Residential
-
July 18, 2024
New IRS Easement Settlements Put Tax Pros In A Pickle
The IRS' new settlement program for partnerships that participated in conservation easements that haven't yet ended up in court comes with terms far sweeter than past offers, making it difficult for practitioners to advise clients to take the deal or wait for a better one.
-
July 18, 2024
DR Horton Says Business Is Steady Amid Housing Crisis
Homebuilding giant D.R. Horton told shareholders July 18 that its business remained steady in 2024's third quarter despite the current housing affordability crisis.
-
July 18, 2024
Las Vegas Developer Says SEC's EB-5 Fraud Suit Falls Short
A Las Vegas developer urged a Nevada federal judge to toss securities regulators' allegations she misappropriated $10 million raised by overseas investors hoping to come to the U.S. to pay down a loan for a project unconnected to their applications, arguing Wednesday the regulators fail to allege a wrongful state of mind.
-
July 18, 2024
Blackstone Sees AI Revolution But 'Muted' RE Fundraising
Blackstone Inc., the world's largest commercial real estate owner, underscored its focus on data centers as the need for digital infrastructure increases, even as it contends with lower commitments from investors that are still skittish about real estate.
-
July 18, 2024
Judge With Lake Property Exits $217M Dam Repair Tax Suit
A Michigan federal judge said he would step aside in a fight over a $217 million tax assessment to fund dam reconstruction because he's part of the assessment district, though he warned that hundreds of plaintiffs could have their own conflicts.
-
July 18, 2024
Property Co. Settles Ex-Manager's Race Bias Suit
A Black former apartment complex manager who accused her ex-employer of putting her in charge of a struggling development because of her race and then firing her for complaining about the situation told a Pennsylvania federal court that her claims had been settled.
-
July 17, 2024
Top Florida Real Estate News In 2024 So Far
Catch up on the hottest real estate news out of Florida so far this year, from alleged zoning abuse and bankruptcy to a brewing condo crisis and a seven-figure highway expansion.
-
July 17, 2024
Gallagher & Kennedy Welcomes CRE, Telecom Expert
Gallagher & Kennedy PA announced that the company has added a commercial real estate and telecommunications expert from Goehring Rutter & Boehm to the firm's real estate practice group.
-
July 17, 2024
Silicon Valley Sees $71M Affordable Housing Complex Sale
Marcus & Millichap announced Wednesday that the commercial real estate brokerage arranged the $71 million sale of a 160-unit affordable housing complex in San Jose, California.
-
July 17, 2024
Fried Frank Guides Blackstone HQ Expansion In Manhattan
Blackstone will expand its Midtown Manhattan office headquarters and extend its lease in an agreement guided by Fried Frank, the building's property manager announced Wednesday.
-
July 17, 2024
Rocket Mortgage Says Results Refute Investors' Fraud Claims
Rocket Mortgage is arguing that the company didn't mislead its shareholders when Rocket's former CEO claimed the company could grow its lending business in a rising interest rate environment because the firm's actual financial performance ended up proving that prediction true.
-
July 17, 2024
Mo. Property Owners' Tax Challenge Time-Barred, Court Says
A group of Missouri property owners can't proceed with their appeal of assessments they claimed were unconstitutional taxes, a state appeals court ruled, finding the challenge was time-barred as an appeal of a special assessment.
-
July 17, 2024
Fed. Gov't Can't Slip Suit Over Affordable Housing Loan
A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge has refused to dismiss a company's suit alleging the federal government violated a loan agreement and now owes the company for the taking of its property.
-
July 17, 2024
Tech Hub Looks To Capitalize On S. Fla.'s Climate Expertise
When the U.S. Economic Development Administration launched its Tech Hubs program across the country in October, South Florida's climate- and resilience-focused entry was one of 31 selected from more than 200 applications, and it made the cut again earlier this month, receiving $19.5 million when an initial funding round of $504 million was awarded to 12 of those hubs.
-
July 17, 2024
U. Miami Climate Leader Sees Chance For Innovation
With Miami often called the "ground zero" of the climate change crisis, the University of Miami in 2022 launched a Climate Resilience Academy to coordinate an interdisciplinary response. Nearly a year into his tenure, its leader reflects on the opportunity for midsize city innovation in infrastructure in the face of climate challenges.
-
July 17, 2024
Arizona Evictions Judge: Invitation Homes Should Apologize
As the largest owner of single-family rental properties in the Phoenix area, Invitation Homes continues to outpace the county average on eviction filings. In one case, a judge admonished the Wall Street landlord and said it should apologize for the “sleepless nights” it had caused two of its tenants.
-
July 17, 2024
Phoenix Developers Nab $51M For Build-To-Rent Construction
Tower Capital arranged $51 million in construction financing for a 190-unit rental community under development in Phoenix's West Valley, after the developer received final approval for a requested rezoning from the city's Planning Commission.
-
July 17, 2024
Do Real Estate Attorneys Ever Take Vacations?
Real estate attorneys looking to take a vacation must do a lot of legwork to ensure that their deals or cases sail smoothly in their absence. But things don't always go as planned.
-
July 17, 2024
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Fried Frank and Tarter Krinsky are among the law firms that guided the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, a period that saw three transactions north of the $100 million mark become public.
-
July 17, 2024
Woman Can't Escape Suit Over Partner's $1.1M FBAR Debt
A woman whose late romantic partner owed $1.1 million in reporting penalties on hidden financial accounts in France and Switzerland can't stop the government from pursuing a suit against her for half the value of her home, a New York federal court ruled.
