Residential
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June 13, 2024
Mich. Bill Seeks Income Tax Credit For Home Down Payments
Michigan would create an income tax credit for homebuyers who purchase a single-family residence that would equal a portion of the down payment amount as part of a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives.
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June 13, 2024
Fla. Developer Inks $50M Capital Stack for Affordable Complex
Developer and construction company Pinnacle announced that it has secured $49.9 million in financing from various sources, which will allow the company to begin construction on a 120-unit expansion of an affordable housing community in unincorporated Miami-Dade County.
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June 13, 2024
Blackstone's $10B AIR Buy Gets Nod From Top 2 Proxy Firms
Denver-based Apartment Income REIT Corp.'s shareholders have recommendations from the two leading proxy advisory firms to approve an agreement to sell off the real estate investment trust to private equity giant Blackstone for $10 billion, the company announced June 13.
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June 13, 2024
Thompson Thrift Closes $250M Multifamily Development Fund
Thompson Thrift announced that the national real estate firm raised more than $250 million for its latest multifamily development fund, which will enable work on seven housing communities in suburban markets across the nation.
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June 13, 2024
Ohio Senate OKs Requiring Tax Payments For Property Splits
Ohio would require delinquent property taxes to be paid before a real parcel was subdivided or transferred and would prohibit tax-delinquent property owners from buying tax-foreclosed property under a bill passed by the state Senate.
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June 13, 2024
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Willkie, Latham and Milbank were among the law firms that handled the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, a period that saw three deals north of $100 million hit records.
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June 12, 2024
NY Court Axes Landlords' Challenge To Rent Law Tweak
A New York federal judge dismissed landlords' suit challenging a December law that raised the stakes for property owners that fail to cooperate with municipalities attempting to enact rent stabilization, finding again that their Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment claims fall short.
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June 12, 2024
Oversupply Drags On Sun Belt Multifamily Sector
More than a fifth of multifamily collateralized loan obligations were categorized as concerning in April, with markets in the West and Southwest seeing the most concern, according to a recent report from KBRA Analytics.
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June 12, 2024
The Loan Discrimination Suits Notching Through Fed. Courts
Lawsuits over loan discrimination and the fallout faced by minority borrowers are being litigated in federal courts across the country, with banks, developers and the federal government facing claims.
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June 12, 2024
Calif. Pension System Invests $100M In Nuveen Housing Fund
The California Public Employees' Retirement System has provided $100 million for global investment manager Nuveen's affordable housing fund, Nuveen announced Wednesday.
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June 12, 2024
NYC Broker Bill Roils Agents, Who Say Landlords Won't Help
Scores of brokers rallied Wednesday on the steps of New York City Hall to oppose a bill before the New York City Council that would put the onus on landlords, rather than tenants, to pay broker fees.
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June 12, 2024
Mass. Tax Board Says No To Decrease In Parcel Values
The owner of a pair of Massachusetts land parcels failed to show they were overvalued by local assessors, a state tax board ruled in a decision released Wednesday, saying the owner sought relief beyond the board's authority on several issues.
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June 12, 2024
NJ Judicial Privacy Law Hit With Constitutional Challenge
Companies accused of violating Daniel's Law hit back in New Jersey federal court this week, calling the judicial data privacy protection measure unconstitutionally vague, harsh and riddled with loopholes, and arguing it is being "cynically" misused by the plaintiff, a data privacy company.
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June 12, 2024
Saul Ewing, Atty Allowed 'Unconscionable' Lease, Suit Says
A former Saul Ewing LLP client who is considered a vulnerable adult is suing the firm and one of its partners, claiming the lawyer failed to negotiate the "unconscionable terms" of a lease that required the client to take out a $400,000 loan and allowed his stepbrother tenant to pay rent one-seventieth the property's market value.
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June 12, 2024
Ore. Tax Court Affirms No Retroactive Fix To Home Value
The tax valuation of an Oregon residence erroneously assessed at a larger square footage cannot be retroactively reduced, the Oregon Tax Court said, upholding the state tax department's rejection of the request.
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June 12, 2024
First 'Survivor' Winner Wants $3M Tax Case Tossed
The winner of the first season of the TV series "Survivor" asked a Rhode Island federal court to toss the government's case against him seeking nearly $3.3 million in unpaid taxes, saying the liabilities stem from his flawed criminal conviction for tax evasion nearly 20 years ago.
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June 11, 2024
2nd Circ. Cites Macquarie In Booting Suit Over Go-Private Deal
The Second Circuit refused to revive a proposed class action accusing a real estate services provider of artificially depressing share prices, applying apparently for the first time the U.S. Supreme Court's Macquarie decision on alleged failures to disclose certain information.
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June 11, 2024
Listing Co. Urges Court To Ignore DOJ's Broker Deal Issues
A multiple listing service that has struck a $3 million settlement over broker commission rules told a Massachusetts federal court the changes proposed by the U.S. Department of Justice go far beyond what's required and would create an antitrust problem in the real estate industry.
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June 11, 2024
Conn. Man's Land Not Used For Farming, Appeals Court Finds
A tax assessor in Connecticut properly declassified a property owner's land as farmland, the state's appellate court ruled in an opinion released Tuesday, affirming a trial court's finding that the property was no longer used for farming.
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June 11, 2024
San Diego Hit With Class Action Over Homeless Camp Sweeps
Homeless residents in San Diego County filed a proposed class action against the county, two cities and state agencies in federal court, alleging they effectively criminalized homelessness amid an affordable housing shortage in order to drive unhoused citizens elsewhere.
