Residential
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April 04, 2024
Va. Ups Income Tax Credits For Landlords In Housing Program
Virginia doubled the maximum amount of income tax credits that may be issued to qualifying landlords who participate in a housing choice voucher program under a bill signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
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April 04, 2024
MV Realty Abusing Ch. 11 Process, Bankruptcy Court Told
State prosecutors, federal agencies and consumer advocates have told a Florida bankruptcy judge that MV Realty is using the Chapter 11 process to avoid enforcement and enshrine a set of predatory agreements designed to extract millions in junk fees from homeowners over the next 40 years.
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April 04, 2024
Surfside, Fla., Condo Collapse Victims To Get Additional $4.8M
A Florida judge signed off Thursday on an additional $4.8 million distribution to the victims of the deadly collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium after the receiver overseeing the defunct condominium association told the court the association had fewer financial obligations and tax liabilities than expected.
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April 03, 2024
Nationstar Adds 'Junk Fee' For Loan Payoff Quote, Suit Says
A proposed class hit Nationstar Mortgage LLC with a suit alleging the mortgage servicing firm illegally charges homeowners a "junk fee" for written payoff quotes in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
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April 03, 2024
US Bank Beats $100M Suit Over Role As CDO Trustee
A New York federal judge has freed U.S. Bank from a more than $100 million conflict-of-interest lawsuit brought by a group of mortgage-backed CDOs, which accused the bank of obstructing their efforts to sue over underlying mortgage bond losses tied to the 2008 financial crisis.
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April 03, 2024
Tenants Seek To Join NJ Rent Control Exemption Suit
Two Jersey City tenant associations have urged a New Jersey federal judge to allow them to intervene in a suit filed by a landlord and its property manager over a revoked rent control exemption.
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April 03, 2024
EPA Faces Down Water Rule Challenge In Texas
The federal government has asked a Texas federal judge to toss lawsuits filed by Texas, Idaho and more than a dozen industry groups challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers' rule defining the extent of the Clean Water Act's reach.
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April 03, 2024
Md. Lawmakers OK Special Tax Rates For Vacant Property
Maryland would authorize its counties and the city of Baltimore to impose special tax rates on vacant or abandoned property under legislation approved by lawmakers and headed to the governor.
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April 03, 2024
Colo. Judge Rejects Landlord's Bid To Toss Unfair Fee Suit
A Colorado state judge rejected a property management company's bid to toss a class action accusing it of charging unfair rental application fees, writing in an order that a Denver renter has done enough to allege the company violated a 2019 law aimed at protecting renters from inflated charges.
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April 03, 2024
San Francisco Leaders Back Ax Of Public Camping Ban
A coalition of San Francisco stakeholders has accused the city and California of overstepping their bounds in an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn an Oregon city's prohibition on camping in public spaces, discounting their "alarmist claims" that the ruling rendered jurisdictions powerless.
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April 03, 2024
CBRE Economist Projects Real Estate Uptick For 2024
After largely retreating to the sidelines during the past couple of years of economic challenges, it is time for real estate players to step back on the field and take some risks — if cautiously — in light of the current economic outlook and solid industry fundamentals, CBRE Group Inc.'s global chief economist suggested Wednesday.
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April 03, 2024
Real Estate Lawyers On The Move
Goodwin Procter, Akin Gump and Dykema Gossett are among the law firms that have made recent real estate hires.
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April 03, 2024
Calif. OTA Nixes Lakers Owner's Property Loss Claim
Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss isn't eligible for a tax refund on the sale of her beachfront property because it was not a business transaction that resulted in a loss that could be carried back, the state Office of Tax Appeals ruled.
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April 03, 2024
As EVs Catch On, Chargers May Be New Real Estate Standard
Electric vehicle charging infrastructure isn't yet a prerequisite for a successful real estate development, but experts say it's speeding toward becoming as standard as Wi-Fi or ATMs, even in an environment of rapid-fire regulatory and technology change.
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April 03, 2024
2024 Proxy Fight Preview: Hotel Operator, Shops, Offices
Every spring ushers in a new season of proxy fights between activist investors and boards of directors, and a handful of commercial property companies are in the midst of battles with dissatisfied shareholders, while the industry at large continues to face economic stressors.
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March 29, 2024
Millennials Bounced Back In Homebuying Market, NAR Finds
Millennials retook their spot as the largest share of homebuyers between July 2022 and June 2023, driven by younger buyers' first-time home purchases and older millennials' repeat purchases, according to a National Association of Realtors report.
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April 02, 2024
Connecticut Estate Withdraws Deadly Airbnb Blast Claims
The estate of a woman who died two years ago after the stove in an Airbnb property in Jamaica erupted into a fiery blast has withdrawn a Connecticut lawsuit against both the online service and the Texas-based owner of the retreat, with the maneuver coming just days after the owner challenged jurisdiction in the state.
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April 02, 2024
MV Realty Files Ch. 11 Plan Amid Growing Calls To Toss Case
MV Realty plans to reorganize in Florida bankruptcy court by firing its brokers and collecting millions in fees from about 34,000 U.S. homeowners over the next 40 years, even as more than a dozen states backed the U.S. Trustee's view that the case is a stall tactic against prosecutors.
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April 02, 2024
Ex-NY Court Atty Says DA Has No Evidence Of Corruption
A former appeals court attorney told a Manhattan jury Tuesday that the district attorney can't back up charges that she intended to benefit her husband when she gave a "basic, procedural fact" about the status of a case to his client.
