Residential
-
October 20, 2025
Justices Won't Review Optional NAR Rule In Zillow Case
The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to review claims that Zillow and the National Association of Realtors blocked competition through an optional association rule that relegated a defunct brokerage platform's listings to a secondary tab on Zillow's site.
-
October 17, 2025
Texas Appeals Court Clears River Authority Of Flood Claim
A Texas appeals court found that the San Jacinto River Authority had governmental immunity when it decided to release water from its Lake Conroe reservoir during a hurricane, saying it took a good faith action even though the decision damaged some properties.
-
October 17, 2025
Feds Say Housing Activist Used Homeless For Medicaid Fraud
Federal prosecutors in North Carolina have accused a Charlotte housing advocate of using the Medicaid beneficiary numbers of unhoused individuals to orchestrate a multimillion-dollar fraud on the government, court records show.
-
October 17, 2025
Taxation With Representation: Latham, Kirkland, Wachtell
In this week's Taxation With Representation, the Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership, MGX, and BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners acquire Aligned Data Centers from Macquarie Asset Management and co-investors; Rayonier Inc. and PotlatchDeltic Corp. merge to create a timber and wood products giant; and a Lone Star Funds affiliate acquires industrial processing equipment provider Hillenbrand Inc.
-
October 16, 2025
Why Ethics Complaints Against Halligan Face 'Very High Bar'
Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan for the Eastern District of Virginia could face bar disciplinary action or court sanctions if the prosecutions she's pursuing at President Donald Trump's behest are found to be politically motivated or baseless, although proving ethics allegations will be an uphill battle, experts say.
-
October 16, 2025
Ex-Va. Federal Prosecutor Joins NY AG James' Defense Team
The former deputy criminal chief for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Norfolk, Virginia, on Oct. 16 joined the team defending New York Attorney General Letitia James in the government's case accusing her of mortgage-related fraud, filed after the president encouraged prosecutors to take action against his "guilty as hell" political opponents.
-
October 16, 2025
LA Developers Charged In Homeless Housing Fund Fraud
A pair of real estate developers have been charged in separate fraud cases alleging that they misused millions of dollars meant to build and operate affordable housing for people experiencing homelessness, the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Central District of California announced Oct. 16.
-
October 16, 2025
Insurers Settle Bid To Arbitrate $7M La. Hurricane Ida Case
A group of domestic and foreign insurers including underwriters at Lloyd's of London have asked a Louisiana federal judge to dismiss their lawsuit seeking an order to arbitrate a $7 million Hurricane Ida damage claim, saying they have settled the dispute.
-
October 16, 2025
Latham Guides $1.8B Deal For Spanish Senior Home Operator
The real estate arm of StepStone Group Inc. and European real estate investment firm Greykite have announced a €1.5 billion ($1.8 billion) deal to acquire and recapitalize Vitalia, Spain's second largest owner-operator of senior care homes.
-
October 16, 2025
Mass. Board Upholds Tax Value Of Boston Home
A Boston property owner failed to prove that the city overassessed her four-bedroom, 2,900-square-foot home, the state's Appellate Tax Board said, finding the city's assessment of $724,000 for the 2022 tax year was reasonable.
-
October 16, 2025
Justices Urged To Hear Mich. Tax Foreclosure Case
A property owner has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on her case alleging a Michigan county improperly kept the excess proceeds of her tax-foreclosed home sale, arguing the justices should settle a conflict among circuits and calling the state's process to claim such proceeds too restrictive.
-
October 16, 2025
Mich. Tribunal Denies Religious Tax Break For Rental Property
A Michigan town correctly revoked a religious tax exemption for a property rented out through short-term rental platforms, the state Tax Tribunal ruled, adding that there was no evidence that Christian activities held on the property reflected the property owner's faith.
-
October 16, 2025
Parker Poe Adds Onetime Stites & Harbison Office Leader
Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP has brought on the former leader of Stites & Harbison PLLC's Atlanta office to its own office in the city, bolstering its real estate and finance services with an attorney who brings four decades of legal experience.
