The biggest problem that I have in understanding economic ideas is that my own economic literacy is limited. I have only a bachelor’s degree in economics and am a poor mathematician. Yet I’m hungry for economic information. Here’s how I get it. Read the rest of this entry
Author Archives: Harry Styron
Contracts for deed still cause problems
At least once a month, I get a call–usually a referral from a title company–about a problem caused by a contract for deed transaction. I wince, because the people who sell or buy under contracts for deed usually are people who don’t like working with lawyers, which makes my job harder. The people needing help for a problem that is difficult to assess and to fix often want to know exactly how much it will cost and how long it will take to fix. I could have prevented the problem in a couple of hours for $500 or less by configuring the transaction with a note and deed of trust or a lease with purchase option.
Now, fixing the problem it will require a lawsuit that could drag on for a couple of years or even longer. Legal fees and costs will be at least $2,000, but more likely $5,000 to $10,000.
If the property has been paid for under the contract for deed, but the seller has meanwhile died or become incapacitated due to Alzheimer’s or a stroke, solving the problem may require a probate or guardianship proceeding which may involve a nasty fight among the seller’s heirs.
If the buyer has defaulted, but won’t relinquish possession or has recorded some kind of claim in the county land records, a judicial foreclosure or quiet title suit and an unlawful detainer suit may be required. Sometimes the buyer, who has recorded the claim, is hard to find, and the best that we can do is get a default judgment based on service by publication, so the title is still uninsurable for years after the legal procedure to fix it.
I’ve added an article here to explain some of the problems I have encountered with contracts for deed.
Have you been slimed on the internet?
By Harry Styron
I have been slimed on the internet by accusations that were completely false, and I don’t like it one bit (I say “don’t” rather than “didn’t” because the false statements are still there for all who look). The Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District of Missouri has indicated that an old legal doctrine (the tort of “false light invasion of privacy”) can be applied to intentional statements on the internet that falsely make a private person look bad.
The opinion, dated December 23, 2008, was in the case Meyerkord v. The Zipatoni Company, which involved the situation of Meyerkord, a former Zipatoni employee, who was listed on a website for web domain Read the rest of this entry
How to lose your home or maybe keep it
by Harry Styron, Styron & Shilling
The entire process can take place in as little as four weeks, but 12 weeks is probably average, at least in Missouri.
If you cannot make your mortgage payments, your first priority should be finding another place to live that you can afford. The security of shelter is tremendously important to your health and ability to provide for your family and to the preservation of family relationships.
Most lenders have programs for attempting to prevent foreclosures, because foreclosures are not financially advantageous for lenders, but are the lenders’ only way out of bad situations. Struggling borrowers should check lenders’ websites and carefully read any correspondence from the lenders to look for alternatives offered by lenders.
How can a lawyer help? Read the rest of this entry
Important legal terms: “I grandmawed it! Ain’t I grandfathered?”
By Harry Styron
As the Ozarks becomes suburban, there are many clashes between the old economy and ways of life and the new, expressed in colorful language. A couple of familiar terms are sometimes used in ways that sound funny, especially used as verbs.
Grandfathering
“Grandfathering” as a legal term is not peculiar to the Ozarks and seems to mean here what it means anywhere. It is the concept by which something that has been done in the past is lawful for that reason, regardless of any new laws.
The historical origin of the term is ugly: Read the rest of this entry
Stone County Planning & Zoning Declared Invalid
In MPI v. Stone County, dated December 30, 2008, Associate Circuit Judge Carr Woods ruled that the system of planning and zoning for Stone County (Missouri) was not in compliance with the Missouri statutes that enable counties to adopt planning and zoning regulations after a vote of the citizens. I filed the case, and Springfield attorney Bryan Wade and his associates at Husch Blackwell Sanders carried most of the discovery and trial preparation burden. I assisted Bryan with the trial.
The decision is not final until 30 days after its date. Meanwhile, the Stone County Commission has closed the planning and zoning office while it considers its options, which of course include appealing the decision. Read the rest of this entry
Working with troubled real estate developments
Over the next several months, many investors and lenders will be looking at busted projects and trying to make the best of them. I’ve added a Law Article to this site, which I’ll keep updating as I learn new strategies, called “Working with troubled real estate developments.”
As with all my other writings, this article is primarily based on my experiences in Missouri, though some of this one comes from my time spent in the 1980s, working with troubled real estate in Oklahoma, after the successive crashes of the oil and gas, banking and real estate sectors.
I’d appreciate your comments.
What 2009 holds for Ozarks real estate
My law firm clients are asking me what I expect. They know that I represent a variety of real estate developers active in the area around Branson and Table Rock Lake, where the pace of sales of single-family homes and condo units seemed to slow in early 2008 then nearly stop altogther by mid-2008. My name has shown up in newspapers and public records in relation to my representation of creditors of several large, distressed projects.
When my clients ask me about the future, my first reactions are how would I know and am I really being asked if my other clients are hurting, too? Many of them are hurting, badly.
Here are my ideas about the prospects for 2009: Read the rest of this entry
Welcome
Here, with help from my guests, I’ll explore the what’s happening in the Ozarks, with a focus on the challenges and opportunities facing businesses and local governments in Southwest Missouri, which includes Branson, Springfield, Joplin, and the areas around Table Rock Lake.
Ozarks Law & Economy 