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April 02, 2024
McLaughlin Stern Wins NY Properties Cases
McLaughlin & Stern LLP's real estate practice team won two victories in New York state courts, preserving a company's ownership of a Brooklyn townhouse and getting a mechanic's lien tossed in a case involving a Long Island home's renovation.
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April 02, 2024
Berkeley Nixes Natural Gas Ban, But Shift To Electric Rolls On
The city of Berkeley has agreed to unwind a ban on natural gas infrastructure in new construction under a deal with the California Restaurant Association, possibly foreshadowing a shift away from such bans and toward new incentive structures for electrification, attorneys say.
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April 02, 2024
Conn. Real Estate Co. Accused Of Inflating Commissions
The largest real estate firm in Connecticut, William Raveis Real Estate Inc., "artificially elevated" commissions and company profits when its executives and employees flooded the ranks of local and national trade groups and helped adopt lucrative new rules, a proposed class action antitrust and unfair trade practices case alleges.
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April 02, 2024
Hagens Berman To Lead Yardi Rent Price-Fixing Class Action
A Washington federal court tapped Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP as interim lead counsel for a putative class of renters amid a suit alleging that 11 property management companies are part of a price-fixing ring powered by an algorithm developed by Yardi Systems Inc.
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April 02, 2024
JLL, Amazon Close $140M Financing Deal For Wash. Homes
JLL has lined up $139.64 million in financing from the Amazon Housing Equity Fund for the acquisition and renovation of 11 affordable housing properties in the state of Washington, the real estate services firm announced.
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April 01, 2024
RICO Claims Fail In Suit Against Developer, Judge Says
A Texas federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit brought by real estate entities associated with a Dallas developer who accused the founders of Megatel Homes LLC of racketeering, saying that the lawsuit didn't plausibly state that the defendants had engaged in any unlawful racketeering activity.
Expert Analysis
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Proactive Measures While NY Foreclosure Law Is In Limbo
While questions about the scope and constitutionality of New York's Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act might not be resolved by courts for years, lenders, borrowers and other interested parties can take action to protect their rights and potentially expedite appellate review, say Allison Schoenthal and Andrew Kim at Goodwin.
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EB-5 Investment Period Clarification Raises More Questions
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' recent clarifying guidance for EB-5 investors, specifying that the statutory investment period begins two years from the date of investment, raises as many questions as it answers given related agency requirements and investors' potential contractual obligations, says Daniel Lundy at Klasko Immigration Law Partners.
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How NY Residential Property Condition Disclosure Is Shifting
New York's recent significant amendments to the Property Condition Disclosure Act provide a new focus on the risk and damage from flooding, and the changes will affect the duties and standard of practice for real estate brokers, as well as liability and compliance for sellers and landlords, says Steven Ebert at Cassin & Cassin.
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Conn. Banking Brief: The Notable Compliance Updates In Q3
The most notable legal changes affecting Connecticut financial institutions in the third quarter of 2023 included increased regulatory protections for consumers, an expansion of state financial assistance for underserved communities, and a panoply of tweaks to existing laws, says Brian Rich at Barclay Damon.
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Mass. Banking Brief: The Notable Compliance Updates In Q3
Among the most significant developments in the financial services space in the third quarter of the year, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court handed down a stunning endorsement of the state's fiduciary duty rule, and banking regulators continued their multiyear crackdown on unregistered entities, say attorneys at Mintz.
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Insurance Rulings Continue Expansion Of Appraisal's Ambit
Two recent Illinois insurance cases allowing property damage appraisers to determine causation — Wysoczan v. Cambridge in federal court and Shelter v. Morrow in state appellate court — perpetuate a judicial trend that will result in a slower, more expensive and cumbersome appraisal process that resembles litigation, says Matthew Fortin at BatesCarey.
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In The CFPB Playbook: The Bureau In The Courts
From defending the constitutionality of its funding and the scope of its rulemaking authority in the courts to releasing more nonbinding guidance, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had a busy summer. Orrick's John Coleman discusses all this and more in the second installment of quarterly bureau activity recaps by former CFPB personnel.
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Fintech Cos. Should Consider Asset-Based Financing For RE
Fintech companies that own or plan to acquire real property may be able to utilize asset-based financings to access more efficient and cost-effective forms of capital beyond traditional venture capital sources, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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What To Consider When Converting Calif. Offices To Housing
In light of California legislators' recent efforts to expedite the process for converting offices into residential buildings, developers should evaluate both the societal upsides, and the significant economic and legal hurdles, of such conversions, says Steven Otto at Crosbie Gliner.
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How New Lawyers Can Leverage Feedback For Growth
Embracing constructive criticism as a tool for success can help new lawyers accelerate their professional growth and law firms build a culture of continuous improvement, says Katie Aldrich at Fringe Professional Development.
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9 Consumer Finance Issues To Note From CFPB Report
A recent report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau highlights abusive consumer finance tactics that the agency uncovered during supervisory examinations over the last year — among the most significant issues identified: deceptive practices in automotive loan servicing, and consumer reporting and debt collection compliance failures, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Twitter Legal Fees Suit Offers Crash Course In Billing Ethics
X Corp.'s suit alleging that Wachtell grossly inflated its fees in the final days of Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition provides a case study in how firms should protect their reputations by hewing to ethical billing practices and the high standards for professional conduct that govern attorney-client relationships, says Lourdes Fuentes at Karta Legal.
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Transaction Risks In Residential Mortgage M&A Due Diligence
As the residential mortgage market continues to consolidate due to interest rate increases and low housing volume, buyers and sellers should pay attention to a number of compliance considerations ranging from fair lending laws to employee classification, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.