Residential
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July 23, 2024
Chicago Arena Owners Propose $7B Mixed-Use Project
The owners of Chicago's United Center, as well as city and community leaders, unveiled a $7 billion investment that aims to build a mixed-use project across more than 55 acres of land near the sports arena, according to a Tuesday announcement.
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July 23, 2024
Insurers Must Defend Well Driller In Lead Contamination Suit
Insurers must defend a drilling company accused of contaminating a rental property's water supply with dangerous levels of lead, a Montana federal court ruled, saying they haven't shown the underlying claims fall outside the policies' insuring agreements or are otherwise excluded from coverage.
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July 23, 2024
Miami-Dade County Nabs $40M For Public Housing Upgrades
Miami-Dade County announced that it received a $39.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which will support investment in two public housing campuses in Overtown and across the entire neighborhood.
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July 22, 2024
EPA Awards $4.3B In Grants For Climate Change Projects
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it's steering $4.3 billion in grant funding to 25 projects that promise to help curb greenhouse gas pollution, advance environmental justice and transition the country to clean power.
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July 22, 2024
Pretium Raises $1.5B For Investing In Single-Family Rentals
Investment firm Pretium raised $1.5 billion for its sixth single-family housing fund, surpassing its fundraising goal with investments from U.S. pension plans, insurers, U.S. wealth managers and others, the firm announced Monday.
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July 22, 2024
New Precedent, New Fate For NAR 'Cooperation' Rule Suit
A California federal judge reversed course Monday and revived a lawsuit, tossed in 2021, targeting National Association of Realtors rules that prevent real estate agents from listing properties outside their affiliated networks, after an intervening Ninth Circuit decision redirected the product market in question.
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July 22, 2024
Colo. Judge Blocks Zoning Ban On Church's Shelter Program
A Colorado federal judge preliminarily blocked a town from enforcing zoning regulations to prevent a church from allowing homeless people to live in RVs on church property, finding the church could likely prove such enforcement unlawfully violates its religious freedom.
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July 22, 2024
Greystar Can Arbitrate Security Deposit Claims, Judge Says
A California federal judge ruled that Greystar can arbitrate the claims of a named plaintiff in a putative class action that accuses the real estate company of wrongfully withholding its former tenants' security deposits.
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July 22, 2024
Nationwide Seeks Travelers' Aid In Hot Tub Illness Row
Nationwide told a California federal court a Travelers unit must help defend a condominium association in an underlying lawsuit brought by a resident alleging he needed a double lung transplant because of hot tub contaminants, arguing Travelers' pollution exclusion and fungi or bacteria exclusion didn't apply.
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July 22, 2024
NAR Economists See Light Amidst Continuing Slow Sales
Even as sales of existing homes reached a low not seen since 1995, the recent growth of new home inventory may be an early positive indicator if other conditions — including interest rates — improve, National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said Monday.
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July 22, 2024
Invitation Homes Reaches $20M Deal To End Permit Fee Suit
Invitation Homes agreed to pay nearly $20 million to end claims that the single-family rental giant defrauded California cities by failing to pay permitting fees when the company carried out renovations on housing properties, according to federal court filings Monday.
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July 22, 2024
Ill. Imposes 20-Year Time Limit On Property Tax Refund Claims
A 20-year time limit was set on refund requests that result from final orders of the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board under a bill signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
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July 22, 2024
'Wolf Of Airbnb' Gets 51 Mos. As Judge Sees Lack Of Remorse
A Manhattan federal judge hit the Florida man who styled himself the "Wolf of Airbnb" with over four years in prison Monday, saying the risk is high that he will break the law again after scamming New York City landlords.
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July 22, 2024
Walker & Dunlop Steers $285.5M Refi For Pa. Student Housing
Walker & Dunlop arranged $285.5 million in refinancing for two Philadelphia student housing properties owned by developer The Goldenberg Group and located on the campus of Temple University, according to a Monday announcement.
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July 22, 2024
2 Firms Rep $1.25B PE Takeover Of Senior Living Co.
Alternative investment firm Stonepeak bought up New Zealand retirement village company Arvida Group Ltd. for $1.25 billion, in an all-cash deal guided by New Zealand-based law firms Bell Gully and Chapman Tripp, according to a Monday announcement.
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July 22, 2024
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Fried Frank and Greenberg Traurig are among the law firms that landed work on the largest New York City real estate deals to hit public records last week, a busy period that saw 10 transactions above the $20 million mark become public.
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July 22, 2024
Orange County's Shrinking Multifamily Vacancies Taper Off
Second-quarter multifamily housing vacancies in California's Orange County reached a rate of 3.9%, and didn't significantly shift from the first quarter of the year, according to a CBRE report.
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July 19, 2024
Property Plays: Barings, Blackstone, Tishman Speyer
Property Plays is a weekly roundup of the latest loans, leases, sales and projects around the country. Send your tips — all confidential — to realestate@law360.com.
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July 19, 2024
Credit Rater Presses 4th Circ. To Trash Developers' Libel Suit
Credit rating firm Dun & Bradstreet has asked the Fourth Circuit to scrap a group of apartment development companies' libel lawsuit, telling the court that nothing in a credit score was provably false.
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July 19, 2024
Bank Regulators Ask 5th Circ. To Unfreeze New Lending Rules
Federal banking regulators have urged the Fifth Circuit to rescind a Texas district court's injunction blocking implementation of new community lending rules, arguing in a filing that the district court's finding essentially rewrote the Community Reinvestment Act.
