Residential
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June 05, 2025
EU Wants To Loosen State Aid For Affordable Housing
The European Union wants to address a lack of affordable housing by making it easier for governments to provide state aid to support the construction of new buildings and renovations of existing buildings, the bloc's executive branch said in a consultation.
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June 05, 2025
'Survivor' Winner Ordered To Pay $3.3M Tax Bill
The first winner of reality competition show "Survivor" must pay his $3.3 million tax bill, but the government is not allowed to enforce tax liens by forcing the sale of two properties, a Rhode Island federal court ruled Thursday.
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June 05, 2025
Mo. Gov. Adds Property Tax Cap To Special Session Agenda
Missouri's governor announced additional goals for a special session that began this week, including asking lawmakers to put an annual cap on residential property value increases.
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June 05, 2025
Fed Survey Highlights Disaster Risks To Uninsured Across US
A recent survey from the Federal Reserve Board showing that 7% of U.S. homeowners are going without property insurance underscores a key part of a national housing affordability crisis that is leaving more households with little protection from disasters.
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June 05, 2025
Shumaker Brings On RE Partner In Fla. From Johnson Pope
Shumaker Loop & Kendrick LLP announced Thursday that it's continuing its Sunshine State hiring spree with a new partner to its real estate, construction and development service line in St. Petersburg, Florida, from Johnson Pope Bokor Ruppel & Burns LLP.
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June 05, 2025
Real Estate Investment Firm Lands $700M Portfolio Refi
Nitya Capital obtained a $700 million fixed-rate senior loan to refinance its 18-property portfolio composed of Class A student housing and Class B multifamily properties, the Houston-based real estate investment firm announced June 5.
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June 04, 2025
Property Manager Fired For Complaint About Meme, Suit Says
A Texas-based property management company has been sued by a former employee in Georgia who alleged she was fired after reporting a "racially insensitive" meme sent to her by the company's acting vice president.
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June 04, 2025
Ill. Atty Faces 1 Year Suspension, Left Watchdog 'Baffled'
An Illinois attorney who was sanctioned $1 million alongside his client for frivolously litigating a condominium governance fight and later helped that client engage in knowingly improper bankruptcy conduct should be suspended for a year and complete a professionalism seminar, a state disciplinary watchdog says.
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June 04, 2025
What's Behind The Surge In Real Estate Secondaries Market
More and more investors are selling off their stakes in real estate funds to hungry buyers on the secondary market, a trend that attorneys attribute to more than just a need for cash.
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June 04, 2025
Mo. Appeals Court Upholds City Tax On REIT's Rental Income
Healthcare real estate investment trust Ventas Inc.'s receipt of rental income earned from four medical office buildings in Kansas City, Missouri, is a business activity subject to the city's earnings tax, the Missouri Court of Appeals ruled, affirming a lower court decision.
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June 04, 2025
Boston Condo Owned By LLC Wins Partial Exemption
A Boston condominium owned by a single-member limited liability company is eligible for a partial tax exemption as a primary residence, the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board said in an opinion released Wednesday, reversing the determination of the city board of assessors.
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June 04, 2025
Lawmakers Say Recent Rocket Mortgage Deals Need Scrutiny
A group of lawmakers is calling on antitrust enforcers to scrutinize online mortgage giant Rocket's recent deals for real estate brokerage website Redfin and mortgage company Mr. Cooper over concerns that Rocket is trying to dominate the entire homebuying process.
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June 04, 2025
Adviser Sued For Pouring $100M Into Failing Development
A Florida woman sued her financial adviser in state court Tuesday, claiming he engaged in a yearslong scheme to funnel $100 million of her money into a now-bankrupt mixed-use development project and convinced her to personally guarantee more than $300 million in loans for the project.
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June 04, 2025
Mass. Board Upholds Home Value Despite Owner's Claims
A Massachusetts homeowner's claims of groundwater contamination, nearby illicit activities and noxious odors fell short of the evidence needed to reduce the property's tax valuation, a state board said in an opinion released Wednesday.
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June 04, 2025
Ohio Justice Questions School Board's Tax Appeal Claim
An Ohio justice criticized a school board's claim that state law allows it to appeal administrative property valuation rulings to county courts when the board doesn't own the property at issue.
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June 04, 2025
Nashville Mixed-Use Megaproject Wins $25M Early Loan
Miami-based lender BridgeInvest said it has provided a $25 million loan to refinance and pay for early development costs of a site in Nashville, Tennessee, set to include an apartment tower, luxury condos and an upscale hotel.
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June 03, 2025
Prosecutors Take Second Stab At Convicting Dallas Developer
Federal prosecutors started a second run at convicting a Dallas real estate developer of bribing two city council members, telling a jury during opening arguments Tuesday that the developer had a "silent partnership" with elected officials in exchange for favors.
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June 03, 2025
2 Texans, Firm Owe $5.3M In SEC House-Flipping Fraud Suit
A pair of Texas men and their investment company must give the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nearly $5.3 million to resolve claims they defrauded investors in a house-flipping scheme, misappropriating $2.9 million and misrepresenting that certain property interests would secure certain investor funds.
