Residential

  • April 18, 2025

    SEC Wins $1M Real Estate Fraud Suit Over NC Development

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission scored a win in its fraud suit in North Carolina federal court against an insurance agent and his company, with a judge finding the agency has shown the defendants defrauded seven investors out of over $1 million.

  • April 18, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Rethink Nixed Zillow, NAR Antitrust Case

    The Ninth Circuit won't be rethinking a panel decision refusing to revive a defunct brokerage platform's case accusing Zillow and the National Association of Realtors of anticompetitively relegating its listings from Zillow's main page.

  • April 18, 2025

    Ore. Realtors Urge Panel To Reject Fees On Vacant Homes

    Proposed legislation to allow local governments to impose fees on certain vacant homes would violate fundamental principles of property rights, Oregon Realtors told a state Senate panel.

  • April 18, 2025

    HUD Lists Aging DC Headquarters Building For Sale

    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Government Services Administration have announced plans to sell HUD's headquarters, saying the property exceeds the department's need for office space.

  • April 18, 2025

    NC High Court Snapshot: Livestock Litigation Takes Limelight

    The North Carolina Supreme Court's April lineup will find the justices delving into a squabble over backyard chickens in a residential neighborhood and a consumer fraud class action with Home Depot in the crosshairs.

  • April 18, 2025

    Fla. Jury Hits Expedia With $30M Helms-Burton Verdict

    A Miami jury on Friday said Expedia and three related entities owe $29.85 million after finding the online booking companies liable for violating the Helms-Burton Act's anti-trafficking provision by offering reservations for resorts on a barrier island seized by Fidel Castro's government.

  • April 18, 2025

    Castlelake, Invictus Partner For $2B Residential Loan Venture

    Global alternative investment manager Castlelake LP announced that it has formed a partnership with alternative credit asset manager Invictus Capital Partners to invest up to $2 billion in newly originated residential mortgages.

  • April 17, 2025

    Judge Warns Rocket Cos. Investor: Seek Cert. At 'Own Peril'

    A Michigan federal judge on Thursday said a pension fund trying to take over as lead plaintiff in a suit against mortgage business Rocket Companies Inc. does not need the court's permission to file a renewed class certification motion, but it "does so at its own peril."

  • April 17, 2025

    Fla. Senate Takes Steps To Bolster Affordable Housing Law

    With time starting to run low in the Florida Legislature's annual regular session, the Senate has taken a notable step toward addressing the state's ongoing affordable housing concerns by passing a bill that would put more weight behind 2023's Live Local Act in response to pushback from local governments.

  • April 17, 2025

    Greystar Says FTC Suit Seeks 'Radical' Expansion Of Power

    Developer and property manager Greystar urged a Colorado federal court to toss a Federal Trade Commission suit alleging it advertised deceptive rental prices, saying the suit requires a novel reading of a decades-old statute that would "radically" expand the agency's power.

  • April 17, 2025

    Cuban Island Owner Wants $36M In Helms-Burton Case

    A Cuban-American man who says he is the rightful heir to an island off the coast of Cuba that was seized by the Communist government asked a Miami jury on Thursday for an award of more than $36 million against Expedia, which the man claims illegally trafficked in the stolen property by offering reservations for resorts on the island through its website.

  • April 17, 2025

    Colo. FAIR Plan Gives Policyholders Options At A Cost

    Colorado launched the country's first new Fair Access to Insurance Requirements, or FAIR, Plan in 40 years to offer residents another tool in an increasingly challenging wildfire, hail and wind market, but experts emphasized that this limited form of coverage is not intended to address affordability concerns.

  • April 17, 2025

    Colo. Insurance Bills Offer Promise But Uncertain Costs

    Colorado lawmakers are contemplating insurance bills that experts say could help improve the state's market by boosting home resilience, but there are still cost concerns and skepticism that other proposals are workable, like a state reinsurance program.

  • April 17, 2025

    Navajo Man Owed Relocation Benefits, 9th Circ. Rules

    The Ninth Circuit has ruled in a published opinion that a Navajo Nation member was wrongly denied relocation benefits after the U.S. government awarded his ancestral land to the Hopi Tribe, saying the federal relocation office relied on flawed findings and arbitrary reasoning when denying his claim.

  • April 17, 2025

    Wash. Justices Strike Down Spokane's Homeless Camp Law

    The Washington Supreme Court said a voter-approved initiative restricting encampments for homeless people in Spokane is unconstitutional, in an opinion Thursday that said the measure exceeds the scope of local initiative power because it impermissibly "tinkers" with a policy the city had previously adopted.

