Residential
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July 25, 2025
Calif. County Denied Rehearing Over Timeshare Fee
A California county will not get a rehearing over a judgment that an annual fee the county charges to timeshare resort owners to give them each a value of their own properties for property tax purposes was excessive and, in fact, acted as a tax, an appellate panel ruled.
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July 25, 2025
Florida Court Blasts NY Judge's 'Shell Game' To Revive Suit
A Florida federal judge rejected a New York federal judge's two-paragraph request to revive his defamation suit against former members of a condominium board in a feud over renovations, finding that the New York judge's move to submit the brief himself while having legal counsel makes it look as if the two are "playing a kind of shell game."Â
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July 25, 2025
Calif. Landlord Files Ch. 11 With Over $50M In Debt
A company that owns an apartment building in California's Central Coast region has launched a Chapter 11 case with between $50 million and $100 million each in assets and liabilities.Â
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July 25, 2025
Feds Sell Fugitive Trader's $7M Mansion Decade After Charges
Massachusetts federal prosecutors said Friday that they have sold a $7.5 million mansion that belonged to a fugitive trader who was charged in 2015 with funneling $67 million in assets from his employer to himself.
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July 25, 2025
NAR Adds Trademark, Brand Protection Pro As Associate GC
The National Association of Realtors announced Friday that a trademark and brand protection expert will be joining the firm from AARP as associate general counsel.
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July 24, 2025
Nonprofits Secure TRO In Challenge To New HUD Grant Rules
A Rhode Island federal judge Thursday granted a temporary restraining order to a coalition of nonprofit groups challenging new conditions for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grants that target diversity, equity and inclusion programs; abortion access; and transgender individuals.
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July 24, 2025
Commission Inflation Suit Spurs COVID Tolling Query In Conn.
A Connecticut judge on Thursday questioned a real estate firm's argument that two antitrust suit plaintiffs misused a COVID-era executive order to enter the case after the statute of limitations would have expired, indicating she was concerned about the broad impact her ruling might have if she found the pandemic-era tolling unconstitutional.
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July 24, 2025
Magistrate Says DR Horton Refused To Hear Accessibility Ask
A magistrate judge in Texas federal court endorsed claims that homebuilder D.R. Horton refused to consider adding accessibility features to single-family houses under construction, while finding another claim brought by three plaintiffs and a fair housing group is reserved only for multifamily properties.
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July 24, 2025
Va. County Board OKs Luxury, Mixed-Use Towers Project
A three-tower, 970,000-square-foot luxury, mixed-use development project in Rosslyn, Virginia, recently received entitlement approval from the Arlington County Board, the project's developer Penzance announced Thursday.
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July 24, 2025
Judge Blocks Crypto REIT From Collecting Rent In Detroit
A Michigan state judge has barred a cryptocurrency-based real estate investment firm and affiliates from collecting rent at hundreds of Detroit properties until it brings them into compliance with city code.
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July 24, 2025
LA Wildfires Caused $52B In Damage To Homes, Report Says
The wildfires that ravaged the Los Angeles area in January caused $51.7 billion worth of damage to about 11,000 homes, according to a Redfin report released Thursday.
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July 24, 2025
Feds Can't End Bank Oversight After $3M Redlining Deal
A Pennsylvania federal judge has rejected the government's bid to release a bank it previously accused of discriminatory lending from court oversight, holding that continued enforcement was "essential" to make sure the terms of a settlement resolving the allegations were adhered to.
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July 23, 2025
Lender Seeks End To NY Developer's 2nd Ch. 11 Try
A prospective developer of a Westchester County, New York, property has filed for Chapter 11 protection in a New York bankruptcy court with more than $10 million in debt and a mortgage provider seeking to dismiss the case, saying it's an attempt to dodge a foreclosure sale.
