Residential
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March 14, 2025
Washington Dept. OKs Property Conversion Tax Break Regs
Washington state's Department of Revenue adopted regulations to clarify eligibility requirements for a retail sales and use tax break for the conversion of commercial property to affordable housing authorized by a 2024 law, according to a rulemaking order.
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March 13, 2025
Fla. Condo Says Insurers Unfairly Handled Hurricane Claim
A Pensacola Beach condominium complex told a Florida federal court that it is entitled to recover attorney fees and other costs associated with what it alleged was its insurers' failures to fairly handle its claim for Hurricane Sally damage.
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March 13, 2025
Sister Sues To Enforce $28M Spanish Family Arb. Award
A sister has sued two brothers in Miami-Dade County state civil court to enforce an approximately $28 million arbitral award over assets and property in Florida, Spain and the Dominican Republic, saying they tried to cut her out of a family agreement signed by their mother.
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March 13, 2025
Housing Advocacy Groups Sue Over HUD Grant Cuts
A coalition of advocacy organizations filed a proposed class action in Massachusetts federal court Thursday against the Trump administration over the termination of dozens of grants to programs targeting housing discrimination.
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March 13, 2025
NYC Developers Already Putting City Of Yes Tweaks To Use
New York City's City of Yes for Housing Opportunity is already reshaping development following its December passage, allowing one developer to nearly double the height of a multifamily project in the Bronx, panelists at New York Build said Thursday.
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March 13, 2025
State Farm Hit With Hail Damage Coverage Suit
A married couple accused State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. in Ohio federal court of wrongfully denying coverage after their home was damaged by wind and a hailstorm.
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March 13, 2025
Walker & Dunlop Arranges $176M Single-Family Rental Refi
Commercial real estate adviser Walker & Dunlop Inc. said Thursday that it arranged a $176 million credit facility to refinance a group of seven single-family rental communities in the Atlanta area.
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March 13, 2025
Smith Currie Hires Veteran Construction Atty To Fla. Office
Smith Currie Oles LLP has hired a former Siegfried Rivera construction litigation attorney as partner in the firm's Fort Lauderdale, Florida, office, the firm announced Wednesday.
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March 13, 2025
Mich. Justices Struggle With Line-Drawing For Rental Use
Michigan Supreme Court justices on Thursday said they were struggling with where to draw the line for when homes can be rented short-term as property owners along a Lake Michigan neighborhood urged the state's top court to reverse a lower court's decision that said a restrictive covenant barred all vacation rentals.
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March 13, 2025
Insurers Must Cover Real Estate Cos. In False Claims Dispute
A pair of directors and officers insurers must provide coverage to real estate holding companies in an underlying False Claims Act whistleblower action, a Delaware Superior Court judge ruled, finding that a breach of contract exclusion does not bar coverage.
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March 13, 2025
Thompson Thrift Raises $255M For Multifamily Developments
Thompson Thrift announced Thursday it pulled in $255 million from its limited partners to build a portfolio of high-quality apartment communities across the U.S., beating the company's original fundraising goal of $230 million.
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March 13, 2025
RealPage Pushes Bid To Duck Antitrust Case In NC
RealPage and a group of landlords backed up a motion to shut down claims that the company's software helps fix rental prices brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and a group of states in North Carolina federal court.
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March 13, 2025
NY Bill Seeks Tax Break For Residential Green Infrastructure
New York state would provide a partial property tax abatement for owners of residential properties in New York City who undertake green infrastructure projects as part of a bill introduced in the state Senate.
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March 12, 2025
NYC Beefs Up Inspections After Bronx Building Collapse
A New York City Department of Buildings enforcement official said Wednesday that the agency is proactively targeting known bad actors and companies associated with them following a November 2023 major structural collapse at a multifamily property in the Bronx.
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March 12, 2025
Real Estate Companies Scrub DEI From Public Filings
Many real estate companies that previously disclosed their efforts to further diversity, equity and inclusion have avoided any mention of the topic in their latest financial disclosures, as the political winds have shifted against such initiatives.
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March 12, 2025
Insurance Pros Urge Calif. Lawmakers To Address Fire Risks
Insurance experts in a committee hearing that largely summed up concerns following the Los Angeles fires urged California lawmakers on Wednesday to address rising physical risks, smoke damage complaints, and regulations meant to expand coverage access.
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March 12, 2025
Real Estate Takes On Heightened Focus Under Trump's CFIUS
President Donald Trump's initial policy directives show that real estate will be a bigger focal point for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, and even more corporate transactions across various industries could start to fall under the committee's microscope.
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March 12, 2025
Real Estate Co. Says Commission Inflation Suit Is Untimely
Arguing that the case is time-barred, one of the biggest real estate firms in the Northeast says a Connecticut judge should toss a retooled class action accusing company officials of joining trade groups to press for industry rules that boosted their bottom line.
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March 12, 2025
HUD Rejects NC City's DEI-Incorporating Disaster Relief Plan
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said it rejected a draft plan submitted by Asheville, North Carolina, outlining how the city would distribute $225 million in federal relief funds for hurricane recovery due to the plan's incorporation of "DEI criteria."
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March 12, 2025
Comcast Fights CEO Deposition Order In Easement Spat
Comcast has told a Washington state judge that an order requiring CEO Brian Roberts to sit for a deposition in an easement dispute with a local landowner could expose him to a series of similar requests in the hundreds of lawsuits naming the telecommunications giant each year.
