Residential
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May 23, 2025
9th Circ. Upholds Ch. 13 Plan Against Debt Bifurcation Appeal
The Ninth Circuit rejected a mortgage lender's bid to overturn a California couple's bankruptcy plan, ruling their recalculated home value qualified them for Chapter 13 despite initial estimates exceeding the unsecured debt limit.
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May 23, 2025
Ga. Bar OKs Real Estate Deals Via Video
The State Bar of Georgia has adopted a formal ethics opinion allowing attorneys to close real estate deals via video conference, finding that the remote appearances satisfy lawyers' duty to be "present" at closings.
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May 23, 2025
Guggenheim-Backed Housing Proposal Upheld In SC
A South Carolina federal judge upheld a 9,000-unit housing plan brought in part by heirs of the Guggenheim family on the Cainhoy Peninsula near Charleston, finding federal authorities properly considered environmental effects of the development.
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May 23, 2025
Va. Contractor Denied Real Property Sales Tax Break For Sand
Sand purchased by a Virginia homebuilder is tangible personal property subject to use tax and not real property, the state tax commissioner said, rejecting the builder's argument that the sand was part of the land at its previous location.
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May 22, 2025
Wash. Justices Undo Landlord Win In Eviction Answer Dispute
Washington's highest court overturned a Seattle-area landlord's eviction victory on Thursday, saying any tenant who responds to a summons with a written "notice of appearance" can't be hit with a default judgment for failing to file an answer in an unlawful detainer action.
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May 22, 2025
Trump Admin Ends Early Biden-Era Memphis Redlining Deal
A Tennessee federal judge on Wednesday approved a Trump administration request to terminate a redlining consent order with Trustmark National Bank, closing out the settlement that kicked off a Biden-era crackdown on mortgage lending discrimination.
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May 22, 2025
5th Circ. Revives 'Unclean Hands' Defense In Ch. 13
A Louisiana homeowner can head back to bankruptcy court to try to discharge a $75,000 judgment against him from a contractor who said it was stiffed, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled.
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May 22, 2025
Student Housing Firm Lands $500M Wells Fargo Refi
Student housing company Global Student Accommodation, or GSA, said on May 22 it had secured $500 million in refinancing from Wells Fargo Bank for a group of 23 properties in 14 states.
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May 22, 2025
State Greenlights Fried Frank-Guided NYC Resi Conversion
The Empire State Development Corp.'s board of directors voted Thursday to approve RXR and Apollo Global Management's massive office-to-residential conversion in New York's Times Square, a project advised by Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP.
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May 22, 2025
Servicer, BNY Seek Exit From Mortgage Statement Suit
Bank of New York Mellon and a mortgage servicing company have urged a Massachusetts federal court to permanently dismiss a proposed class action accusing them of trying to collect on post-bankruptcy liens, saying federal lending law does not obligate servicers to send mortgage statements to borrowers.
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May 22, 2025
Cadwalader, Sidley Guide Greystone's $901.3M CRE-CLO Deal
Greystone has closed a $901.3 million commercial real estate collateralized loan obligation backed by bridge loans on 28 apartment properties in 16 states, in a transaction advised by Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP and Sidley Austin LLP.
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May 22, 2025
NYC Real Estate Week In Review
Fried Frank and Kramer Levin are among the law firms that scored work on the largest New York City real estate deals to hit public records last week, a slow period that saw only five matters above the $20 million mark become public.
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May 22, 2025
Neb. Gov. Rejects Letting Districts Tax Outside Property
A Nebraska bill to let some local taxing districts impose taxes on property outside their boundaries, and to create statewide standards for inspections by public housing authorities, was vetoed by the state's governor.
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May 22, 2025
Ore. Lawmakers OK Extending Affordable Housing Tax Breaks
Three Oregon property tax exemptions intended to promote affordable housing would be extended under legislation passed unanimously by the state Senate and sent to the governor.
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May 22, 2025
Panel Hearing Spotlights Long-Standing Disaster Claim Gripes
A U.S. Senate panel hearing into the claims handling process of major homeowner's insurers following natural disasters highlighted long-standing complaints from policyholders that obtaining relief can often be a long, arduous and costly process.
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May 21, 2025
Judge Prolongs Pause On Trump's HUD, DOT Grant DEI Limits
A Washington federal judge Wednesday extended a block on federal grant conditions limiting homelessness aid and transportation funding to recipients who align with the Trump administration's policies against diversity and inclusion programming, as nearly two dozen localities joined New York, San Francisco and others challenging the terms.
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May 21, 2025
Single-Family Rental Sector Charts Path Through Challenges
At a gathering of stakeholders in the single-family rental segment of the real estate world this week, speakers expressed confidence about their prospects for the future, despite a lack of the exuberance exhibited in the past.
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May 21, 2025
Developers' Lawyers Vying For NY Casino Licenses
The contest to win a license for a full casino in New York City is heating up.
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May 21, 2025
Title Insurance Co. Fights Treasury All-Cash Resi Deals Rule
A title insurance company and a subsidiary have filed suit in Florida federal court challenging new reporting requirements for all-cash real estate closings, saying the rule exceeds the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's authority.
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May 21, 2025
Industry Group-Backed Bill Would Override NY Scaffold Law
A bill introduced Wednesday would seek to supersede New York's Scaffold Law on federal projects, in a move to limit the scope of the longstanding rule that makes contractors and project owners strictly liable for the fall-related deaths of construction workers.