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July 23, 2025
6th Circ. Questions Officials On Search: 'Pretty Darn Obvious'
Sixth Circuit judges on Wednesday grilled Michigan zoning and building officials seeking immunity from an improper-search lawsuit, repeatedly suggesting it was "obvious" the officials should have known they were crossing property lines to look at dwellings and areas protected by the Fourth Amendment.
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July 23, 2025
2 Firms Work On $210M Brooklyn Apt. Tower Sale, Loan Deals
Fetner Properties, MCB Real Estate and Farallon Capital Management purchased the ground lease for a 463-unit multifamily tower in Brooklyn for $209 million, simultaneously securing a $141.5 million loan from M&T Realty Capital Corp., guided by McGuireWoods LLP and Adler & Stachenfeld LLP.
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July 23, 2025
Aussie Proptech Firm Brings AI Inspection Tool To US Market
A new California law that took full effect on July 1 requires landlords to document a residential unit's condition — with photos — at move-in, move-out, and after cleaning or repairs. As it so happens, a technological solution focused on making those time-consuming inspections faster and easier just arrived from Down Under.
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July 23, 2025
Rising Star: Ropes & Gray's Anthony Mongone
Anthony Mongone of Ropes & Gray LLP has earned the trust of some of the world's largest real estate investors to guide them through complex, large-scale deals, such as Blackstone's acquisition of 20% of Signature Bank's $16.8 billion mortgage loan portfolio after the bank's failure, earning him a spot among the real estate law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360.
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July 23, 2025
Private Equity Firm ACRE Caps $1B Real Estate Credit Fund
ACRE has announced it raised $1 billion to expand its lending platform, as the New York-based real estate-focused private equity firm goes after credit opportunities in the multifamily property sector.
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July 23, 2025
Calif. Attys See Policy Split For Infill, Greenfield Projects
While recent changes to the California Environmental Quality Act could make developing infill housing easier, other legislation in the works might make building greenfield housing tougher, according to Nossaman LLP attorneys observing the legislative session.
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July 23, 2025
5th Circ. Finds Enclave Doctrine Blocks Asbestos Claims
The Fifth Circuit has held that the federal enclave doctrine blocks the bulk of a military family's claims in a suit alleging their housing at Randolph Air Force Base had mold and asbestos, while affirming a $91,000 damages award against the housing managers.
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July 23, 2025
Why Private REITs Are Having A Moment
Investments in private real estate investment trusts are surging, and that trend may strengthen as state regulators mull limiting investments in other, quasi-public REITs, while securities regulators have recently eased accreditation requirements for investors raising private capital.
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July 23, 2025
US Gov't Has Eyes On Farmland, Paul Weiss Atty Says
Real estate transaction attorneys should heed the federal government's growing focus on farmland for national security reviews and understand the associated risks, even if their client is a U.S. buyer, according to a practice group leader at Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP.
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July 22, 2025
Haynes And Boone Guides $145M Swanky Tribeca Hotel Refi
The entity behind a luxury hotel in New York City's Tribeca neighborhood landed a $145 million refinancing for the property from affiliates of Goldman Sachs, which includes $100 million of new equity, according to documents filed in country property records by Haynes and Boone LLP.
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July 22, 2025
NYC To Put Housing Processes On November Ballot
A Charter Review Commission convened by New York City Mayor Eric Adams unveiled a number of proposals on Monday that city voters will see on ballots in November, most of which center on housing.
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July 22, 2025
Maynard Nexsen Brings On 8-Atty Atlanta Real Estate Firm
Maynard Nexsen PC announced Tuesday that it has merged with Atlanta-based real estate firm Miller Lavoie LLP, bringing on eight attorneys to the firm's national footprint to strengthen its real estate investment, development and financing expertise as the firm CEO says they're "hyper-focused on growing our Atlanta presence."
