Residential

  • April 02, 2025

    Eric Adams Case Dismissed As Judge Rebukes DOJ 'Bargain'

    A Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday permanently dismissed corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, heeding advice from court-appointed counsel Paul Clement even as he gave credence to district prosecutors' claims of a quid pro quo between Adams and Trump administration officials in the Justice Department.

  • April 01, 2025

    Ex-Microsoft Manager Says He Was Fired For Whistleblowing

    A former project manager for Microsoft says he was fired after flagging compliance issues and misconduct, including being forced to leak sensitive data from client Freddie Mac's workforce platform and being asked to falsify a report to cover up fraud, according to a suit filed Monday in Texas federal court.

  • April 01, 2025

    Ill. Court Trims Deutsche Bank Housing Maintenance FHA Suit

    An Illinois federal judge has trimmed Fair Housing Act claims from a coalition's suit alleging Deutsche Bank neglected foreclosed properties in minority neighborhoods, saying he was unconvinced the alleged FHA violations caused the racial disparities in maintenance work.

  • April 01, 2025

    Broker Must Face Mortgage Co.'s Claims It Worked With Rivals

    A mortgage broker cannot escape a lawsuit from United Wholesale Mortgage alleging the broker breached a contract by sourcing loans to United's top competitors despite agreeing not to, a Michigan federal judge said Monday in finding the new terms and the way they were enacted were allowed under state law. 

  • April 01, 2025

    Multifamily CMBS Delinquency Jumps In March, Report Shows

    The delinquency rate for commercial mortgage-backed securities connected to multifamily properties is the highest it's been since 2015, according to a Tuesday report from business research firm Trepp.

  • April 01, 2025

    Paul Weiss Guides Brookfield's Majority Stake In Mortgage Biz

    Brookfield Asset Management, advised by Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP, has acquired a majority stake in Angel Oak Cos., led by Paul Hastings LLP, in a deal that brings the mortgage specialist into its $317 billion credit business, the companies said Tuesday.

  • April 01, 2025

    NY Judge Tosses Rent Assistance Bias Class Action

    The New York City Housing Authority and the state government escaped race discrimination claims from a proposed class of Black, Hispanic and Latino tenants, after a New York federal judge ruled that the plaintiffs lacked standing.

  • April 01, 2025

    5 Firms Guide $215M Financing Deal For Miami Condo Tower

    PMG, Lion Development Group and Marc Roberts Companies have obtained $215 million in construction financing for their 44-story, 659-unit downtown Miami condominium tower project with help from five law firms, the companies announced Tuesday.

  • April 01, 2025

    Catching Up With New Bankruptcy Case Action

    Restaurant chain Hooters launched a Chapter 11 case with about $380 million in debt, saying it has reached a deal to shed its company-owned restaurants and trade debt for equity. Gastropub chain Bar Louie filed for bankruptcy, listing nearly $70 million of debt, about five years after its creditors took over the business during a previous bankruptcy. And a sustainability-focused financial services company filed for Chapter 11 less than a month after the firm's founder was arrested and charged with fraud.

  • April 01, 2025

    Ohio Justices Won't Hear 3rd-Party Property Tax Appeal Case

    The Ohio Supreme Court declined Tuesday to hear a challenge to the constitutionality of third-party property tax appeal restrictions, leaving in place an appellate court's dismissal of the matter.

  • April 01, 2025

    Homeowners Premiums Rose 24% In 3 Years, Report Says

    Average homeowners insurance premiums in the United States rose by 24% from 2021 to 2024, a national crisis that is putting pressure on Americans with mortgage burdens, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Consumer Federation of America.

  • April 01, 2025

    Idaho Boosts Property Tax Breaks By $100M

    Idaho will increase tax breaks for property owners in the state starting this year and every year thereafter under a bill signed by the governor.