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May 21, 2025
Small Texas Communities Trying To Siphon Taxes, City Says
Two Texas state court judges issued court orders Wednesday barring two small municipalities from buying up apartment buildings in the city of Rowlett, Texas, thwarting what Rowlett described as an underhanded attempt to rob the city of property tax revenue.
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May 21, 2025
Montana Reduces Taxes On Residential, Commercial Property
Montana will lower taxes on residential and commercial property, provide property tax rebates to homeowners and implement other changes to the state's property tax regime under legislation signed by the governor.
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May 21, 2025
What The 'Big, Beautiful Bill' Proposes For Opportunity Zones
As Congress moves forward with the budget reconciliation bill, one program that has been popular with investors and was meant to spur development in low-income neighborhoods could receive a makeover if the One Big Beautiful Bill Act becomes law.
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May 21, 2025
NC Panel Sides With County In Builder's Service Fee Spat
North Carolina's intermediate appeals court on Wednesday backed a county's interpretation of an ordinance allowing it to collect water service fees from a homebuilder, reasoning that the builder's residential neighborhood is a "new development" subject to the law.
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May 21, 2025
Texas Lawmakers OK More Time To Pay Property Tax Bills
Texas would give some property owners more time to pay their tax bills under legislation approved by state lawmakers and headed to Gov. Greg Abbott.
Expert Analysis
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Time To Fix NYC's Broken Property Assessment System
A New York appellate court's decision to revive Tax Equity Now New York v. City of New York may force the city to revamp its outdated and unfair real estate tax assessment system, which could be fixed with a couple of simple changes, says Seth Feldman at Romer Debbas.
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Understanding The IRC's Excessive Refund Claim Penalty
Taxpayers considering protective refund claims pending resolution of major questions in tax cases like Moore v. U.S., which is pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, should understand how doing so may also leave them vulnerable to an excessive refund claim penalty under Internal Revenue Code Section 6676, say attorneys at McDermott.
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Bankruptcy Ruling Shifts Lease Rejection Claim Calculation
A New York federal court’s recent ruling in In re: Cortlandt provides guidance on how to calculate a landlord's damages claim when a bankruptcy debtor rejects a lease, changing from an approach that considers the remaining rent due under the lease to one that considers the remaining time, say Bethany Simmons and Noah Weingarten at Loeb & Loeb.
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Do Not Overstate Fla. Condo Termination Ruling's Impact
A close look at the unique language at issue in Avila v. Biscayne, in which a Florida appellate court deemed a condo termination to be invalid, shows that the case is unlikely to significantly affect other potential terminations, say Barry Lapides and Edward Baker at Berger Singerman.
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Takeaways From FDIC's Spring Supervisory Highlights
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s spring 2024 consumer compliance supervisory report found that relatively few institutions had significant consumer compliance issues last year, but the common thread among those that did were inadequacies or failures in disclosures to consumers, says Matthew Hanaghan at Nutter.
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What Calif. Eviction Ruling Means For Defaulting Borrowers
A California appellate court's recent decision in Homeward Opportunities v. Taptelis found that a defaulting borrower could not delay foreclosure with an improperly served notice of pendency of action, but leaves open a possibility for borrowers to delay eviction proceedings merely by filing lawsuits, say Anne Beehler and Krystal Anderson at Holland & Knight.
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How 3D Printing And Prefab Are Changing Construction
The growing popularity of trends like 3D printing technology and prefabrication in the construction industry have positive ramifications ranging from reducing risks at project sites to streamlining construction schedules, say Josephine Bahn and Jeffery Mullen at Cozen O'Connor.
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Wave Of Final Rules Reflects Race Against CRA Deadline
The flurry of final rules now leaping off the Federal Register press — some of which will affect entire industries and millions of Americans — shows President Joe Biden's determination to protect his regulatory legacy from reversal by the next Congress, given the impending statutory look-back period under the Congressional Review Act, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.
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A Deep Dive Into High Court's Permit Fee Ruling
David Robinson and Daniel Golub at Holland & Knight explore the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling that a local traffic impact fee charged to a California property owner may be a Fifth Amendment taking — and where it leaves localities and real estate developers.
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The Case For Overturning Florida Foreclosure Ruling
A Florida appellate court's recent decision in Desbrunes v. U.S. Bank National Association will potentially put foreclosure cases across the state in jeopardy, and unless it is reconsidered, foreclosing plaintiffs will need to choose between frustrating and uncertain options in the new legal landscape, say Sara Accardi and Paige Knight at Bradley.
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Bracing For The CFPB's War On Mortgage Fees
As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau homes in on the legality of certain residential mortgage fees, the industry should consult the bureau's steady stream of consumer lending guidance for hints on its priorities, say Nanci Weissgold and Melissa Malpass at Alston & Bird.
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DOJ Consent Orders Chart Road Map For Lending Compliance
Two recent consent orders issued by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of its efforts to fight mortgage lending discrimination highlight issues that pose fair lending compliance risks, and should be carefully studied by banks to avoid enforcement actions, says Memrie Fortenberry at Jones Walker.
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Reverse Veil-Piercing Ruling Will Help Judgment Creditors
A New York federal court’s recent decision in Citibank v. Aralpa Holdings, finding two corporate entities liable for a judgment issued against a Mexican businessman, shows the value of reverse veil piercing as a remedy for judgment creditors to go after sophisticated debtors who squirrel away assets, says Gabe Bluestone at Omni Bridgeway.