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March 12, 2025
Fla. County Commissioners OK $2.6B Miami Housing Project
A Miami-Dade County Commission committee approved a 99-year lease and development deal for a $2.6 billion, 5,730-unit Miami housing project that will be overseen by developer Swerdlow Group.
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March 12, 2025
Feds Launch 1st FEMA Fraud Charges Over LA Wildfires
Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles announced Wednesday that three people have been arrested for allegedly submitting fake disaster relief applications to the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the wake of the Palisades and Eaton fires, the first such charges to come out of the devastating January blazes.
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March 12, 2025
Property Tax Can Fund Retired Cops' Insurance, Panel Says
A Michigan state appeals court on Tuesday said property taxes imposed by four municipalities to cover the cost of health insurance for retired firefighters and police officers are not illegal, finding a law established before a constitutional amendment barring new taxes without a public vote allowed taxation for broad retirement benefits.
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March 12, 2025
Greenspoon Marder Adds Phillips Nizer Real Estate Trio In NY
Greenspoon Marder LLP announced Wednesday that a trio of real estate attorneys including two partners have joined the firm's New York office from Phillips Nizer LLP.
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March 12, 2025
Nelson Mullins Real Estate Ace Joins Kutak Rock In Fla.
A former Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP partner who has helped close more than $1 billion in real estate transactions in just the past two years has moved her practice to Kutak Rock LLP's Tallahassee, Florida, office.
Expert Analysis
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In The CFPB Playbook: No Lazy, Hazy Days Of Summer
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is headed for a brisk fall season, on the heels of a heated summer, which included the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that the CFPB funding structure is constitutional, and in advance of the November election, says Eamonn Moran at Holland & Knight.
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Basel Endgame Rules: A Change Is Coming
The Federal Reserve Board's recently announced recalibration of the Basel endgame proposal begins a critical chapter in the evolution of not only the safety and soundness of U.S. banks, but also of banks' abilities to lend and support American businesses and consumers, say attorneys at Davis Wright.
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Reassessing Lease Provisions To Account For ESG Initiatives
As companies seek to build ESG considerations into their businesses, it's crucial to understand how such initiatives can quickly become significant enough to compel reassessment of lease agreement provisions, and how best to modify leases accordingly, say Julian Freeman and Gabe Pitassi at Cox Castle.
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Avoid Getting Burned By Agencies' Solar Financing Spotlight
Recently coordinated reports and advisories from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission maximize the spotlight on the consumer solar financing market and highlight pitfalls for lenders to avoid in this burgeoning field, says Mercedes Tunstall at Cadwalader.
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Assessing Algorithmic Versus Generative AI Pricing Tools
A comparison of traditional algorithmic pricing models and those powered by generative artificial intelligence can help regulators and practitioners weigh the pros and cons of relying on large language models to price products or services, say Maxime Cohen at McGill University, and Tim Spittle and Jimmy Royer at Analysis Group.
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Navigating A Potpourri Of Possible Transparency Act Pitfalls
Despite the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's continued release of guidance for complying with the Corporate Transparency Act, its interpretation remains in flux, making it important for companies to understand potentially problematic areas of ambiguity in the practical application of the law, say attorneys at Sidley.
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DOJ Must Overcome Hurdles In RealPage Antitrust Case
The U.S. Department of Justice's recent claims that RealPage's pricing software violates the Sherman Act mark a creative, and apparently contradictory, shift in the agency's approach to algorithmic price-fixing that will face several key challenges, say attorneys at Clifford Chance.
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What To Know About CFPB Stance On Confidentiality Terms
A recent circular from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau represents a growing effort across government agencies to address overbroad confidentiality agreements, and gives employers insight into the bureau's perspective on the issue as it relates to the Consumer Financial Protection Act, say Holly Williamson and Elizabeth King at Hunton.
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What's Next For Federal Preemption In Financial Services
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's review of its preemption interpretations and growing pressure from state regulators signal potential changes ahead for preemption in U.S. financial services, and the path forward will likely involve a reevaluation of the entire framework, say attorneys at Clark Hill.
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Increased Scrutiny Raises Int'l Real Estate Transaction Risks
Recently proposed regulations expanding the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' oversight, a White House divestment order and state-level legislative efforts signal increasing scrutiny of real estate transactions that may trigger national security concerns, say Luciano Racco and Aleksis Fernández Caballero at Foley Hoag.
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Financial Incentives May Alleviate Affordable Housing Crisis
There is a wide array of financial incentives and assistance that the government can provide to both real estate developers and individuals to chip away at the housing affordability problem from multiple angles, say Eric DeBear and Madeline Williams at Cozen.
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Portland's Gross Receipts Tax Oversteps City's Authority
Recent measures by Portland, Oregon, that expand the voter-approved scope of the Clean Energy Surcharge on certain retail sales eviscerate the common meaning of the word "retail" and exceed the city's chartered authority to levy tax, say Nikki Dobay at Greenberg Traurig and Jeff Newgard at Peak Policy.
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The Bank Preemption Ripple Effects After Cantero, Flagstar
The importance of federal preemption for financial institutions will only increase as technology-driven innovations evolve, which is why the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Cantero v. Bank of America and vacatur of Kivett v. Flagstar Bank have real modern-day significance for national banks, say attorneys at WilmerHale.