  • March 31, 2025

    NYC Fights Group's Claim Of Biased Property Tax System

    An organization that says New York City's property tax regime discriminates against minorities can't proceed with its claim, the city told the state appellate court, saying that further discovery or trial is needed.

  • March 31, 2025

    6th Circ. Affirms County's Foreclosed Property Proceeds Win

    The Sixth Circuit sided with a Michigan county Friday in a resident's suit alleging the decision to withhold surplus proceeds from the tax foreclosure sale of her home was an unconstitutional taking, affirming the constitutionality of a process for claiming proceeds that she failed to follow.

  • March 31, 2025

    Feds' Race Bias Suit Should Target Appraiser, Rocket Says

    Rocket Mortgage LLC has urged a Colorado federal court to dismiss the federal government's race discrimination suit against the mortgage lender, an appraisal management company and an appraiser, arguing it is not responsible for what the appraiser purportedly did.

  • March 31, 2025

    Insurer Must Cover $2.4M Water Damage, Condo Owners Say

    A Washington condo association has filed a federal consumer protection complaint against Country Casualty Insurance Co., alleging $2.4 million in unpaid claims for hidden water damage to exterior sheathing and framing the condo association says is covered by its property insurance policy.

  • March 31, 2025

    Vistria Group Affordable Housing Fund Raises $2.5B

    Vistria Group announced Monday that its affordable housing-focused real estate fund has raised $2.5 billion since the fund was launched in 2023, adding that the private investment firm has acquired more than 7,000 housing units through the fund.

  • March 31, 2025

    Regulators Seek Pause On 5th Circ. Fight Over CRA Rules

    Federal regulators have asked the Fifth Circuit to halt further proceedings in a banking industry challenge to their Biden-era Community Reinvestment Act rules, citing their recently announced plans to go back to the drawing board with them.

  • March 31, 2025

    Pearlstone Partners Gets $154.5M Loan For Texas Condos

    Pearlstone Partners obtained a $154.5 million construction loan for its recently started three-building 158-unit luxury condominium project in downtown Austin, Texas, the full-service developer announced Monday.

  • March 31, 2025

    NYC Real Estate Week In Review

    Goldberg Weprin and Hirschen Singer are among the law firms that scored work on the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, a slow period that saw only two deals above the $15 million mark become public.

  • March 31, 2025

    Utah Requires Min. Property Tax Rate Consensus Certification

    Utah will require a minimum property tax rate imposed by school districts to be certified by the state's tax commission, the governor's Office of Planning and Budget and the state Legislature's Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst under a bill signed by the governor.

  • March 31, 2025

    Eric Adams Urges Speedy Dismissal As NYC Primaries Loom

    New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Monday urged a Manhattan federal judge to promptly throw out his bribery and corruption charges, pointing to an upcoming mayoral election filing deadline and the court's previous vows to rule quickly.

  • March 31, 2025

    Paul Weiss Guiding Rocket On $9.4B Mr. Cooper Buy

    Online mortgage giant Rocket said Monday it has agreed to acquire rival Mr. Cooper Group in an all-stock transaction valued at $9.4 billion, with Paul Weiss advising Rocket and Wachtell Lipton and Bradley Arant representing Mr. Cooper.

  • March 28, 2025

    Ga. Housing Authority, Former Worker End Retaliation Claims

    Both parties asked a Georgia federal court Friday to toss a former executive director's claims that she was fired by the Housing Authority of Fulton County, Georgia, after reporting her experiences of sexual harassment, saying they had reached a settlement.

  • March 28, 2025

    Judge Blocks Bid To 'Hijack' $44M Ga. Realtor Settlement

    A Georgia federal judge on Friday rejected a bid by the plaintiffs who brought a series of landmark fee inflation claims against the National Association of Realtors and major brokerages to intervene in a similar Peach State action, putting their bid to block an alleged lowball settlement on ice.

