By Clark Andrews, O'Reilly Rancilio PC
Back when I began practicing law in 1974, the primary tools to the trade in a typical law office were telephones, typewriters, photo copy machines, and law books. Most lawyers did not yet have access to or regularly use personal computers, facsimile machines, or electronic legal research services, much less laptops, scanners, personal digital assistants, email, time management/billing software, or the Internet. This article will survey some of the numerous resources available via the Internet that may assist lawyers in better and more efficiently representing their clients on real estate matters. Whenever you are directed to a particular source, you should be able to access it by copying the web address by selecting the text and copying it into the address bar of your browser before selecting "go" or "enter", or double-clicking on the hyperlink of an electronic version of this article.
When considering the role of the Internet in the context of researching legal issues, we often first think of legal research subscription services such as Westlaw or Lexis. These services are certainly very good sources of legal information, especially with respect to general legal principles. Another very useful and trustworthy source of Michigan real estate law is the Institute for Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which produces and publishes much legal information through the ICLE Partnership program
http://www.icle.org/store/partnership.htm and the ICLE Online Library www.icle.org/store/onlinelibrary.htm. These allow subscribers to have online access to ICLE seminar materials, the ICLE Form Bank, and some ICLE books that are now available online. These resources are organized by subject matter, and offer a rather economical way to have access to a substantial volume of real estate law resources.
This article, however, will primarily focus on Internet resources that are not subscription based that relate to real estate issues that will make a real estate lawyer's work quicker and more thorough. Many of these resources are available in the public domain, often free of charge. This article presupposes access to the Internet and a general familiarity with Internet use.
Recorded Documents
Some counties in the metropolitan Detroit area (Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne) now offer online information relating to recorded documents, usually utilizing a third party vendor's program like "Land Access". These sites typically contain all recorded documents after a particular date. The documents are sorted by name (grantor, grantee, mortgagor, mortgagee, etc.), document type (deed, mortgage, easement, etc.), recording information (liber, page, and document number). There is ordinarily a charge for obtaining such online information, and it is typically paid through either an annual subscription or on a per transaction credit card charge basis. Details are available from each Register of Deeds office.
Macomb County: http://www2.landaccess.com/cgibin/homepage?County=8039
Wayne County: http://www.waynecountylandrecords.com/.
Once the document sought is located, it can be saved or printed. If a law office does any significant amount of real estate work, using such online services can be a huge time saver.
Local/State Document Recording Requirements
Some local Register of Deeds offices now list the requirements for a document to be properly recorded. http://www.macombcountymi.gov/clerksoffice/RecordingRequirements.htm; http://www.waynecounty.com/register/rec_req.htm;
Many list the document recording fees:
http://www.macombcountymi.gov/clerksoffice/deedsFAQs.htm
http://www.oakgov.com/clerkrod/division_committee/register_of_deeds/fees.htm;
http://www.waynecounty.com/register/fees.htm;
Real Estate Tax and Assessment Information
Many local units of government (cities, townships, villages, etc.) now maintain their tax and assessing information online that is accessible via the Internet. The easiest way to examine such information is by using the Google search engine to access the governmental unit's website by inserting the name of the governmental unit (i.e. City of Sterling Heights Michigan), then clicking once at the website selecting "online services" or "government", and then "Assessing" or "Tax". This area typically discloses the property tax identification number, the property address, the property's assessed and taxable value, the real and personal property taxes, and payment history, information relating to lot size/acreage and improvements, and sometimes the name of the property owner and/or the property's zoning classification.
Commonly Used Basic Real Estate Forms
Some of the most commonly encountered basic real estate forms, such as quit claim and warranty deeds, offers to purchase, land contracts, memorandum of land contract, and lien documentation are available online in downloadable form through title insurance companies, such as First American Title Company: http://www.firstam.com/title-mi/html/cust/2100.html, Philip F. Greco Title Company: http://www.grecotitle.com/docsGO.htm, and other title companies.
Michigan Real Estate Disclosure Form
Michigan law requires that a seller complete a statutory seller's disclosure statement which provides the prospective purchaser with specified information about the condition of the property. The current form is available at: http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/mcl/pdf/mcl-act-92-of-1993.pdf.
Federal Lead Paint Disclosure
With respect to the sale or lease of residential real estate that was constructed prior to 1978, federal law requires that the prospective purchaser or lessee be furnished a "Lead Paint Disclosure" brochure containing specified information. It is available at: http://www.hud.gov/offices/lead/library/enforcement/pyf_eng.pdf. A copy of the current disclosure statement form can be viewed and printed out from: http://www.hud.gov/offices/lead/library/enforcement/selr_eng.pdf.
