Residential
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October 28, 2024
NY Youth Welfare Org Picks Up $4M Bid For 12-Acre Campus
Longtime New York youth mental health services provider St. Christopher's Inc. has received a $4 million bid for its Dobbs Ferry residential campus in a Chapter 11 auction.
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October 28, 2024
Tenn. ALJ Boosts Home's Tax Value By A Third
A Tennessee administrative law judge boosted a home's tax value by more than one-third after siding with a local assessor's office that brought a counterclaim against an appeal by the home's owners, who sought a lower figure.
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October 25, 2024
SEC Wants PE Firm's 'Fishing Expedition' Claims Paused
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has asked a Texas federal judge to pause a real estate-focused private equity fund's suit alleging that the regulator subjected it to an unconstitutional "fishing expedition" outside its regulatory purview.
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October 25, 2024
MoFo Reps Mortgage Servicing Co. In $100M Fundraise
Mortgage servicing platform Valon raised $100 million for its round of Series C funding while being advised by Morrison Foerster LLP, the law firm announced.
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October 25, 2024
Weyerhaeuser Expects To Hit $1B In Timber Deals By 2026
The CEO of lumber company Weyerhaeuser told investors in a call Friday that it expects to close $1 billion worth of "strategic timberland acquisitions" by the end of 2025.
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October 25, 2024
Property Plays: Skyline, Rockefeller Center, Capital One Arena
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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October 25, 2024
Hawkins Delafield Career Atty Moves To Nixon Peabody In SF
Nixon Peabody LLP hired a Hawkins Delafield & Wood LLP partner who has spent his entire legal career with that firm working on public finance tax matters and a range of other tax-related matters, the firm has announced.
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October 25, 2024
Philadelphia Advances Latest Rental Algorithm Software Ban
The Philadelphia City Council became the latest local government to back a ban on the use of algorithms to fix rental prices, with cities such as San Francisco, San Jose and Chicago taking action in recent months in response to concerns about the software.
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October 25, 2024
Democratic Lawmakers Press KKR Over $2B Apartment Deal
A group of Democratic senators told KKR & Co. Inc. they are concerned that the private equity giant's recent $2.1 billion acquisition of 18 apartment buildings could lead to rising rents across the country, while the company has said the deal comprises "high-end, newly constructed" buildings that add much-needed housing.
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October 24, 2024
Va. Judge Won't Block Feds' Nonprofit Disclosure Law
A Virginia federal judge on Oct. 24 refused to stop the U.S. Department of the Treasury from enforcing a law that requires nonprofits such as community associations to disclose personal identifying information about their beneficial owners and applicants to a Treasury agency that focuses on stopping financial crimes.
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October 24, 2024
UCLA Strikes Out On Bid To Join Row Over Baseball Facility
A California federal judge rejected The Regents of the University of California's bid to intervene in a class action filed by disabled, homeless military veterans who accused the federal government of misusing a Los Angeles campus that they claim was intended for housing veterans.
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October 24, 2024
Judge Halts Nev. Home Seller Action Amid NAR Settlement Talk
A Nevada federal judge has agreed to extend the pause for a proposed class action from Nevada home sellers against the National Association of Realtors and a collection of multiple listing services, as the defendants come to nationwide settlements with litigants in other cases.
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October 24, 2024
Miami Development Site Draws $35M Stalking Horse Bid
A nearly 16-acre site along Biscayne Boulevard in Miami drew a $35 million stalking horse bid, setting the opening offer for the site ahead of a court-ordered sale in January.
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October 24, 2024
Conn. High Court Snapshot: $13M Tax Appeals, Will Dispute
The Connecticut Supreme Court's second term of the 2024-2025 season will commence Monday with a dispute over whether an attorney bungled a will that sought to divide a $845,368 TD Ameritrade account among five beneficiaries, only one of whom received any cash.
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October 24, 2024
Minn. Tax Court Won't Cut Value Of $1M Home
A residential property in Minnesota was correctly valued by a local assessor at about $1 million, the state tax court ruled, saying the owners' sales comparison analysis of the value was insufficient to cast doubt on the county's determination.
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October 23, 2024
CFPB, Chicago-Area Lender Say Redlining Suit Deal Is 'Likely'
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and a Chicago-area mortgage lender have said in a filing that they could be close to settling claims that the lender illegally disparaged majority-Black neighborhoods.
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October 23, 2024
Investor Tied To Texas AG Seeks Investigation Info From Feds
Real estate investor Nate Paul is looking to get more information from federal prosecutors about their investigation into federal fraud charges he's facing — topics that featured prominently during the failed impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton — according to court filings from U.S. Attorney's Office employees.
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October 23, 2024
9th Circ. Judge Suggests Equity Pact Counts As Wash. Loan
A Ninth Circuit judge said Wednesday he was "struggling with" a company's stance that its equity-sharing agreement with two homeowners in Washington state doesn't amount to a loan covered by state laws regulating reverse mortgages, saying the arrangement appears to check the boxes of the statutory definition.
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October 23, 2024
NJ City Permitted Bigger Project To End Suit, Opponent Says
A property owner's nonprofit has brought a new lawsuit claiming that the city of Hoboken, New Jersey, gave a developer more than $50 million in project benefits in a settlement that could nearly double the scope of a pair of mixed-use developments along the scenic Palisades cliffs.
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October 23, 2024
Securities Claim Cut From Fraud Suit Against Calif. Developer
A California federal judge trimmed a securities claim from a Sonoma resident's suit against a real estate company embroiled in a fraud scandal and recommended that the rest of the claims be brought in state court.