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June 03, 2025
Wash. Judge Clears The Way For Redfin Merger Vote
A Washington federal judge on Tuesday refused to stop Redfin shareholders from voting Wednesday on a $1.75 billion merger with Rocket Cos., finding that with new disclosures made by the company, investors have enough information to make an informed decision.
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June 03, 2025
Conn. Real Estate Execs Say Investors Weaponized Courts
Three executives for a real estate development firm have accused their former business partners in Connecticut Superior Court of weaponizing the courts to lodge "a multi-year, multi-forum legal assault" with "fabricated" claims.
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June 03, 2025
Invitation Homes Starts Lending Effort, Buys $100M In Homes
Invitation Homes said it spent more than $100 million to acquire about 300 newly built single-family homes while it launched a developer lending program with a $32.7 million loan to a Houston homebuilder.
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June 03, 2025
Texas Gives Some Property Owners More Time To Pay Taxes
Some Texas property owners whose taxing authorities allow bills to be paid in two installments will get more time to make their initial payment under legislation signed by Gov. Greg Abbott.
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June 03, 2025
Starwood Capital Raises $2.9B For Private Credit Funds
Starwood Capital Group announced Tuesday that it has closed a series of private credit vehicles focused on the U.S., Europe and Australia after securing a total of $2.86 billion in capital commitments from investors.
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June 03, 2025
The Law360 400: A Look At The Top 100 Firms
A rebound in client work sent the nation’s largest law firms into growth mode last year, driving a wave of hiring, mergers and strategic moves that reshaped the top tier of the Law360 400. Here's a preview of the 100 firms with the largest U.S. attorney headcounts.
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June 03, 2025
Text To Sanctions Trial Witness Just An 'Error,' Judge Agrees
A Manhattan federal judge declined on Tuesday to revoke bail for a businessman accused of helping a Russian banker evade sanctions on assets worth nearly $150 million, after his lawyer said his text to a trial witness was merely a phone flub.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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Trump NY Fraud Trial Shows Civil, Criminal Case Differences
Former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial currently unfolding in New York provides a reminder that civil bench trials can be just as damaging, if not more so, than criminal prosecutions, due to several key elements of civil litigation procedure, says retired attorney David Moskowitz.
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Why NYC Building Owners Shouldn't Ignore Emissions Rule
New rules from the New York City Department of Buildings clarify the previously vague good faith efforts that building owners may make to mitigate penalties for not complying with a major carbon emission law that takes effect in January, and should discourage owners from simply paying the fines instead of decarbonizing, says William McCracken at Moritt Hock.
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What NJ's Green Remediation Guidance Means For Cleanups
Recent guidance from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection promoting greener approaches to restoring contaminated sites demonstrates the state's commitment to sustainability and environmental justice — but could also entail more complexity, higher costs and longer remediation timelines, say J. Michael Showalter and Bradley Rochlen at ArentFox Schiff.
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A New Path Forward For Surplus Land Owners In Calif.
A new California law signed last month enables some religious institutions and nonprofit colleges to build affordable housing on surplus land, and its requirements — which are more manageable than they may appear — will support long-term benefits including good housing and the survival of worthy institutions, says Stephen Wilson at Withers.
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Inside Bank Regulators' Community Lending Law Overhaul
The federal banking agencies' recently finalized changes to the Community Reinvestment Act not only account for the gradual shift to an environment where lending and deposit-taking are primarily conducted online, but also implement other updates such as diversity initiatives and a new series of lending tests, say attorneys at Norton Rose.
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A Bird's Eye View Of NYC's New Parapet Inspection Law
Building owners in New York City should be ready for the city's new parapet inspection requirements going into effect in January, which will likely necessitate additional construction work for countless buildings not previously subject to formal inspections, says Benjamin Fox Tracy at Braverman Greenspun.
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AI Isn't The Wild West, So Prepare Now For Bias Risks
In addition to President Joe Biden's recent historic executive order on safe, secure and trustworthy artificial intelligence, there are existing federal and state laws prohibiting fraud, defamation and even discrimination, so companies considering using or developing AI should take steps to minimize legal and business risks, says civil rights attorney Farhana Khera.
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AI's Baked-In Bias: What To Watch Out For
The federal AI executive order is a direct acknowledgment of the perils of inherent bias in artificial intelligence systems, and highlights the need for legal professionals to thoroughly vet AI systems, including data and sources, algorithms and AI training methods, and more, say Jonathan Hummel and Jonathan Talcott at Ballard Spahr.
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Calif. Ruling May Open Bankruptcy Trustees To Tort Liability
In Martin v. Gladstone, a recent California appellate court decision, the application of tort concepts to bankruptcy trustees could pose a new concern for trustees and federal receivers when controlling and maintaining commercial property, says Jarrett Osborne-Revis at Buchalter.
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5th Circ. Ruling May Beget Fraud Jury Instruction Appeals
The Fifth Circuit’s recent U.S. v. Greenlaw decision, disapproving disjunctive fraudulent-intent jury instructions, will likely spawn appeals in mail, wire and securities fraud cases, but defendants must show that their deception furthered ends other than taking the victim's property, says Charles Fowler at McKool Smith.