Indian Land Leases Extensions (Palm Springs, Country Club: sales, real estate market, condo)

[PSLASam]

Does anyone know of a good attorney that has experience with Indian Land Leases? Has anyone dealt with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and had success with this government agency?

[GoodbyeCalifornia]

PSLASam:

You don't say whether you are trying to renegotiate as an individual property owner or asking because you are a condo owner and your association is about to go through this process. I am also making the assumption that your property is located in Palm Springs. Understand, I am not an expert. However, I am trustee of a condo in a complex located on Indian land. The condo association is currently trying to extend the original land lease. So the information I am passing along to you is based on my involvement in the process.

Firstly, you (or more specifically your attorney) will not be negotiating directly with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Your attorney will be dealing with the attorney for the tribe member or members who own the land under you. I would be willing to bet that your attorney will be negotiating with an attorney named Ernest Noia. He seems to be the legal representative for the majority of the tribe members when it comes to land leases.

Should you be able to reach an agreement with the owners that they deem is favorable to them, it will be presented to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. And this is where it can all come undone. Even if the landowners and you think the deal is fair, the Bureau can still reject the whole thing if they feel it isn't. I'm not sure how they determine a deal unfair if the very Indians they are seeking to look out for feel it is fair.

Don't expect this renegotiation to be a short process. Prepare yourself for it taking years, rather than weeks or months. In our case, the process has been underway for four years and no deal has yet been reached. Also, when the real estate market was very hot, some tribal landowners were tacking on additional conditions as part of their extension deal. This included a provision that they receive a percentage of the final sale amount of your property should you sell it.

That all being said, the one attorney in Palm Springs that knows more about Indian land leases than anyone (outside of Ernest Noia) is James M. Schlecht. I would recommend you contact him.

Good luck.

[PSLASam]

To clarify, I have already received the proposed (a better term "blackmailed") lease extension. I was inquirying whether or not anyone has had any success in negoitation for a sale of the property from the Indians and if any of the attorneys in the Palm Springs area been successful in this type of transaction. The research that I have done so far has come back as negative in these types of situations. I fear that I am bound by the lease extension terms or the prospect of losing my 25-year extension which would make the property worthless. Your comment about taking years, makes me realize that I need to accept the deal, learn from my mistake, and move on. Pay the "blackmail" fees and when the time is right sell the property. Thanks for your input.

[GoodbyeCalifornia]

I apologize for giving you redundant information. I am aware of instances where the Indian landowners have offered to sell the land to the person or association that occupies it. Usually they will do so prior to a lease extension negotiation being started. I know of one large condo association in Palm Springs (Seven Lakes Country Club) that has been given the option to buy the land and are currently in the process of working out a deal. But as your research has shown, this is not a very common thing.

Our association had the opportunity to buy the land almost 20 years ago when the real estate market in Palm Springs was in the toilet. Unfortunately, many of the homeowners at that time didn't see any value in buying the land. We did inquire as to whether we could now purchase the land. Two of the three tribe members that own our property were favorable. The other was not. So here we are paying for the shortsightedness of previous homeowners.

I certainly feel bad for your situation. Because of stories like yours and what I am currently experiencing, I have gone out of my way on this forum and elsewhere to strongly discourage people from purchasing property on Indian land. Unfortunately, what I have found is that many real estate agents in Palm Springs do not properly educate prospective buyers about the pitfalls of buying on lease land, either because they don't understand it themselves or simply want to make a sale.

In any event, I am sorry for what you are going through. I hope everything works out for you in the future.

[PhillyKelly]

We are in the middle of a similar nightmare. I have done a lot of research, met with two attorneys and have taken this to Washington DC. This is blackmail...extortion...whatever you want to call it. NO NEGOTIATIONS we have been told. 30% higher monthly lease, over 5K upfront to sign and over 8K when we sell. Mary Bono could care less. She has gotten 20 million in campaign contributions. Jim Schlecht is the atty most recommended. It takes a long time to fight and that means $$$. If you have less than 30 years on your lease you cannot sell or refi. They know it all and use it against you. Please check out Robert McCarthy's testimony in October 2007 in the Cobell vs. Kempthorne lawsuit. The federal government did a follow up investigation and completely agreed. With regard to land lease extensions, McCarthy said:
"In virtually every case for virtually every type of administrative action," the agency charged a fee for its services, McCarthy said. For example, a fee of 1 percent was applied to every single land sale, McCarthy said. In Palm Springs -- where real estate is big business -- this amounted to payments to the BIA that were as high as $60,000, according to one document entered into evidence. But federal regulations limit fees for land sales to $22.50, McCarthy said. The regulations also cap fees for leases at $500, though that apparently wasn't followed in Palm Springs. They essentially completely disregard the regulations in terms of the limits that are there."