Local Codes and Zoning Ordinances
Many real estate transactions require a lawyer to examine zoning and other local code issues. Many zoning ordinances and codes of Michigan municipalities are codified and available for online viewing either at the municipality's website (often discoverable by a single Google search) or at the website of one of the most popular municipal code publishing companies, Municipal Code Corporation, which maintains a free online library of codes and ordinances from communities which use its codification service. The online library of Michigan municipalities' codes and ordinances can be accessed at:
http://www.municode.com/Resources/code_list.asp?stateID=22. Care should be taken to make sure the online version of a code or zoning ordinance is up to date, as the codes are typically updated quarterly and sometimes the publication on the website lags several months behind the actual adoption date.
Title Insurance
One of the most important components of a properly handled real estate transaction is title insurance. There are two types of policies: owner's policies (which protect property owners against title risks) and lender's policies (which protect mortgage lenders against such risks). The American Land Title Association, a national trade association of abstract and title insurance companies, has adopted uniform standards so that title insurance will be more uniform across the United States. Some of the most common policies and endorsements are available at: http://www.alta.org/standards/index.cfm.
Plats
Copies of Michigan recorded plats (legal drawings of land divided into subdivision lots) are available to view online (as well as to print), which can come in handy and eliminate an untimely trip to the local register of deeds office or local assessor's office. http://www.cis.state.mi.us/platmaps/sr_subs.asp. Once at the website, select the county in which the property is located and type in the name of the plat to view or print it. Utilize the horizontal arrow buttons at the top of the plat to access successive or prior pages of the subdivision plat.
Licensing Status of Real Estate Appraisers, Brokers, Builders, and Other Professionals
The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth has an online service by which a person may verify the licensing status of licensed professions, including appraisers, brokers, builders, alteration contractors, and other licensed individuals involved with real property. https://www2.dleg.state.mi.us/colaLicVerify/lCityCounty.jsp.
Michigan Treasury Department Forms Relating to Real Estate
There is a variety of forms issued by the Michigan Department of Treasury relating to real estate that are available online. These forms/documents cover a wide range of matters, ranging from transfer of ownership guidelines to property tax affidavits to applications for special exemptions and deferral of taxes. The list of forms available relating to individuals is found at: http://www.michigan.gov/treasury/0,1607,7-121-1751_2164_45595_45616-163575--,00.htm.
Michigan Planning and Zoning Center at MSU
The Planning & Zoning Center at MSU website is a resource developed by a multi-disciplinary team of professionals devoted to research, education, and consultation on best practices for community planning and development control. It contains much useful information and timely articles about real property and land development issues, particularly planning and zoning issues affecting Michigan. http://www.pzcenter.msu.edu/land.php.
Michigan Tax Tribunal Decisions
Decisions of the Michigan Tax Tribunal since 1995 relating to exemption and taxation of real and personal property are compiled online. http://www.michigan.gov/taxtrib/0,1607,7-187-38250---,00.htm.
SCAO Forms
Many forms approved by the Michigan Supreme Court Administrator's Office are available online. http://courts.michigan.gov/scao/courtforms/, Many of these relate to real estate matters, such as landlord tenant matters, summary proceedings, land contract forfeitures, and mortgage foreclosures.
FHA—RESPA
One of the important regulatory acts relating to certain real estate transactions is the Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act (RESPA) which is administered by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The FHA maintains a separate webpage relating to this important statute, including the statute, rules and regulations, frequently asked questions, permitted and prohibited practices, and other valuable information relating to the closing and settlement procedure. http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/res/respa_hm.cfm.
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the federal agency that, among other responsibilities, administers the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) that insures property against flood risk and pays claims to insured flood damage victims. There is a wealth of information about the NFIP and other programs administered by FEMA at http://www.fema.gov/index.shtm.
Listservs
Listservs are discussion groups among practitioners via email on particular topics. They are often used by attorneys to participate in a discussion or get assistance on a hypothetical issue from potentially knowledgeable participants. There are many listservs relating to real estate law around the net, often associated with professional associations and organizations. Often a person must be a member of the professional organization to review or participate in listserv discussions. Review the following websites of professional organizations for listservs with other attorneys. http://dirt.umkc.edu/ (American Bar Association Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section); http://www.michbar.org/realproperty/listserv.cfm (Michigan Bar Association, Real Property Section).
Summary
The Internet offers many sites that make an attorney's work quicker and potentially more thorough. However, the Internet researcher seeking to secure legal information to be used in a real estate transaction must be careful to verify that the source of the information is reliable and that the information is current and up to date. All of the information contained in this article is believed by the author to be from reputable sources and up to date. However, the writer makes no representations or warranties with respect to it.
