house, the seller is under a specific legal duty to tell the buyer about any physical defects which the buyer might not be able to discover on his or her own. Sometimes, it isn't entirely clear if a given defect has to be disclosed. In such cases, it's ideal to disclose it anyway. It simply isn't worth the risk to fail to disclose it, and hope that a court agrees that it was the type of defect that you didn't have to disclose.

Warranty of Habitability: When renting property to be utilized as a dwelling, the landlord, as a matter of law, implicitly promises that the dwelling will be suitable for human habitation. It doesn't matter what the lease says on this subject - it's always a requirement. Thus, a rented unit must have the basic amenities required for modern life - it must provide adequate shelter from the weather, it must have running water, it must have heating, and it must have electricity. Of course, there are many more particular requirements, and a court will also look at the condition of the unit as a whole when deciding whether or not it is habitable.

Zoning Laws: Zoning laws dictate what kinds of buildings can be placed on lots in certain parts of a town or city. Their purpose is to confirm, for example, that sewage treatment plants don't get built next to homes, or that noisy, polluting factory doesn't get built next to a daycare center. To this end, they "zone" sections of the locality for numerous uses, such as residential, industrial, commercial, etc. If you are buying a piece of vacant land, it's essential that whatever use you intend to make of it is compatible with Delaware's zoning laws.

Do I Need a Delaware Real Estate Lawyer?

These matters can be pretty convoluted, and the above discussion only scratched the surface of the huge body of law that can affect real estate transactions. Therefore, if you think any business or personal plan you have might be affected by real estate law, you should consult with a Delaware real estate lawyer as soon as possible.