Real Estate

Published on: April 3, 2019

Kaufman County Real Estate Litigation

Kaufman County is in the midst of a historic residential construction boom. Anyone driving through Forney, Terrell, Kaufman or Crandall will attest to this fact. Neighborhoods are popping up, seemingly, overnight. With that, developers, builders and individual home buyers and sellers are seeing an equal rise in the number of real estate disputes.

In our office, the main issues seem to be with individual home builders performing substandard work or failing to complete the construction of new homes. This can create quite the mess for home buyers who took out construction loans and are now paying their current mortgage, on top of the interest on their construction loan. On top of that, due to shoddy construction practices, they are having to pay additional amounts out of pocket, or reworking loans, in order to have their homes completed. With that, Texas provides certain protections under the RCLA (Residential Construction Liability Act) which protects homeowners in the event that a home builder performs defective or substandard work on a new home. Homeowners are also having issues with eminent domain. Eminent domain/condemnation proceedings have been instituted against several landowners in the last few years for rights of way and easements for utility companies and roadways through TxDot. If you face condemnation for all or part of your property, you need to consult with the attorneys at Guest and Gray. We have successfully negotiated and tried condemnation cases for families and businesses across Kaufman County and East Texas.

For developers, we are seeing issues related to re-zoning and zoning variances, land-purchase disputes, disclosure issues and right of way and easement issues. Many of these issues may be addressed in Court through specific performance, declaratory judgment or a breach of contract case.

Published on: May 31, 2018

Guest and Gray Law Firm: Terrell’s Trusted Legal Team

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Guest and Gray, P.C. is committed to providing Kaufman county communities with the best possible civil litigation services. We are a full services law firm. When people ask us what kind of law we do, our response is always “its is better to explain what types of we DO NOT do,” which is basically two areas of law: bankruptcy and tax.

At Guest and Gray, there is literally no case too big. Our firm has grown to a point where no case is too big or too complex. Whether it be complex civil litigation involving business and corporate legal disputes, breach of contract, real estate law, personal injury or probate and estate planning, Guest and Gray has the lawyers that you need to help you with any legal issue.

TERRELL IS GROWING

Published on: May 29, 2018

Need Legal Help in Rockwall? Call Guest and Gray Today!

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Guest and Gray Law Firm is the firm to turn to when you have a legal problem. Our practice is quickly growing and we are the trusted Rockwall criminal and civil litigation firm. We are proud to own the title of being the largest and most highly rated local Rockwall law firm.

Sure, you can call a Dallas firm for help, but why? Guest and Gray, P.C. offers the same excellent service but we have convenient office locations for our Rockwall clients. Live in Rockwall or north of Rockwall? Our Rockwall office is located off of TL Townsend just passed the Rockwall county courthouse. Live south of Rockwall towards Heath? It may be better for you to meet us in our Forney location in downtown Forney just off the old townsquare near the city offices. Wherever you may be in Rockwall county, Guest and Gray, P.C. is the local choice.

We are skilled in all different practice areas that you may need, whether it be criminal defense, family law, civil litigation or personal injury, we have a lawyer (or two) just for you. Our attorneys are aggressive and fight hard for each client. No case is too big. We have the resources to take your case the distance. Period.

Published on: April 26, 2018

The Negative Side of Kaufman and Rockwall County Growth: Eminent Domain

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Eminent Domain and Condemnation is the process by which the city, county, state, or private utility or other statutorily granted entity, may come in and force you to sell all or part of your property to them under the guise of a public need. For the purposes of this article, the party claiming a public need will be called a “state actor”.

Although it is a fairly complicated process, the state actor will institute negotiations with the property owner in an attempt to purchase the property outright without actually entering into the “eminent domain” process.

Under Texas law, there are three elements required to show for eminent domain: (1) The actor must be the state or a private entity authorized to condemn; (2) the property must be taken for public use; and (3) the landowner must receive adequate compensation for the condemned property.

Published on: April 6, 2018

Hunt County Civil Litigation

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Hunt County is a mostly rural county. Everyone knows that Greenville is exploding in size, but what people do not know is that the rest of the county is getting ready to catch up. The people are great and the cities and towns bring back memories of what Texas was like growing up. But even Hunt County simply cannot escape the growth in nearby Dallas, Collin and Rockwall counties. Between 2014-2015 and 2015-2016, Hunt County’s year over year growth spiked from just over 1.2% to 2.48%. Similar growth has continued in the county in 2017 and early 2018 so far.

As a lawyer, what I see coming for Hunt county is increased traffic and traffic accidents and an uptick in civil litigation. Residential growth always leads to commercial growth. Both of those lead to civil litigation, such as real estate and breach of contract litigation. When most people think of hiring a lawyer, their first thought is “I need a Dallas lawyer!”

However, that is simply not the case. Hunt county has numerous attorneys who are capable handling any of your civil litigation needs. Guest and Gray, P.C. is a law firm based out of Kaufman and Rockwall counties that seeks to represent people in civil litigation matters all across East and Northeast Texas, including: Kaufman, Rockwall, Hunt, Anderson, Henderson, Hopkins, Lamar, Rains, Rusk, Smith, and Van Zandt county areas.

Published on: April 6, 2018

Forney and Rockwall Civil Litigation Attorney

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Guest and Gray Law Firm is the highest rated local law firm for both Rockwall and Kaufman counties. Our main offices are located in Rockwall off of T.L. Townsend just passed the Rockwall County Court House and our Forney location is located in old downtown Forney off of Bois D’Arc St., in the old bank building. We strive to obtain outstanding results for our all of our cases. Our support staff is hardworking and knowledgeable strives to put you at ease during tenuous times.

Being involved in litigation is never a person or businesses goal. However, sometimes circumstances make it impossible to avoid a lawsuit without giving up substantial rights and, in most cases, money.

Guest and Gray, P.C. is one of the only full service law firms in the Kaufman and Rockwall county areas. When it comes to providing service to our clients, we have the attorneys to provide excellent legal counsel in just about any area of law. Our practice areas include:

Published on: March 12, 2018

Are You a Real Estate Professional? Then Know a Good Lawyer

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Sell real estate? Own a title company? Are you an Investor? Well here are two realities to long term real estate work: taxes and lawsuits. So, get to know the two kinds of people who deal with those issues. At Guest and Gray, P.C. we can help you with the lawsuits. We can also help you with document preparation. Document preparation is fundamentally important to a real estate deal. Why? Because good documents will keep you from getting sued, and if you do get sued, good documents will only serve to help you in the lawsuit.

Because of this, I always tell my long term real estate clients that attorneys are a cost of doing business. We just are. Real estate is one of the most highly litigious areas, especially in the hot real estate market in the Dallas, Rockwall and Kaufman county areas (especially Forney, Terrell and Rockwall areas where much of the growth is the housing boom and/or economic boom).

Here are some of the main reasons to use a real estate attorney when you are doing any sort of large real estate deal, residential or commercial:

Published on: March 9, 2018

Guest and Gray Law Firm: Real Estate Attorneys

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Guest and Gray Law Firm Provides All Sorts of Legal Services Related to Real Estate Law Issues:

Consultations for residential and commercial real estate issues including review/comment on TREC and TAR earnest money contracts, title commitments, and closing documents. Asset protection review (APR) is also available. Charges apply for consultations and APRs.

Real estate document preparation for Texas residential and commercial transactions including earnest money contracts, warranty deeds, real estate lien notes, deeds of trust, affidavits, leases, lien releases, assignments, options, and affidavits of heirship.