Expert Analysis

  • Harsh 11th Circ. Rebuke Should Inspire Changes At CFPB

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    The Eleventh Circuit's recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Brown decision, which found the CFPB's conduct had been egregious in a debt collection enforcement action, should encourage some reflection at the bureau regarding its level of attention to the reasonable due process concerns of regulated institutions, says Eric Mogilnicki at Covington.

  • 3 Alternatives To CRE Collateralized Loan Obligations

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    With current commercial real estate market conditions pushing issuers away from collateralized loan obligations, several Freddie Mac offerings should be considered as alternative exit strategies for mortgage loans secured by multifamily properties, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

  • Fla. Banking Brief: All The Notable Compliance Updates In Q2

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    Florida financial institutions must now navigate minimum interest rates for attorney trust accounts, restrictions on property sales to prohibited foreigners, and a ban on weighing environmental, social and governance factors to determine a customer's creditworthiness — changes that will add to banks' compliance pressures, says Patricia Hernandez at Avila Rodriguez.

  • NY Court Sends Mixed Signals On Contested Foreclosure Law

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    Although New York's Appellate Division, Second Department, has avoided addressing the constitutionality and retroactive application of the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act, its conflicting pattern of applying FAPA to existing cases is creating confusion regarding the future of the law, say Christopher Gorman and John Muldoon at Abrams Fensterman and litigation support analyst Robert Marx.

  • Expect CFPB Scrutiny On AI In Lending

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    As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau prioritizes regulatory oversight of the financial services industry's use of automated systems and artificial technology, it will need to balance regulation and innovation, and companies should prepare to mitigate any potential for bias or unfair, deceptive or abusive acts and practices, say attorneys at Goodwin.

  • Texas Construction Statute Of Repose Leaves Open Questions

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    Texas' new significantly shorter statute of repose barring certain suits against construction contractors contains some ambiguous wording that will likely raise questions to be decided by courts, says Mason Hester at Munsch Hardt.

  • In The CFPB Playbook: Abuse Policy, PACE, Payment Apps

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    From defining "abusive" conduct to implementing green energy financing to policing payment apps, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was busy last quarter. Akerman's Nora Rigby discusses all this and more in the first installment of bureau activity recaps by former CFPB personnel.

  • How To Avoid Flopping When Flipping Fla. Real Estate

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    As land prices rise, Florida real estate developers are increasingly contracting to flip property to other purchasers for a profit, and they should carefully consider the unique risks and issues associated with the different forms that the process can take, says Gary Kaleita at Lowndes.

  • States Must Fight Predatory Real Estate Listing Agreements

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    As momentum against long-term real estate listing agreements continues to grow, states should take action to render existing agreements unenforceable and discourage future unfair and deceptive trade practices in real estate, says Elizabeth Blosser at the American Land Title Association.

  • Steps To Success For Senior Associates

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Adriana Paris at Rissman Barrett discusses the increased responsibilities and opportunities that becoming a senior associate brings and what attorneys in this role should prioritize to flourish in this stressful but rewarding next level in their careers.

  • Ohio Tax Talk: Building On Federal Affordable Housing Credit

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    Ohio's soon-to-be-implemented low-income housing tax credit could significantly affect the state's affordable housing landscape and influence tax-credit deal financing for these projects, though Senate changes may have dampened the new credit's immense potential, say Raghav Agnihotri and Rachael Chamberlain at Frost Brown.

  • LA's High-Value Real Estate Transfer Tax Should Be Scrapped

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    Los Angeles’ recently implemented high-value property transfer tax has chilled the real estate market, is failing to meet revenue expectations and raises significant constitutional concerns, making it a flawed piece of legislation that should be invalidated, says attorney Paul Weinberg.

  • Foreign Investment In Real Estate Is Getting More Complicated

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    Increasing federal scrutiny and a proliferation of new state laws targeting foreign investment in real estate may complicate or prevent transactions even by U.S. companies or funds that have shareholders or limited partners from China and other countries of concern, say attorneys at Akin.