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June 11, 2024
Ga. Justices Say 1-Year Lawsuit Window Stands In Death Case
The Supreme Court of Georgia won't hold liable a home inspector sued by the family of a man who was killed when his home's retaining wall collapsed, ruling Tuesday that the inspector's one-year statute of limitations doesn't violate a state ban on hold harmless provisions in construction contracts.
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June 11, 2024
4th Circ. Sides With Baltimore Couple In Eviction Row
A married Baltimore couple's constitutional rights were violated due to a local ordinance that caused them to lose their belongings after being evicted from their home by their landlord earlier than they expected, the Fourth Circuit ruled in a published opinion.
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June 11, 2024
Gawthrop Greenwood Grows Community Association Practice
A real estate attorney specializing in homeowners and condominium associations has moved his practice to Gawthrop Greenwood PC's office in the Philadelphia suburbs after more than 21 years with M. Lyons Law Group LLC.
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June 11, 2024
Vt. Short-Term Rental Tax Proposal Vetoed
A Vermont bill that would have imposed a 3% surcharge on short-term rentals was vetoed by the governor.
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June 10, 2024
Home Flooding Was Unavoidable, Agency Tells Appeals Court
A Texas river management agency has told a state appeals court that a group of Houston residents' properties would have flooded regardless of its actions to mitigate Hurricane Harvey's effects, urging the appellate court to overturn a trial court order denying its bid for release from the residents' suit.
Expert Analysis
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Echoes Of '80s Thrift Crisis Are Present In Today's Bank Woes
The current distress in the banking industry bears an uncanny resemblance to the thrift industry crisis of the 1980s, and while that collapse was a worst-case scenario, it provides lessons for understanding the fundamental economic forces at work today, says Alan Frankel at Coherent Economics.
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Attorneys Should Have An Ethical Duty To Advance DEI
National and state bar associations are encouraging attorneys to apply diversity, equity and inclusion practices in the legal profession and beyond, and these associations should take it one step further by formally recognizing ethical duties for attorneys to promote DEI, which could better the legal profession and society, says Elena Mitchell at Moore & Van Allen.
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Data-Driven Insights Are Key To Attracting Today's Clients
As law firm growth slows and competition for clients increases, modern firms must rely on robust data analytics to develop the sector-based expertise and industry insights that clients increasingly prioritize in relationships with counsel, says Lavinia Calvert at Intapp.
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EV Chargers Can Bring Benefits For Calif. Property Owners
California property developers and owners face growing pressure to provide electric vehicle charging infrastructure — but this can be a unique opportunity to add value to real estate assets, and can be accomplished in multiple ways, say Riley Cutner-Orrantia and Eurie Hwang at Crosbie Gliner.
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Brownfield Renewables Guidance Leaves Site Eligibility Murky
Recent IRS guidance sheds some light on the Inflation Reduction Act's incentives for renewable energy development on contaminated sites — but the eligibility of certain sites for brownfield status remains uncertain, say Megan Caldwell and Jon Micah Goeller at Husch Blackwell.
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Pending Legislation Holds Promise For SF Buildings
Recently introduced state and local legislation could make it easier for office-to-residential conversion projects in San Francisco to secure approval and funding sources, although financial incentives similar to those implemented by other states may be necessary to ensure the feasibility of such projects, say Caroline Chase and Nick DuBroff at Allen Matkins.
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A Breakdown Of Freddie Mac's New Servicer Custody Rules
Freddie Mac's new custodial account requirements are mostly straightforward, but even full compliance with those obligations can't eliminate the risk of unexpected bank failures, so servicers should review the ratings of their depositories and create procedures for evaluating them, says Eric Edwardson at Mayer Brown.
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Ghosting In BigLaw: Why Better Feedback Habits Are Needed
Not giving assignments or constructive criticism to junior associates can significantly affect their performance and hours, potentially leading them to leave the firm, but partners can prevent this by asking the right questions and creating a culture of feedback, says Rachel Patterson at Orrick.
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Law Needs A Balance Between Humanism And Formalism
A recent Law360 guest article rightly questions the pretextual pseudo-originalism that permits ideology to masquerade as judicial philosophy, but the cure would kill the patient because directness, simplicity and humanness are achievable without renouncing form or sacrificing stare decisis, says Vanessa Kubota at the Arizona Court of Appeals.
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Short Message Data Challenges In E-Discovery
As short message platforms increasingly dominate work environments, lawyers face multiple programs, different communication styles and emoji in e-discovery, so they must consider new strategies to adapt their processes, says Cristin Traylor at Relativity.
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Ambiguity In 'Buy America' Implementation May Slow Projects
The White House Office of Management and Budget's most recent guidance, which builds on a complex patchwork of Buy America restrictions that vary by federal agency, would perpetuate government contractors' uncertainty regarding product and material classification and could delay infrastructure projects, say attorneys at Miles & Stockbridge.
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Thomas Report Is Final Straw — High Court Needs Ethics Code
As a recent report on Justice Clarence Thomas' ongoing conflicts of interest makes evident, Supreme Court justices should be subject to an enforceable and binding code of ethics — like all other federal judges — to maintain the credibility of the institution, says Erica Salmon Byrne at Ethisphere.
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La. Suit Could Set New Enviro Justice Litigation Paradigm
Inclusive Louisiana v. St. James Parish, a lawsuit filed recently in Louisiana federal court that makes wide-ranging and novel constitutional and statutory claims of environmental racism based on centuries of local history, could become a new template for environmental justice litigation against governments and businesses, say attorneys at King & Spalding.