Expert Analysis
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11 Noteworthy ÃÛÌÒÊÓÆµ Developments From 2023
Under Rohit Chopra’s leadership, 2023 was an industrious year for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, with developments including the release of the proposed personal financial data rights rule, publication of proposed rules involving public registries for nonbanks and the bureau's continuous battle against junk fees, all of which are sure to further progress in 2024, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.
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Insured Takeaways From 10th Circ. Interrelated Claims Ruling
The Tenth Circuit's recent ruling in American Southwest Mortgage v. Continental Casualty that multiple claims arising from consecutive audit years were interrelated — and thus subject to a per claim limit — creates a concerning precedent for policyholders, so companies should negotiate relevant policy language, says Michael Stockalper at Saxe Doernberger.
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NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q4
New York's banking and financial sector saw a number of notable regulatory and legislative changes in the final quarter of 2023, including guidance on climate risks and heightened cybersecurity protocols issued by the New York State Department of Financial Services, as well as final revisions to virtual currency listings in the state, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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Ill. Justices Set New Standard For Analyzing Defect Claims
The Illinois Supreme Court's recent ruling in Acuity v. M/I Homes of Chicago has effectively changed the landscape for how insurers may respond to construction defect claims in the state, so insurers should carefully focus their coverage analysis on whether the business risk exclusions are applicable, say Bevin Carroll and Julie Klein at Kennedys.
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A Look At Consumer Reporting In 2023, And What's To Come
The legal landscape of consumer reporting is evolving as courts, federal regulators and state legislatures continue to weigh in — and while last year may have seen a slight downtick in the overall volume of Fair Credit Reporting Act litigation, 2024 is set to be a watershed year for this area of the law, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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How New Fla. Condo Law Will Affect Owners' Finances
As this December is the deadline for condominiums in Florida to be in compliance with legislation passed after the Champlain Towers collapse, condo owners will need to prepare for both the immediate and long-term financial implications, says Greg Main-Baillie at Colliers.
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The Year Ahead In Foreign Investment And National Security
In 2024, expect the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, already at the forefront of addressing national security threats, to increase monitoring and enforcement related to outbound investment, focus on supply chain resilience in nondefense sectors, and heighten oversight of agricultural transactions, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.
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A Challenging CRE Environment Holds Opportunities In 2024
As the commercial real estate market faces reduced occupancy levels and rising financing costs, the new landscape will be favorable to those who can leverage capital, strategic vision and expertise to meet challenges like taking on distressed properties and converting office space to residential use, say Nesa Amamoo and Vered Rabia at Skadden.
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A Former Bankruptcy Judge Talks 2023 High Court Rulings
In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued four bankruptcy law opinions — an extraordinary number — and a close look at these cases signals that changes to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code will have to come from Congress, not the courts, says Phillip Shefferly at the University of Michigan Law School.
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DOJ Comments Reveal Road Ahead For Mortgage Redlining
Comments from two U.S. Department of Justice representatives at a recent fair lending conference show that the DOJ is prioritizing investigations and enforcement against redlining risks, and highlight important compliance steps for lenders, say Lori Sommerfield and Chris Willis at Troutman Pepper.
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DOJ's RealPage Notice Signals Focus On Pricing Algorithms
The U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division recently filed a statement of interest in the Realpage multidistrict litigation to stake out its position that price-fixing algorithms pose a great anti-competitive threat, which suggests that the DOJ and private parties may continue to bring similar actions in the future, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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4 Key Types Of Coming FHLBank Reforms To Watch
Though the Federal Housing Finance Agency's recent report on the Federal Home Loan Bank System has received relatively little attention, the regulatory and legislative changes it proposes in four categories herald the start of a significant effort by the agency to reform the system’s structure and operations and overhaul requirements for member banks, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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Property Owner Considerations Around Electric Vehicle Bans
In light of a property management company's recent ban on electric vehicles in Canada, it's worth considering how similar bans might fare in Florida and other U.S. states, and the legal ramifications that could potentially arise, say Gerardo Ortega and Gary Kaleita at Lowndes.