-
October 16, 2025
Justices Asked To Rethink Gellert Seitz Malpractice Ruling
Lawyers for a homebuilder are asking Delaware's Supreme Court to reconsider its decision affirming the dismissal of a legal malpractice suit against Gellert Seitz Busenkell & Brown LLC over damages the builder said it suffered due to the firm's negligence handling loan-restructuring disputes, arguing that key issues have been left unresolved.
-
October 16, 2025
NY Enacts Property Tax Breaks For Some Developments
New York will create a property tax exemption for some residential property transferred to low-income households and expand a property tax exemption for redeveloped family homes under bills signed by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul on Oct. 16.
-
October 16, 2025
Mass. Board Reduces Condo Value For Its Street Proximity
A Massachusetts condominium unit with a desirable view was overvalued by a local assessor, a state panel said, agreeing with the owner that its location close to a street was a detriment to its value.
-
October 16, 2025
Mass. Tax Board Reduces Condo's Fair Cash Value
A Massachusetts condominium's value should be lowered because the trust that owns the property proved that the property was less updated and smaller compared with similar properties, the state tax board ruled.
-
October 15, 2025
How Brownfield Legislation Can Spur More Housing In Calif.
The extension of a key legal tool in California for easing development on contaminated sites can relieve the state's housing shortage, though more work can be done to improve the legislation and make it work better with other environmental regulations, according to a partner at Cox Castle & Nicholson LLP.
-
October 15, 2025
Pantzer Closes Real Estate Fund At Over $1B
Institutional fund manager Pantzer Properties said it has raised more than $1 billion for a real estate fund that aims to acquire and oversee "institutional-quality" U.S. multifamily properties located on the country's East Coast.
-
October 15, 2025
Ga. Justices Stand By Holding That Runoff Fees Aren't Taxes
The Supreme Court of Georgia has for the second time ruled that a landowner can't use a constitutional challenge to get out of paying stormwater utility bills to its local government, declining Wednesday to overturn a decade-plus precedent that ruled the county was enforcing a fee rather than a tax.
-
October 15, 2025
AGs Concerned About Landlord Settlements In RealPage Case
Attorneys general of the District of Columbia and three states told a Tennessee federal court Wednesday that they have concerns about a combined $141.8 million worth of class settlements for antitrust claims against several multifamily landlords that allegedly used property management software company RealPage Inc.'s technology for rent price-fixing.
-
October 15, 2025
Crescent Heights Nets $238M Refi For Miami Apartment Tower
Real estate firm Crescent Heights obtained a $238 million loan to refinance a luxury residential building in Miami's Edgewater neighborhood, the parties announced Wednesday.
-
October 15, 2025
NY Wins Suit Over Rent Hikes At Manufactured Homes Park
A state court judge sided with New York in its suit accusing the owners of a 324-lot manufactured homes park of illegally raising rents and violating state and local sanitary regulations by failing to maintain the property's water and septic systems.
-
October 15, 2025
Loan Originator Gets 1½ Years For $10M Mortgage Fraud
An Illinois federal judge sentenced a loan originator to 1½ years in prison Wednesday for his role in a lengthy and complex mortgage fraud scheme that involved conning elderly victims out of an estimated $10 million in home equity.
-
October 15, 2025
Southeast US Infrastructure Firm Files $100M IPO Plans
North Carolina-based infrastructure company Cardinal Infrastructure Group has filed plans with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering, a move that comes as a handful of companies continue to submit IPO plans despite the ongoing government shutdown slowing SEC operations.
Expert Analysis
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Calif. Housing Overhaul May Increase Pressure On Landlords
Two recently enacted California laws signal new protections and legal benefits for tenants, but also elevate landlords' financial exposure at a time when they are already facing multiple other hardships, says Laya Dogmetchi at Much Shelist.
-
New Proposal Signals Sharper Enforcement Focus At CFIUS
Last week's proposed rule aimed at broadening the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' enforcement authority over foreign investments and increasing penalties for violations signals that CFIUS intends to continue expanding its aggressive monitoring of national security issues, say attorneys at Kirkland.