Where county supervisors denied appellant’s special exemption request to rent bedrooms in his house after determining the proposed use would harm the public welfare, the determination correctly included consideration of the neighborhood’s character. Background Appellant Harris bought a house on ...

Tagged with: Judge Dominique A. Callins Real Estate Virginia Court of Appeals

A long simmering landowner dispute over the right to store boats at a private dock in a lakefront community has been resolved by the Supreme Court of Virginia. The owner of a waterfront lot granted an access easement to the ...

Tagged with: Justice Stephen R. McCullough Real Estate Supreme Court of Virginia

A challenge to inspection fees assessed by a homeowners’ association in a large development has succeeded after the Court of Appeals of Virginia found that the individual fees weren’t expressly authorized by the association’s declaration. The appellate court was unpersuaded ...

Tagged with: Judge Clifford L. Athey Jr. Judge Stuart A. Raphael Real Estate Virginia Court of Appeals

Where the trial court issued two different rationales when dismissing appellant’s mortgage and foreclosure dispute with a bank, “appellant’s ‘failure to address one of the holdings results in a waiver of any claim of error with respect to the court’s ...

Tagged with: Real Estate Virginia Court of Appeals

Where appellants docked a boat along appellees’ retaining wall for more than 20 years, they have established a prescriptive easement to dock the boat. The circuit court erred by concluding that after a former owner sold the land, his permission ...

Tagged with: Justice Stephen R. McCullough Real Estate Supreme Court of Virginia

Where a statute provides fees and charges must be authorized expressly by statute or a condo association’s “declaration,” appellee condo association’s annual lot inspection fee is invalid because the fee is not authorized by the declaration and does not relate ...

Tagged with: Judge Stuart A. Raphael Real Estate Virginia Court of Appeals

The circuit court incorrectly ruled that appellant homeowners lacked standing to pursue claims arising from a rezoning granted by a county board of supervisors to a supermarket chain so that it could build a warehouse and distribution center near appellant’s ...

Tagged with: Justice D. Arthur Kelsey Real Estate Supreme Court of Virginia

A statute prohibiting landowners from blocking access to cemeteries located on their property does not apply to other landowners whose property only has a “traditional access route” to the cemetery. Background A 59-acre parcel of land contains a 47-acre parcel ...

Tagged with: Judge Junius P. Fulton III Real Estate Virginia Court of Appeals

Where the trial court ruled that appellee was entitled to specific performance, requiring appellant real estate owners to convey 31 acres of property that was offered at auction, this was error because the auction is best understood as being an ...

Tagged with: Justice Cleo E. Powell Real Estate Supreme Court of Virginia

A circuit court judge granted a defendant’s demurrer in a case over a real estate sales contract after finding both parties to the contract mistakenly believed the defendant seller was the only person to have title to the property the ...

Tagged with: Judge David W. Lannetti Norfolk Circuit Court Real Estate Virginia Circuit Courts