If you are buying or selling real estate, and you have reached a deal with a prospective buyer or seller, Mr. Marx can draft an effective contract that will protect your rights and save you thousands that you might otherwise pay in commissions to a broker.

• Bank financed transactions
• Cash transactions
• Escrow servicing with outside company

Alaska Real Estate Property Transfer Disclosure Form   (FILL IN PDF)

Residential Real Property Transfer Disclosure Statement: Waiver by Agreement

Federal Lead Based Paint Disclosure Laws (pre 1978 built homes)

Lead Based Paint Disclosure form (rental)

Lead based paint disclosure (seller)

If you have a dispute regarding an encroachment or interference with an easement or land covenant, or if you are facing a demand or lawsuit concerning use of an easement or covenant, please contact Mr. Marx for a consultation. Mr. Marx has handled many complicated disputes in this area and will be able to efficiently represent you in these matters.

Other practice areas:

• Ingress & Egress easements
• Shared easements
• View, light and air easements
• injunctions
• Prescriptive easements

A nuisance is generally defined as an unreasonable interference with your use and enjoyment of your property.  There are finer points further discussed in the caselaw, but if you feel that you are unable to use and enjoy your property due to the unreasonable acts of a neighbor or activity nearby, please call for a consultation to determine what you can do to protect your rights.

A trespass is generally defined as an intentional intrusion upon someone's property without their permission causing damage.  A trespass can happen in many ways, both on commercial and residential property.  The most common trespass in southeast Alaska seems to be the scenerio where the tree cutter or excavator strays onto someone else's property without permission and injures or cuts a tree or otherwise damages the landscape.  Some cases like these can qualify for treble damages, depending on the particular facts of your case.  Mr. Marx has successfully handled many cases in this area and looks forward to a consultation on the issues you are confronting.

If you have been served with a demand or a lawsuit seeking damages for trespass, Mr. Marx can also assist you to defend against these claims.

Adverse possession, ironically, is sort of like legal theft, in the sense that, it is a lawful way for someone to take someone else's property. It derives from old common law that put a premium on husbanding one's property, and punished those who did not, or failed to properly monitor one's boundaries. That may have been fine in the old west, when there were good reasons to encourage folks to settle and mend their fences. But today, it can lead to heated disputes both in and out of court. Please call to set up an appointment to discuss any concerns you have in this area. It is a time sensitive area of law, and you may lose your rights if you wait around, without understanding the finer points of this legal principle.

Related areas: quiet title, prescriptive easements, ejectment actions, fraudulent conveyances

If you have recently inherited property, or were gifted property, or simply have discovered a problem of some sort concerning your title to real estate, you will likely need to file a quiet title action. Mr. Marx has handled many quiet title actions over the years, from complicated, lengthy, contested actions, to simple uncontested actions that quickly clear title in the client's name. Please call to set up a consultation to see how Mr. Marx can guide you through this process.

Related ares: ejectment actions (not in possession); adverse possession; prescriptive easements

Ejectment actions are used to remove someone who is wrongfully in possession of property that you have superior title to. They are very similar to a quiet title action in the sense that they are used to clear title in the client's name, but they are different in the sense that they also serve to eject someone from possession of your real estate. Mr. Marx has successfully litigated these often hotly contested cases for his clients.  Please call to see how he could meet your particular needs. 

If you sold property and financed the buyer, who is now in default, you are likely in search of a lawyer who can assist you in collecting on that debt. If you have a deed of trust, securing your debt (Note), you have the right to foreclose your deed of trust without filing a lawsuit in court - a process called "non-judicial foreclosure". Before leaping into non-judicial foreclosure, however, you should consult with a lawyer to discuss the facts of your case, to determine the best course of action to recover your debt plus interests and costs. There are other available remedies that may be more suitable.

On the other hand, if you are facing foreclosure, you should immediately consult with a bankruptcy lawyer, and see if they can also advise you of your rights. The law in this area is changing rapidly at the present time, and you may qualify for one of the new federal loan assistance programs, so act now.

Related areas: deeds of trust, purchase/sale contracts

Mr. Marx has successfully handled cases involving outright fraud in real estate transactions. If you have a fraud issue, or perhaps misrepresentation, or non-disclosure issue concerning property you own or recently purchased, please call for a private consultation.

Related areas: undue influence

If you secured a debt by obtaining a mortgage or deed of trust on real property, and your debtor is in default, or if you are a debtor and would like representation in working with a creditor, please call right away for a consultation. Or, if you are needing assistance preparing a deed of trust in a real estate transaction, Mr. Marx is happy to assist you. 

Our office can draft Deeds or Corrective Deeds to Transfer title to property. If you are married and do not hold title to property jointly with your wife you should call for a consultation. Or if you would like to pass property upon death to a child, a friend, or partner, in 2014, Alaska passed a law allowing Transfer on Death Deeds, so that your heirs can avoid having to file a probate simply to transfer property upon your death.

Quitclaim Deeds
Warranty Deeds
Transfer on Death Deeds
Personal Representative Deeds
Corrective Deeds

There are many considerations (e.g., tax liability, rights of survivorship, triggering “due on sale” clauses in mortgages, legal descriptions, conditions, reservations and other restrictions and encumbrances, to name a few) to take into account when transferring title to real estate. Before you attempt to do so on your own, be sure to seek legal counsel.