Real Estate Law

A deed should transfer the correct property, from the correct parties, to the correct parties, in the correct form, with the correct reservations, restrictions, and legal description.

Our office prepares and reviews warranty deeds, special warranty deeds, quitclaim deeds, beneficiary and estate-related transfers, life-estate deeds, corrective deeds, deeds involving reserved interests, and conveyances connected to divorce, probate, settlement, or family planning.

Real estate conveyances should be reviewed carefully when they involve heirs, unprobated estates, marital interests, prior divorces, trusts, powers of attorney, mineral interests, easements, or old legal descriptions. A drafting mistake can create a title problem that follows the property for years.

Some real estate transactions are handled through title companies and lenders. Others involve cash sales, family transfers, business-property transfers, owner financing, contract-for-deed arrangements, settlement transfers, or direct conveyances between private parties.

Even when a transaction seems simple, the documents should identify the parties, property, purchase price, closing terms, possession date, taxes, prorations, repairs, title obligations, default remedies, and any contingencies. If financing, possession, repairs, or seller disclosures are left vague, the transaction may become a lawsuit after closing.

We assist with contracts, deeds, affidavits, closing documents, title review, recording issues, and practical steps needed to complete the transaction while reducing the chance of later disputes.

A quiet-title action may be necessary when the public record does not clearly establish ownership or when another person claims an interest in the property. Title problems can come from old deeds, missing heirs, incorrect legal descriptions, unprobated estates, tax-sale issues, unreleased mortgages, easements, boundary confusion, marital interests, forged or defective documents, or competing claims to the same land.

Quiet-title cases are document-heavy and fact-specific. The court may need deeds, probate records, tax records, surveys, affidavits, plats, testimony, and proof of possession or use. In some cases, all persons who may claim an interest must be identified and served so that the resulting order actually resolves the title issue.

The goal is not only to obtain an order. The goal is to obtain an order that title companies, buyers, lenders, heirs, and future courts can rely upon.

Boundary disputes often begin with a fence, ditch, tree line, driveway, survey, road, drainage feature, or longstanding use that does not match the deed description. Arkansas recognizes several legal theories that may matter in a boundary dispute, including record title, boundary by acquiescence, adverse possession, and prescriptive easements.

Adverse possession in Arkansas requires proof of possession and compliance with statutory requirements. Under Ark. Code Ann. § 18-11-106, a person claiming adverse possession generally must have actual or constructive possession of the property and either hold color of title to the property for at least seven years while paying ad valorem taxes, or hold color of title to contiguous property for at least seven years while paying ad valorem taxes on the contiguous property, subject to statutory exceptions. The statute supplements, rather than replaces, existing case-law requirements.

Boundary by acquiescence is different from adverse possession. It may arise when adjoining landowners tacitly accept a definite boundary line, such as a fence, ditch, road, or other monument, as the boundary over a long period. The focus is often on the conduct of the owners and whether the line was mutually treated as the boundary, not simply what a later survey shows.

These cases turn on evidence: deeds, surveys, tax records, photographs, aerial imagery, fencing history, testimony from prior owners or neighbors, improvements, maintenance, mowing, farming, timber use, access, and proof of how the land has actually been treated over time.

Easements can determine whether someone may cross land, use a driveway, reach a public road, maintain utilities, run drainage, or access a landlocked parcel. Some easements are written and recorded. Others may be claimed by implication, necessity, prescription, or long use.

A prescriptive easement may be established in a manner similar to adverse possession. Arkansas courts generally require proof of adverse use under a claim of right for the required period, and the scope of the easement is usually measured by the nature of the use during the prescriptive period. The Arkansas appellate courts have also recognized that once a prescriptive easement attaches, it may be permanent and irrevocable, but the use cannot be expanded in a way that imposes a greater burden on the servient estate than the use established by the evidence.

We help property owners evaluate claimed easements, enforce valid easement rights, challenge overuse or misuse, resolve landlocked-access disputes, and prevent informal access arrangements from becoming larger property-rights disputes.

A home purchase can become litigation when serious defects appear after closing. Common issues include water intrusion, flooding, drainage problems, foundation movement, roof leaks, mold, unpermitted work, septic problems, hidden structural damage, boundary issues, or prior repairs that were not properly disclosed.

These cases often turn on the exact language of the real estate contract, seller disclosure forms, inspection reports, repair invoices, communications between the parties, agent knowledge, and whether the alleged defect was known, concealed, discoverable, or material.

Potential claims may include fraud, constructive fraud, misrepresentation, breach of contract, breach of warranty, negligence, or claims involving real-estate-licensee duties, depending on the facts. Defenses may include contractual disclaimers, inspection opportunities, lack of knowledge, lack of reliance, waiver, causation, or proof that the alleged condition was disclosed or not material.

Our office represents buyers pursuing these claims and sellers, agents, or property owners defending against them.

Real estate licensees may have duties involving agency disclosure, communication, transaction documents, material facts, client instructions, earnest money, dual agency, and compliance with Arkansas Real Estate Commission rules.

Arkansas law requires real estate licensees to disclose which party or parties they represent in a transaction. See Ark. Code Ann. § 17-42-108. Disputes involving agents and brokers often require careful review of the agency relationship, listing agreement, purchase contract, disclosures, text messages, emails, repair negotiations, closing documents, and what each person knew before closing.

We handle claims involving nondisclosure, dual agency, failed communication, mishandled contracts, earnest-money disputes, alleged misrepresentations, and professional-duty issues. We also defend sellers and agents when claims are unsupported by the documents or evidence.

Commercial leases usually involve higher stakes, negotiated obligations, and legal issues that can justify focused representation. Lease disputes may involve payment obligations, default notices, permitted use, access, maintenance allocation, improvements, renewal options, guarantees, assignment or sublease issues, and enforcement of the parties’ written obligations.

The firm assists with commercial lease review and negotiation, commercial landlord-tenant disputes, property-use conflicts, payment issues, default notices, and disputes over written lease terms.

Residential tenant matters are highly fact-specific and often difficult to pursue cost-effectively under Arkansas law. The firm’s tenant-side real estate work is generally focused on commercial tenancies.

Being sued over real estate does not mean the claim has merit. Buyers, sellers, neighbors, commercial tenants, commercial landlords, heirs, agents, and family members can all overstate their rights or misunderstand what the documents actually provide.

We defend real estate claims by identifying the governing documents, reviewing the land records, determining who has standing, evaluating the available remedies, and developing the evidence needed to defeat or narrow the claim.