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October 23, 2024
Hunton Real Estate Leader Eyes Deal Volume Uptick In 2025
Real estate investors are closely monitoring the Federal Reserve's next moves, and with the belief that more rate cuts are coming, deal volume will likely pick up next year, one of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP's real estate leaders told Law360 in a recent interview.
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October 23, 2024
Where Harris, Trump Stand On Housing, Wall Street Landlords
In the run-up to the November presidential election, Kamala Harris has made housing one of the keystones of her campaign platform as she seeks to take on Wall Street landlords and tackle a nationwide housing affordability crisis, while Donald Trump believes illegal immigration is largely to blame for rising home prices.
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October 23, 2024
Jones Day Brings Back RE Ace In Dallas From Winstead
Jones Day announced Wednesday that it is boosting its real estate offerings in Dallas with a returning attorney whose regional knowledge and industry experience will be a "real asset" to clients and who previously practiced in the area with Winstead PC.
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October 23, 2024
Ga. Firm Owner Denies SEC Ponzi Scheme Allegations
The owner of an Atlanta-area firm accused of running a multimillion-dollar "classic Ponzi scheme" has denied all wrongdoing, telling a Georgia federal judge he merely acted in reasonable reliance on others' advice and experience.
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October 23, 2024
Gibson Dunn, Seyfarth Guide $235M Brooklyn Condo Deal
An entity connected to Jenel Real Estate sold a Brooklyn condominium building to an entity affiliated with a KKR & Co. and Dalan Real Estate joint venture in a $235.4 million deal guided by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP and Seyfarth Shaw LLP, according to official property records.
Expert Analysis
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Home Equity Option Contracts Appear Ripe For Rating
Given that home equity option contracts share similarities with evolving asset types like litigation funding, and that courts continue to characterize them as real estate option contracts, it seems they are poised to be rated in the near future, say Darius Horton and Holly Spencer Bunting at Mayer Brown.
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2 Critical Shortfalls In Fla. Condo Safety Amendments
New amendments to Florida's Building Safety Act provide condominium associations with more flexibility to comply with inspection deadlines, but vaguely defined extension criteria and unambiguous lines of responsibility warrant further legislative action, say Jordan Isrow and Andrew Ingber at Government Law Group.
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Justices' Minn. Takings Ruling May Have Broad Impact
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Tyler v. Hennepin County that a Minnesota tax foreclosure violated the U.S. Constitution's takings clause may, beyond resolving a circuit split, influence well-established foreclosure laws across the U.S., say Emily Ladd and Gregory Nowak at Miller Canfield.
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Challenging Standing In Antitrust Class Actions: Rule 23
A recent Sixth Circuit decision in Fox v. Saginaw County that rejected the common attempt to use Rule 23 to sidestep Article III's standing limitations shows antitrust defendants' success in challenging standing will rest on happenstance without more clarity from the Supreme Court — which no litigant should be comfortable with, say Michael Hamburger and Holly Tao at White & Case.
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Key Limited Partnership Provisions During Market Downturns
With a recession potentially on the horizon, fund managers should carefully examine their funds' limited partnership agreements for items that may be affected by economic downturns, and assess whether modifications may be appropriate, says Matthew Posthuma at Ropes & Gray.
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Fla. Foreign Real Estate Law Brings Broad Investment Risks
Last month, Florida became the latest state to enact legislation prohibiting Chinese investors from acquiring certain interests in real property, introducing significant legal uncertainty and consequences for real estate stakeholders and the private equity industry, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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Banking Tips For Lending To Calif. Homeowners Associations
With current financial markets and recent changes to California law putting a brighter spotlight on lending, banks should understand the special considerations involved in lending to homeowners associations and the various possible remedies in the event of a default, says Alex Grigorians at Hanson Bridgett.
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How Rent Proposals May Affect Most Populous Md. County
Of the various legislative changes concerning rent controls and property taxes that are being considered in Montgomery County, Maryland, comparatively milder controls are likely to prevail, but even these lenient measures may make it more difficult for the county to fulfill its needs for new housing, says Michael Murray at Greysteel.
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Texas Justices' PNC Opinion Clarifies Subrogation Questions
Thanks to the sorely needed clarification provided by the Texas Supreme Court in PNC Mortgage v. Howard, a home equity lender now has a better understanding of what it can do when its own lien is constitutionally invalid but is either equitably or contractually subrogated to a prior lien, say Daron Janis and Dave Foster at Locke Lord.
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Assessing The Reach Of 9th Circuit's Natural Gas Ruling
The Ninth Circuit's recent decision in California Restaurant Association v. Berkeley, affirming that the Energy Policy and Conservation Act preempts certain state and local natural gas bans, may chill other efforts to limit usage of natural gas and raises important questions for utility companies, natural gas consumers and policymakers to consider, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.
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Ch. 13 Ruling Issues Warning To Mortgage Servicers
The Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panel’s recent ruling in Orlansky, which held that the mortgage servicer violated the automatic stay in its post-petition communication to debtors, suggests that circuit bankruptcy courts may more closely scrutinize how certain fees are presented in monthly statements, say Justin Paget and Jennifer Wuebker at Hunton.
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Using Synthetic Securitization In Residential Mortgage Loans
In light of a recent Federal Reserve report emphasizing the importance of maintaining sufficient capital positions, banking organizations should consider using synthetic securitization to help mitigate capital charge associated with residential mortgage loan portfolios, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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How Cities Can Tackle Post-Pandemic Budgeting Dilemmas
Due to increasing office vacancies around the country, cities may consider politically unpopular actions to avoid bankruptcy, but they could also look to the capital markets to ride out the current real estate crisis and achieve debt service savings to help balance their budgets, say attorneys at Cadwalader.