-
July 16, 2024
Rocket Cos. Investors Drop CEO Retweet Claims From Suit
Investors in mortgage lender Rocket Companies have dropped certain proposed class action claims against the company's CEO, telling a Michigan federal judge that they would no longer accuse the executive of securities fraud over a March 2021 retweet.
-
July 16, 2024
Cox Castle Guides $300M Gowanus Development Financing
Cox Castle & Nicholson LLP advised on $300 million in construction financing from Kennedy Wilson Capital, Affinius Capital and TYKO Capital for Tavros Capital's and Charney Cos.' major residential development in Brooklyn, New York, per county property records and a statement from the parties.
-
July 16, 2024
'Excuse Me?': Judge Vexed By Defamation Claim In Ch. 7 Row
A Connecticut bankruptcy judge on Tuesday appeared skeptical of defamation and tortious interference claims New York-based real estate investor EasyKnock Inc. filed against a trustee handling the Chapter 7 estate of a onetime homeowner, forcing company attorneys to at times to admit they cited no authority to support their case.
-
July 16, 2024
White House Proposes Rent Caps For Corporate Landlords
President Joe Biden on Tuesday unveiled a slate of proposals intended to lower housing costs, chief among them being a push for Congress to pass legislation capping corporate landlords' ability to raise rents by more than 5%.
-
July 16, 2024
Florida Developer Pays $14M For Land For Gated Community
Florida-based developer and homebuilder 13th Floor Homes bought 270 acres of land in Tamarac, Florida, for $14 million and plans on building a 335-home, single-family luxury gated community, the company announced.
Expert Analysis
-
What Upholding Of Short-Term Rental Law Means For NYC
A New York state judge's dismissal of Airbnb's challenge against the Short-Term Rental Registration Law will benefit the city's hospitality industry and exert downward pressure on apartment rents, and potentially provide a model for other local governments around the U.S. to curb short-term apartment rentals, says Alexander Lycoyannis at Holland & Knight.
-
Key Provisions In Florida's New Insurer Accountability Act
Florida's recent bipartisan Insurer Accountability Act introduces a range of new obligations for insurance companies and regulatory bodies to strengthen consumer protection, and other states may follow suit should it prove successful at ensuring a reliable insurance market, say Jan Larson and Benjamin Malings at Jenner & Block.
-
Fair Lending Activity: Calm On The Surface, Churning Below
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's recently released annual fair lending report to Congress confirms that despite the paucity of public fair lending enforcement actions in 2022, the CFPB and prudential banking agencies are engaged in significant nonpublic oversight, examination and enforcement activities, say attorneys at Cooley.
-
The Basics Of Being A Knowledge Management Attorney
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Michael Lehet at Ogletree Deakins discusses the role of knowledge management attorneys at law firms, the common tasks they perform and practical tips for lawyers who may be considering becoming one.
-
To Hire And Keep Top Talent, Think Beyond Compensation
Firms seeking to appeal to sophisticated clients and top-level partners should promote mentorship, ensure that attorneys from diverse backgrounds feel valued, and clarify policies about at-home work, says Patrick Moya at Quaero Group.
-
Negotiating Material Escalation In Construction Contracts
As material price escalation clauses have remained popular in construction contracts despite an easing of recent supply chain issues, attorneys representing owners should understand key considerations for negotiating such clauses, and strategies to mitigate potential exploitation by contractors, says H. Arthur Black II at Brooks Pierce.
-
Identifying Trends And Tips In Litigation Financing Disclosure
Growing interest and controversy in litigation financing raise several salient concerns, but exploring recent compelled disclosure trends from courts around the country can help practitioners further their clients' interests, say Sean Callagy and Samuel Sokolsky at Arnold & Porter.
-
Key Drivers Behind Widespread Adoption Of NAV Financing
While net asset value-based lending has existed for years, NAV lending has only started to move into the mainstream recently — likely due to difficult market conditions faced by sponsors including persistent inflation, high interest rates and a lack of exit opportunities, say Matthew Kerfoot and Jinyoung Joo at Proskauer.
-
The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Elrod On 'Jury Duty'
Though the mockumentary series “Jury Duty” features purposely outrageous characters, it offers a solemn lesson about the simple but brilliant design of the right to trial by jury, with an unwitting protagonist who even John Adams may have welcomed as an impartial foreperson, says Fifth Circuit Judge Jennifer Elrod.
-
Beware Unique Compliance Risks In Home Equity Lending
As borrowers increasingly look to junior-lien mortgages and home equity lines of credit instead of first-lien mortgages, regulators will pay increased attention in turn and lenders will have to watch for a number of legal and regulatory pitfalls as they rush to meet this newfound demand, say attorneys at Orrick.
-
4 Business-Building Strategies For Introvert Attorneys
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Introverted lawyers can build client bases to rival their extroverted peers’ by adapting time-tested strategies for business development that can work for any personality — such as claiming a niche, networking for maximum impact, drawing on existing contacts and more, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.
-
New AI Lending Tech Could Exacerbate Old Bias Risks
As credit and mortgage lending businesses increasingly utilize artificial intelligence technology to help make decisions, they must be aware of the legal risks that may arise under familiar anti-discrimination laws, say Kali Bracey and Grace Wallack at Jenner & Block.
-
Caregiver Flexibility Is Crucial For Atty Engagement, Retention
As the battle for top talent continues post-pandemic, many firms are attempting to attract employees with progressive hybrid working environments — and supporting caregivers before, during and after an extended leave is a critically important way to retain top talent, says Manar Morales at The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance.