Residential

  • August 21, 2025

    Appeals Court Says Dallas Must Release Discrimination Records

    A Texas appeals court ruled Thursday that the city of Dallas has to turn over records on a federal housing discrimination investigation to The Dallas Morning News, saying the information was not exempt from public disclosure.

  • August 21, 2025

    Property Owners Say SF Vacancy Tax Violates Rights

    A San Francisco levy on vacant residential units is not a tax, but a penalty, and violates property owners' constitutional rights to keep their private property from being taken for public use without just compensation, the owners told a California appellate court.

  • August 21, 2025

    Q&A: Lawmaker Takes Aim At High Property Insurance Costs

    Finding ways to make property insurance more affordable in New York is the intended outcome of a New York State Senate investigation into a crisis that's threatening to price people out of their communities, said the chair of the senate's insurance committee.

  • August 21, 2025

    AmeriFirst's Global Creditor Settlement Approved In Ch. 11

    Bankrupt mortgage lending company AmeriFirst Financial Inc. received court approval on Thursday in Delaware for a global settlement with creditors that resolves two years of legal disputes among the parties and opens a path for a Chapter 11 plan to be proposed by the debtor.

  • August 21, 2025

    NJ Court Halts Tower Linked To Menendez Co-Conspirator

    A New Jersey state court judge ordered a developer to halt construction on a mixed-use project formerly headed by a businessman convicted alongside former U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, finding the buildings' height is "clearly exceeding" plans approved in 2018.

  • August 21, 2025

    NYC Real Estate Week In Review

    HSF Kramer and Walsh & Gilad are among the law firms that picked up work on the largest New York City real estate deals that hit public records last week, with a nine-figure Manhattan trade topping the list.

  • August 21, 2025

    2 Firms Work On $810M NYC Luxury Rentals Purchase

    Two Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson LLP partners and a Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP partner guided the $810 million purchase and financing of a luxury rental building in Manhattan.

  • August 21, 2025

    Texas Resolution Seeks Vote On Broader Property Tax Limit

    Texas would ask voters to decide if the state should amend its constitution to apply an existing limit on the appraised value of residence homesteads to other types of property under legislation filed in the state House of Representatives.

  • August 21, 2025

    5 Firms Guide Canadian Resi REIT's $354M Sale

    Dream Residential REIT announced Thursday that the Canadian company's board has reviewed and signed off on its $354 million, all-cash sale to Morgan Properties, a deal shaped by five different firms.

  • August 20, 2025

    401(k) Order Lifts Real Estate Spirits

    After years of distress, first driven by remote working, then by soaring interest rates and rising costs, excitement has now taken hold in the real estate sector as the Trump administration spurs 401(k) plans to include more private assets.

  • August 20, 2025

    Mortgage Firm Settles Harassment, Retaliation Lawsuit

    CrossCountry Mortgage LLC and a branch manager have reached a settlement with a former employee in a sexual harassment and retaliation suit, the parties recently announced.

  • August 20, 2025

    La. Biz Groups Oppose Changes To Assessment Appeal Rules

    Revisions that the Louisiana Assessors' Association has proposed to regulations that govern appeals and assessments could hamper businesses' ability to present information that establishes fair market value of their properties, industry representatives said Wednesday.

  • August 20, 2025

    What To Watch In Florida Real Estate In 2025's Second Half

    Florida real estate is less impervious to challenges confronting the industry and broader economy than in recent years, but local attorneys and real estate professionals say they expect the market will continue to attract people, business and investment in the second half of 2025 and beyond.

  • August 20, 2025

    Property Manager Settles With Mass. AG Over Data Breaches

    One of the largest property management firms in Massachusetts will pay $795,000 to settle allegations by the state attorney general's office that it failed to prevent or address a series of five data breaches between 2019 and 2021.

  • August 20, 2025

    Texas House Bill Seeks To Bar Property Taxes Starting In 2031

    Texas would bar the imposition of property taxes starting in 2031, contingent on voter approval of an amendment to the state constitution, under a bill introduced in the state House of Representatives.

  • August 20, 2025

    Trump Says Fed's Cook 'Must Resign' Amid Loan Fraud Claim

    President Donald Trump's Federal Housing Finance Agency chief on Wednesday accused Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook of potential mortgage fraud and said he has referred the matter to federal prosecutors, prompting Trump to call for Cook's immediate resignation — a call she has rejected.

  • August 19, 2025

    Expert Chides Charlotte Housing Authority Over Missing Docs

    An expert witness turned the tables on the attorney questioning her Tuesday during a former public housing authority coordinator's hostile work environment and retaliation trial in North Carolina after defense counsel questioned how she could accurately opine on the authority's operations without having seen key documents, saying it wasn't because she didn't ask for them.

  • August 19, 2025

    9th Circ. Backs Approval Of LoanDepot Investor Settlement

    The Ninth Circuit has dismissed a challenge brought by a LoanDepot shareholder to a $3.5 million settlement ending a lawsuit that accused the company of misleading investors ahead of its initial public offering, saying the district court applied proper scrutiny when approving the settlement last year.

  • August 19, 2025

    HUD Compliance Pro Joins Spencer Fane Real Estate Group

    Spencer Fane LLP announced Tuesday that the firm has added a compliance pro to the firm's real estate group who comes to private practice after more than a decade at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

  • August 19, 2025

    Seyfarth Adds CRE Loan Pro To NY Office

    Seyfarth Shaw LLP added a commercial real estate finance pro to its real estate group from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, two months after expanding its offices with a 22-person transactional team from Morris Manning & Martin LLP.

  • August 19, 2025

    LaSalle Raises $700M For Multifamily, Industrial Debt Strategy

    LaSalle Investment Management has secured $700 million for its "open-ended real estate debt strategy" focusing on providing senior floating-rate loans worth $25 million to $75 million for "multifamily and multitenant industrial properties" in the U.S., the company said.

  • August 18, 2025

    Subcontractor Accused Of $10M In Damages In Condo Dispute

    The general contractor in charge of building a 461-unit condominium complex in downtown Denver told a state court Friday that a concrete subcontractor caused more than $10 million in damages due to an alleged breach of contract on the project.

  • August 18, 2025

    Deutsche Bank, NCUA Net Partial Wins In Crisis-Era RMBS Suit

    A New York federal judge has granted partial early wins to both the National Credit Union Administration board and Deutsche Bank in a long-running suit stemming from the 2008 financial crisis and concerning allegations that Deutsche Bank failed to fulfill its duties to certificate holders in several residential mortgage-backed securities trusts.

  • August 18, 2025

    Pittsburgh Balks At Developer Joining Inclusive Zoning Fight

    The city of Pittsburgh is urging a Pennsylvania federal court to reject a real estate trade association's bid to stop the city from enforcing an inclusionary zoning ordinance, arguing that the trade association is trying to block the ordinance on behalf of a private developer.

  • August 18, 2025

    Lender Cites Flight Risk In $14M Home TRO Request

    A Chinese national asked a California federal court for an order freezing any potential sale of a luxury home in Arcadia, California, alleging it's indirectly owned by a couple who fled the country to avoid paying a $16 million arbitral award and other judgments.

Expert Analysis

  • 5 Critical Changes Coming To Bankruptcy Rule 3002.1

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    Residential mortgage lenders and servicers should prepare for significant amendments to Bankruptcy Rule 3002.1 taking effect this December that will impose new filing requirements, codify how creditors handle untimely payment change notices and allow debtors to request status updates, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.

  • Opportunity Zone Overhaul Is Good News For Investors

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    Recently enacted reforms making the qualified opportunity zone program permanent, restoring the basis step-up for capital gains and adding flexibility to the zone designation process enhance the program’s appeal for long-term investment, says Steven Hadjilogiou at McDermott.

  • Texas High Court Decision Could Reshape Contract Damages

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    The Texas Supreme Court recently held that an order of specific performance for a real property transaction doesn't preclude a damage award, establishing a damages test for this scenario while placing the onus on lower courts to correctly determine the proper remedies and quantum of damages, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Navigating The Complexities Of NYC Waterfront Development

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    More than a dozen city, state and federal agencies share oversight of New York City's waterfront, presenting developers and their counsel with both challenges and opportunities to shape the regional and national economy, say attorneys at HSF Kramer.

  • New NY Residential Real Estate Rules May Be Overbroad

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    New legislation imposing a 90-day-waiting period and tax deduction restrictions on certain New York real estate investors may have broad effects and unintended consequences, creating impediments for a wide range of corporate and other transactions, says Libin Zhang at Fried Frank.

  • Compliance Is A New Competitive Edge For Mortgage Lenders

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    So far, 2025 has introduced state and federal regulatory turbulence that is pressuring mortgage lenders to reevaluate the balance between competitive and compliant employee and customer recruiting practices, necessitating a compliance recalibration that prioritizes five key strategies, say attorneys at Mitchell Sandler.

  • What Developers Can Glean From Miami Condo Ruling

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    A Florida state appeals court's recent denial of a Miami condo redevelopment bid offers a detailed blueprint of what future developers must address when they evaluate the condominium's governing declaration and seek to terminate a condominium, say attorneys at Shubin Law.

  • 6 Questions We Should Ask About The Trump Trade Deals

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    Whenever the text becomes available, certain questions will help determine whether the Trump administration’s trade deals with U.S. trading partners have been crafted to form durable economic relationships, or ephemeral ties likely to break upon interpretive disagreement or a change in political will, says Ted Posner at Baker Botts.

  • CEQA Reform May Spur More Housing, But Devil Is In Details

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    A recently enacted law reforming the California Environmental Quality Act has been touted by state leaders as a fix for the state's housing crisis — but provisions including a new theoretically optional traffic mitigation fee could offset any potential benefits, says attorney David Smith.

  • Wells Fargo Suit Shows Consumer Protection Limits In Mass.

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    The Massachusetts Appeals Court's May decision in Wells Fargo Bank v. Coulsey underscores that consumer rights are balanced against the need for closure, and even the broad protections of state consumer protection law will not open the door to relitigating the same claims, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

  • What Calif. Insurance Ruling Means For Smoke Damage Limits

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    As California continues to grapple with an increasing number of wildfire claims, a state court's recent Aliff v. California FAIR Plan decision serves as a clear directive to insurers that policy language that narrows the scope of fire coverage below the California Insurance Code's minimum standards is impermissible, say attorneys at Wood Smith.

  • The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine

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    The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • What 9th Circ. Ruling Shows About Rebutting SEC Comments

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    The Ninth Circuit's June opinion in Pino v. Cardone Capital suggests that a company's lack of pushback to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission comment may be evidence of its state of mind for evaluating potential liability, meaning companies should consider including additional disclosure in SEC response letters, say attorneys at Barnes & Thornburg.