Steve is a great attorney. Never made a mistake in my real estate and other dealings with him past 30 years.
Review Left On 12/27/2019
KR Koeval
After the real estate bubble burst in the late 2000s, banks changed some of their financing rules.
The man who tried to bamboozle my mother into deeding him a right-of-way through her property should have known this, because when he went to get financing on his landlocked property, the bank told him he had to have a deeded right-of-way through my mother's property. He has permission to pass through her property, but this is not legally binding, so if permission were later denied and/or if he were to default, the bank would be stuck with a piece of property that is pretty worthless.
Instead of doing his research ahead of time and being wise enough not to purchase a land locked piece of property, he instead lied to my mother about the situation and later threatened her with legal action in an effort to scare her into deeding him a right-of-way. My mother was very upset and stressed about this, so I told her to no longer engage him in discussions on this matter, and to tell him to contact me instead. He tried many of the same things with me, ultimately saying that he would take my mom to court to force her to grant him right-of-way. So I decided it was time to see what the law had to say about all this.
This is where Stephen Berndt comes in. He graciously made an appointment convenient for us, charged a very reasonable consultation fee, and spent well over an hour with us explaining chapter and verse everything we needed to know about what the law says about this kind of a situation. Right-of-way law is very complicated, especially in the mountains, but he went over various scenarios with us and helped us understand exactly what our position is on this matter. The sense of relief we felt was invaluable.
Essentially, the man would have to spend an enormous amount of money and time in an attempt to prove that he has legal right-of-way, and even then he would likely lose. I explained all this the next time he called, and also exposed some of his false claims based on some of my own research.
The story ends this way: the man wound up having to borrow money from a wealthy friend to get the financing he needed.
And my mom and I have Stephen Berndt to thank for helping us resolve this.
Best lawyer in town! I use him as much as possible for real estate and other legal matters. He's as thorough as they get. He does his own title searches so he's very clear about the details of a property. Smart as a whip and great counsel. A man of great integrity!
Review Left On 02/27/2017
Peggy Palms
Steve is always my Go-To attorney for real estate. He knows real estate law better than almost any other attorney in the area, and is one of the few who insists on doing his own title searches. That way mistakes can be avoided.
Review Left On 02/27/2016
Joseph Martin
We have used Stephen for business and personal matters for several years. Stephen is competent, timely, helpful, a pleasure to deal with and his fees are very reasonable. He's also a supporter of our local farmers' market and local food community.You can't ask for much more from an attorney!
Review Left On 02/27/2016
Rick H
We had a closing here in June 2015. The attorney and staff were very nice and friendly. What makes the office worthy of a 5 star rating is Wilma Brinegar. She is awesome. We couldn't find our closing statement to file taxes over 7 months later. One call to Wilma and she emailed them to me in minutes. This is what sets them apart from many others today-helpful service and a wonderful attitude. I highly recommend this office for your legal needs. Wilma is great!
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Law Office Reviews
The man who tried to bamboozle my mother into deeding him a right-of-way through her property should have known this, because when he went to get financing on his landlocked property, the bank told him he had to have a deeded right-of-way through my mother's property. He has permission to pass through her property, but this is not legally binding, so if permission were later denied and/or if he were to default, the bank would be stuck with a piece of property that is pretty worthless.
Instead of doing his research ahead of time and being wise enough not to purchase a land locked piece of property, he instead lied to my mother about the situation and later threatened her with legal action in an effort to scare her into deeding him a right-of-way. My mother was very upset and stressed about this, so I told her to no longer engage him in discussions on this matter, and to tell him to contact me instead. He tried many of the same things with me, ultimately saying that he would take my mom to court to force her to grant him right-of-way. So I decided it was time to see what the law had to say about all this.
This is where Stephen Berndt comes in. He graciously made an appointment convenient for us, charged a very reasonable consultation fee, and spent well over an hour with us explaining chapter and verse everything we needed to know about what the law says about this kind of a situation. Right-of-way law is very complicated, especially in the mountains, but he went over various scenarios with us and helped us understand exactly what our position is on this matter. The sense of relief we felt was invaluable.
Essentially, the man would have to spend an enormous amount of money and time in an attempt to prove that he has legal right-of-way, and even then he would likely lose. I explained all this the next time he called, and also exposed some of his false claims based on some of my own research.
The story ends this way: the man wound up having to borrow money from a wealthy friend to get the financing he needed.
And my mom and I have Stephen Berndt to thank for helping us resolve this.