Governor Whitmer recently signed legislation amending the Michigan Marketable Record Title Act (MRTA). The amendment clarifies specific MRTA exceptions and provides property owners an extended deadline to record a “Notice of Claim” to retain property interests such as easements or restrictions that do not fall within the amendment’s exceptions. Learn about the three key changes in this amendment and how they could affect your business interests.
On July 7, Judge James Robert Redford issued an Order staying implementation of the Residential Building Code and Michigan Uniform Energy Code updates. The proposed updates in question were aiming to increase energy efficiency in homes. Learn more about the allegations of improper “cost-effective” analysis and the implications it could have on single family home construction.
On Wednesday, July 9, 2025 the Michigan Supreme Court affirmed the Michigan Court of Appeals’ ruling from July of 2023 “by equal division of the Court”, meaning that a majority of the Justices did not reach a common basis for resolution. This leaves the Court of Appeals decision intact and binding, which had held that private lake community restrictions prohibiting property owners from using their properties as short-term rentals (Melvin R. Berlin Revocable Trust et al. v. Thomas C. Rubin et al.).
The State Bar of Michigan Real Property Law Section (RPLS) Summer Conference was held July 17-20 at the Grand Traverse Resort. Hundreds of lawyers from across the state met at the annual conference to discuss significant legal issues including 5 attorneys from Hilger Hammond: Ben Hammond, Aileen Leipprandt, Stacey Knowles, and Jill Miller. Aileen was the Co-Chair of the conference this year and Ron Reynolds was recognized with the C. Robert Wartell distinguished Service Award!
Ron Reynolds was joined by Judy Dworkin, a Phoenix-based attorney with expertise on Arizona water law, to discuss and contrast Michigan and Arizona water law principles. The discussion included rights attaching to both surface water and groundwater, as well as the impact and significance of multi-jurisdictional agreements contained in the Colorado River Compact and the Great Lakes Compact.
Learn how Hilger Hammond helped win a case restoring a homeowner’s personal residence exemption (PRE) from real property taxes.
Learn the ins-and-outs of 1031 exchanges and how to maximize your tax savings in real estate.
Attorney Ben Hammond served as a panelist for the State Bar of Michigan "Real Estate Outlook 2022" webinar held on November 11, 2021. The panel discussed the state of the real estate market as the world continues the long process of reopening, and the legal and...
This article provides practical, win-win solutions for commercial landlords and tenants to resolve nonpayment concerns as the economy slowly begins its assent back to normalcy.
Common Ownership Issues in Family Cottages – Part I: Management Believe it or not, co-owning family cottages can create issues between the common owners. Seriously! These “issues” (which can sometimes decimate familial relationships) are typically concentrated into...