380 SW 2nd Street Newport, Oregon 97365

Real Estate and Land Use

Real Estate And Land Use

Our attorneys handle a broad range of real estate and land use matters. This includes landlord/tenant law, real estate transactions, drafting numerous different types of legal documents, litigation of disputes, and helping you maneuver through the complexities of land use matters.

We stay up to date on the rapidly changing landlord/tenant law in Oregon. We believe it is important for landlords to be up to date on the latest developments as they occur, and we work hard to ensure that happens for our clients. If there is an issue that requires the use of the court system, we are prepared to represent our client’s interests and work hard to obtain a favorable result. In Lincoln County, once an forcible entry and detainer (FED) action is filed, a first appearance is scheduled. At that first appearance, if both parties are willing, the case is sent to mediation on that same day. Mediation is a confidential process, where the parties can discuss their complaints and try to resolve the matter — saving time and money. We have had wonderful success utilizing the mediation process for our clients.

Real estate transactions involve land sale contracts, promissory notes, trust deeds, sales agreements, warranty deeds, bargain and sale deeds, easements, declarations and more. Each real estate transaction is unique, and we work with our clients to determine what course of action best fits the situation at hand.

At Yaquina Law, we have found that our relationships with outside agencies are invaluable when it comes to working on behalf of our clients. We work closely with the planning departments, community development departments, and other state, county, and city officials to ensure that our clients land use matters are submitted and considered in a timely manner. One important step of this process is to work closely with our client to create a complete and comprehensive application for the land use matter we are dealing with, then sitting down with the appropriate person that will be reviewing that application for a preliminary discussion on what our client’s goals are and what the agency accepting the application has to say. We have found that this saves time, money, and heartache down the road.

We handle a variety of land use matters, including Property Line Adjustments, Subdivisions, Timber Conservation (TC) Zone Template Dwellings, zone change applications, and more.

FAQ

A title insurance policy, issued by titled insurance companies,  insures the status of title in the name of the owner of the policy.  The title company provides protection to the insured against financial loss related to the title, as well as the cost of defending the title in court.  To do this, the title company searches and examines documents related to the ownership of and items affecting the property prior to issuing a policy.  The policy provides a source of indemnification to the named insured if he or she is damaged by a negligent or bad title search or examination and also from hidden defects that would not be discovered in a title search.  For instance, a title defect resulting from a forgery would not be revealed in a search or examination of the public records but would be covered by the title insurance policy.

The most common forms of ownership are:

Sole Ownership – title is taken in the name of only one individual grantee and is freely transferable or subject to encumbrance by that grantee.

Tenants In Common – allows title of the entire property to be held in multiple names.  Title is also freely transferable or subject to encumbrance (as to the transferring tenant’s own interest) by each tenant.  It is important to note that there is no right of survivorship in the surviving tenants upon one tenant’s death.  Additionally, equal percentage ownership is presumed unless the deed specifically states otherwise.

Tenants by the Entirety – title can be taken as tenants by the entireties only by a validly married husband and wife. As tenants by the entirety, neither tenant may transfer his or her interest to a third party or encumber the property without both parties joining in the deed or mortgage.  Upon the death of one party, the property automatically becomes the sole property of the surviving spouse.

There are other forms of ownership that are less common.

Upon its passage in February 2018, SB 608 made two major changes to the Oregon Landlord Tenant Act: 1) Limits no-cause evictions so that tenants who have been in their residence for more than one year can no longer be evicted for no cause; and, 2) Limits the amount a landlord can increase rent in each year. Rent increases are limited to 7% of the current rent plus the average amount of inflation for the past twelve months, as published in the prior September. However, there are some exceptions to both changes in the law. A tenant can still be evicted for no cause if they have lived at the residence for less than one year, or if the landlord lives on the property and there are only two units.

If a tenant has lived at the residence for over a year, the tenant can still be evicted for cause (i.e. violating the rental agreement), or for one of four “landlord reasons.” It is important to follow all notice requirements when serving a tenant a termination notice, otherwise the notice will be deemed invalid and the tenant will not be required to vacate the premises. Additionally, some counties and municipalities have enacted different, more strict, rules than the Oregon Landlord Tenant Act. You should seek the assistance of an attorney in your area to ensure you, or your landlord, follow all of the applicable rules.

Partitions and subdivisions are different types of land divisions. In Oregon, a subdivision is defined as the division of land to create four or more lots within a calendar year. ORS 92.010. Additionally, Oregon law defines a partition as the division of land to create not more than three parcels of land within a calendar year. ORS 92.010. There are a few exceptions to these standard definitions. Another distinction between the two is that new units of land created by partitions are referred to as “parcels”, while new units of land created by subdivisions are called “lots.”​ The distinction between a partition and a subdivision is important because in most cases the requirements that apply will vary depending on which type of land division you are doing. Oftentimes, the local planning ordinances put more of a burden on the developer seeking to develop a subdivision, rather than a smaller partition. Before dividing property in any way, it is important to review ORS 92 and the local planning ordinances to make sure you understand the requirements that apply.

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We pride ourselves on being with you every step of the way.

Real Estate Attorneys
Adam Springer Yaquina Law Newport Oregon
Adam Springer
Attorney - Principle
Traci-P.-McDowall
Traci P. McDowall
Attorney