How to Find the Best Real Estate Dispute Attorney in Georgia

A real estate dispute can morph into a protracted legal battle that cleans out your bank account and takes you away from running a business or managing a property. Whether you have a simple property line dispute in Macon or a complicated commercial zoning problem in Athens, you should partner with a team of litigators that knows how to reach favorable settlements for our clients.

Let’s take a look at the most common causes of real estate disputes.

Breach of Contract

As one of the most common causes of real estate disputes, breach of contract occurs when one party fails to honor the legal language written into an enforceable business contract. If you have signed a perfectly crafted real estate contract, then you might be able to ask for monetary damages to compensate you for any financial losses caused by a breach of contract.

Property Line

Disagreements over boundaries typically happen when property lines are not clearly defined. An experienced GA real estate dispute attorney conducts research to discover why there is a property line disagreement. The research includes referring to county records that establish boundaries for both residential and commercial properties.

Specific Performance

When one party refuses to take action as mandated by a legally binding agreement, the other party can take specific performance action to force the negligent party to complete the task promised in the agreement. For example, a legally valid contract can allow you to seek a court order to force a seller to give up a property that is up for sale.

Property Easement

As a legal condition in which the title of a property remains with the owner, a property easement grants another party the right to use a portion of the owner’s land for a specific purpose. Property easements are frequently granted to state and county governments for infrastructure improvement projects.

Eminent Domain

Often called property easement on steroids, eminent domain is the right a government has to take private property for public use. Think of claiming property to build a shopping mall in a residential area. Morgan & Morgan has represented many clients that fought back against eminent domain orders.

Co-owner Arguments

Forming a partnership is a popular way to invest in real estate. However, partnerships can turn from friendly business arrangements to acrimonious relationships that frequently end up in a civil courtroom.

The Georgia real estate dispute lawyers at Morgan & Morgan handle a wide variety of cases. One of the most common types of real estate issues involves neighbors.

Encroachment

As a type of boundary dispute, encroachment happens when one neighbor accuses a second neighbor of encroaching on his or her land. Encroachment can be as minor as a slight deviation of a driveway to a major blowup that involves a property owner building a fence well within a neighbor’s property line.

Property Rights

From noise complaints to trash left in your yard, property rights cases arise because a property owner accuses a neighbor of misconduct. Neighbors that block the view of a property owner or conduct illegal activities such as selling drugs fall under the property rights category of neighbor disputes. 

Animal Control

When a neighbor’s pet creates problems on your property, you might have a strong enough case to file an animal control complaint. Non-stop barking, property damage, and the threat of harm all qualify as animal control issues that arise between neighbors.

Property Damage

Property damage claims are common disputes between neighbors, especially in suburban cities where houses tend to be close to each other. A tree falling from your neighbor’s property is a common example of a property damage claim. Your neighbor’s defective sprinkler system flooding your lawn is another common claim homeowners file that concerns property damage.

Trying to resolve a neighbor dispute without the legal counsel of a GA real estate dispute attorney can lead to highly unfavorable consequences. Neighbor property disputes can force one or both neighbors to take matters into their own hands. Harassment and/or violence represent two common outcomes of neighbor property disputes that are not resolved through proper legal channels.

Taking matters into your own hands can lead to one or more undesirable legal resolutions. Maybe your neighbor slaps a restraining order on you, which might make you even more upset over the property dispute. Emotionally charged neighbor property disputes can involve some form of violence, and with violence, the criminal justice system gets involved with tough punishments.

Prevent a neighbor dispute from getting out of control by contacting the law offices of Morgan & Morgan.

Your goal should be to find a peaceful solution to any dispute that arises with a neighbor. Following four steps can ensure you resolve a neighbor dispute, without making an enemy for life.

Polite Conversation

It is not what you say, but how you say it that can end a neighbor dispute. Throwing a tantrum only adds fuel to an already combustible fire. Ask your neighbor to sit down for a calm discussion about how to resolve the dispute. You might be able to find a solution that both of you can live with for years to come.

Document Everything

Maybe kindness does not do the trick. If you foresee a legal battle brewing, start documenting everything that is associated with the neighbor dispute. Make a record of every interaction you have with your neighbor, as well as take photographs of boundary issues and/or property damage. Collecting and organizing physical evidence can turn a neighbor dispute into a favorable legal decision.

Contact a Georgia Real Estate Dispute Attorney

Discussing a neighbor real estate dispute with a Georgia-licensed lawyer can help you avoid costly litigation. Your attorney will provide you with advice that you should follow, which can include refraining from interacting with your neighbor until further notice.

From complex contracts to wordy legal statutes, real estate is full of legal jargon that is difficult for most property owners to understand. Hiring a GA real estate dispute lawyer can help you achieve your legal goals to end a contentious relationship with a tenant, neighbor, or business partner.

Choose the Right Real Estate Attorney

You want to hire a lawyer who specializes in handling real estate law cases, but not just any type of real estate law. An attorney who specializes in real estate contract law might not be a good legal fit for your unique case. You want to work with an attorney who helps resolve real estate disputes, whether resolution comes in the form of litigation or a negotiated settlement.

Record of Success

Experience matters, but only if it is experience winning real estate dispute cases. Your lawyer should bring to the table an impressive resume of helping clients resolve real estate dispute cases in their favor. An attorney who boasts about decades of experience might not be worth hiring if the decades of experience include many disappointing performances in a courtroom.

Represents Your Best Interests

When you hire a GA real estate dispute lawyer, you want to work with legal counsel that works for your best interests. One of the first things that you should agree on during the free case evaluation is what you want out of a resolution to your real estate dispute case. Once you clarify your objectives, your attorney should be focused on achieving the objectives.

Highly Responsive

Real estate dispute cases are often fluid legal processes that can turn on a dime at any time. This means your legal counsel must be highly responsive when it comes to communicating with you. Before you formally hire a real estate dispute lawyer, test the attorney’s responsiveness by sending emails and text messages, as well as leaving phone messages.

Georgia Bar Association Lawyer Database

The Georgia Bar Association online lawyer database should provide you with more insight into any candidates on your shortlist. You conduct research that ensures every lawyer on your shortlist is properly credentialed, as well as not on any list for disciplinary action.

Read Client Reviews

Client reviews should be icing on the cake for you to make the right decision on which GA real estate dispute lawyer to hire. You want to find reviews that emphasize the same positive attributes, such as a lawyer’s ability to negotiate favorable settlements for clients.

Waiting for a real estate dispute to simmer from a boil can make the dispute reach new levels of animosity. Be proactive by scheduling a free case evaluation with one of the highly-rated real estate litigators at Morgan & Morgan. After we spend up to an hour with you, we will devise a game plan that helps you resolve a real estate dispute. If needed, we will prepare a strong case to take to trial.