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July 19, 2024
Calif. Justices Revive Row Over State Farm's Claims Handling
California's Supreme Court revived a policyholder's case over State Farm's claims-handling practices, reversing an appeals court decision and agreeing with the state's attorney general that California's statute of limitations on unfair competition actions, not the policy or insurance code, governed the timing of the case.
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July 19, 2024
Pa. Judge Orders Accused RE Fraudster To Pretrial Detention
A Pennsylvania federal judge has ordered an accused real estate fraudster to pretrial detention, finding that his previously undisclosed ties to Panama and the fact that he is charged with using fake identities in furtherance of an alleged scheme make him a flight risk.
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July 19, 2024
Pa. Bill Seeks Tax Exclusion For Affordable Housing Projects
Pennsylvania would exclude affordable housing projects developed through the federal Rental Assistance Demonstration program from the state's realty transfer tax under a bill introduced in the state Senate.
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July 19, 2024
San Francisco Lawmaker Floats Rent Algorithm Software Ban
A San Francisco lawmaker proposed a ban that would prohibit selling or using software that can be used for rent price fixing, and took aim at property management software companies such as RealPage and Yardi for their software allegedly being used for such a purpose.
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July 19, 2024
Property Management Group Pays $304K For OT Violations
A Florida property management group paid nearly $304,000 in back wages, damages and fines for denying 92 workers overtime pay, the U.S. Department of Labor announced.
Expert Analysis
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How FinCEN Proposal Expands RE Transaction Obligations
Against a regulatory backdrop foreshadowing anti-money laundering efforts in the real estate sector, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's proposed rule significantly expands reporting requirements for certain nonfinanced residential real estate transfers and necessitates careful review, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
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How Calif. Video Recording Ruling May Affect Insured Exams
A recent California appellate decision, Myasnyankin v. Nationwide, allowing policyholders to video record all parties to an insurance examination under oath, has changed the rules of the road for EUOs and potentially opened Pandora's box for future disputes, say John Edson and Preston Bennett at Sheppard Mullin.
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Unpacking FinCEN's Proposed Real Estate Transaction Rule
Phil Jelsma and Ulrick Matsunaga at Crosbie Gliner take a close look at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's recently proposed rulemaking — which mandates new disclosures for professionals involved in all-cash real estate deals — and discuss best next steps for the broad range of businesses that could be affected.
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Texas Insurance Ruling Could Restore Finality To Appraisal
The Texas Supreme Court's decision in Rodriguez v. Safeco, determining that full payment of an appraisal award precludes recovery of attorney fees, indicates a potential return to an era in which timely payment undoubtedly disposes of all possible policyholder claims, says Karl Schulz at Cozen O'Connor.
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Contractors Need Protection From NJ Homeowner Protections
A recently passed New Jersey law, combined with the state's Consumer Fraud Act, is intended to protect innocent homeowners, but legislative action must be taken to prevent homeowners from abusing the law to avoid paying hardworking contractors, say Gary Strong and Madison Calkins at Gfeller Laurie.
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NY Shouldn't Pair 421-a Restoration And Good Cause Eviction
The good cause eviction system of rent control should not be imposed in New York, nor should its legislation be tied to renewal of the 421-a tax abatement program, which New York City desperately needs, says Alexander Lycoyannis at Holland & Knight.
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Setting The Stage For High Court BofA Escrow Interest Case
Dori Bailey and Curtis Johnson at Bond Schoeneck examine relevant legislation and case law dating back 200 years ahead of oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in Cantero v. Bank of America, the outcome of which will determine whether state laws governing mortgage escrow accounts can be enforced against national banks.
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DC's Housing Tax Break Proposal: What's In It, What's Missing
Proposed Washington, D.C., rules implementing the Housing in Downtown Tax Abatement program — for commercial property owners who convert properties into residential housing — thoroughly explain the process for submitting an application, but do not provide sufficient detail regarding the actual dollar value of the abatements, says Daniel Miktus at Akerman.
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Assessing The Future Of Colorado's Economic Loss Rule
The Colorado Supreme Court's decision to review a state appellate court's ruling in Mid-Century Insurance Co. v. HIVE Construction will significantly influence the future of Colorado's economic loss rule, with high stakes for the cost of doing business in the state, says David Holman at Crisham & Holman.
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How Recent Laws Affect Foreign Purchase Of US Real Estate
Early diligence is imperative for U.S. real estate transactions involving foreign actors, including analysis of federal and state foreign investment laws implicated by the transaction, depending on the property's nature and location, the parties' citizenship, and the transaction's structure, say Massimo D’Angelo and Anthony Rapa at Blank Rome.
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What Shareholder Approval Rule Changes Mean For Cos.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently approved proposed rule changes to shareholder requirements by the New York Stock Exchange, an approval that will benefit listed companies in many ways, including by making it easier to raise capital from passive investors, say attorneys at Baker Botts.
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High Court Case Could Reshape Local Development Fees
If last month's oral arguments are any indication of how the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in Sheetz v. County of El Dorado, it's unlikely the justices will hold that the essential nexus and rough proportionality tests under the cases of Nollan, Dolan and Koontz apply to legislative exactions, but a sweeping decision would still be the natural progression in the line of cases giving property owners takings claims, says Phillip Babich at Reed Smith.
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White Collar Plea Deals Are Rarely 'Knowing' And 'Voluntary'
Because prosecutors are not required to disclose exculpatory evidence during plea negotiations, white collar defendants often enter into plea deals that don’t meet the U.S. Supreme Court’s “knowing” and “voluntary” standard for trials — but individual courts and solutions judges could rectify the issue, says Sara Kropf at Kropf Moseley.