Posted by: Adam Bellile
on Nov 18, 2011
Over the last four years, the State of Michigan, in general, and the communities of Mid Michigan, in particular, have been hard hit by the ongoing national recession. In addition to high unemployment and a shrinking economy, we experienced unprecedented reductions in real estate property values.
Posted by: Daniel Rusch
on Sep 21, 2011
How many people do you know who have been injured in an auto accident to the extent their long-term income has been negatively affected? In Michigan, you're required to buy automobile liability insurance to protect others if you screw up and seriously hurt someone seriously. Because it's required, you cannot legally avoid the cost of that coverage although other optional auto related protection is available at an additional cost.
Posted by: Tom Basil
on Jun 02, 2011
We have all experienced the tough economic climate over the last couple of years. Nowhere has that been harder felt than here in Michigan where job losses have been reported to be as high as 1 in 5, of the job loss of the nation as a whole, over the last ten years. To put it in perspective, and this is obviously not the actual way the numbers panned out, for every one job the other 49 states lost (one job each) Michigan lost 9.8 jobs during that same period. Thankfully things seem to be on an uptick here with manufacturing picking up pace.
Posted by: Heidi Hendrick
on Apr 07, 2011
In July of 2010, Michigan became the 18th state to adopt a Cottage Food law, which allows individuals to manufacture and store certain types of foods in an unlicensed home kitchen. Six other states are currently considering cottage food laws, with bills introduced within the last two months.
Posted by: Heidi Hendrick
on Jan 25, 2011
Previously, I wrote about the process for a landlord to evict a residential tenant. (See: Real Estate Primer for Landlords: Your Tenant Stops Paying) While the process for evicting a commercial tenant is the same as in a residential setting, the requirements for the lease itself differ greatly. The parties to a residential lease are governed by strict statutory and common law requirements, while parties to a commercial lease are accorded broad latitude in defining their rights and obligations. For instance, the Truth in Renting Act and the Landlord and Tenant Relationship Act, which govern the particular duties, rights, and obligations arising between residential landlords and tenants, do not apply to an office lease. In this article, I highlight two notable distinctions between residential and commercial leases, in addition to outlining three of many common law rules that apply if the lease is not negotiated and drafted otherwise.