  • April 17, 2025

    Blackstone Sees 'Speed Bump' In Real Estate Recovery

    Officials at investment giant Blackstone told analysts on April 17 that they expected the direct impact of tariffs on its businesses to be limited, although a wider downturn could be more troubling.

  • April 17, 2025

    CFPB Will Cut Examinations By Half In Broad Retreat: Memo

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to cut back sharply on its policing of nonbank financial firms, slash examinations and pull back on its use of fines as part of a dramatic shift in supervisory and enforcement priorities outlined in a new internal memo.

  • April 16, 2025

    Philly Housing Agency Seeks Out Of Suit Over Fatal Fire

    The Philadelphia Housing Authority on Wednesday urged a Pennsylvania federal court to free it from a lawsuit accusing it of responsibility for a fatal 2022 public housing fire that killed 12 residents, saying administrators of the decedents' estates failed to show that the agency directly caused the fire.

  • April 16, 2025

    Atty Expects Action But No U-Turn On New Fla. Condo Laws

    Miami attorney Joe Hernandez, a specialist in condominium law matters — and a condo owner himself — talked with Law360 about Florida condo associations' compliance with new building safety laws, the state of condo terminations and what steps the Legislature many take in its current session.

  • April 16, 2025

    Texas Ranch Neighbor Agrees Not To Use 'Mesa Vista' Name

    The owner of a property neighboring the late T. Boone Pickens' luxurious Mesa Vista Ranch hunting estate in the Texas Panhandle has agreed to stop using the name after being sued by the ranch's new owner.

  • April 16, 2025

    Real Estate Lawyers Chart Dealmaking Under Tariffs

    As real estate transaction attorneys navigate uncertainty in the market, some deals are being put on ice, while elsewhere, clients are rushing to negotiate protections from price hikes or find opportunistic deals.

  • April 16, 2025

    CFPB Defends Bid To Undo Redlining Deal

    The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reiterated Tuesday its bid in Illinois federal court to refund a Chicago-area mortgage lender's redlining settlement, arguing that consumer advocates fighting to keep the deal in place "attack a strawman" and posit "a parade of horribles that have nothing to do with this case."

  • April 16, 2025

    Calif. Agency Says Appraisal Co. Discriminated Against Family

    The California Civil Rights Department announced it has reached settlements with a Nevada-based appraisal management company and an individual appraiser that allegedly lowballed a Black and Latino family in the Bay Area because of their race.

  • April 16, 2025

    IRS Publishes 2025 Average Residence Purchase Price Data

    The Internal Revenue Service published data Wednesday on the average purchase price for U.S. residences in different areas, which is used to determine whether bond interest can be excluded from gross income.

  • April 16, 2025

    Disbarred Atty Gets 2½ Years For Investment Scheme

    A New Jersey federal judge sentenced a disbarred attorney to 2½ years in prison after he admitted to misleading would-be investors in his financial services company with false promises before using their money for his personal expenses.

Expert Analysis

  • What's Ahead As Transparency Act Comes To A Crossroads

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    Synthesizing the contrasting federal district and appellate court rulings on the Corporate Transparency Act’s validity reveals several main areas of debate that will likely remain at issue as challenges to the law continue winding through the courts, say attorneys at Farella Braun.

  • Ohio Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q4

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    Ohio's banking and financial services sector saw several significant developments in the fourth quarter of 2024, including a landmark Uniform Commercial Code ruling, adjustments to the state's Homebuyer Plus Program and the launch of the state's first women-led bank, says attorney Alex Durst.

  • In The CFPB Playbook: A Sprint To The Finish Line

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    The fourth quarter of 2024 was an impressive demonstration of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's ability to regulate, enforce and supervise, even on borrowed time following the election results, and we should expect the current bureau to run nonstop until Jan. 20, say attorneys at Covington.

  • The 6 Most Significant FCRA Litigation Developments Of 2024

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    From a key sovereign immunity decision at the U.S. Supreme Court to a ruling on creditworthiness out of the Seventh Circuit, several important Fair Credit Reporting Act cases wound their way through the courts in 2024, each offering takeaways for both plaintiffs and defendants, say attorneys at Shipkevich.

  • 10 Noteworthy CFPB Developments From 2024

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    In a banner year for consumer finance regulation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau made significant strides in its efforts to rein in Big Tech and nonbank financial firms, including via rules regarding open banking, credit card late fees, and buy now, pay later products, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • The Story Of 2024's Biggest Bank Regs, And Their Fate In 2025

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    U.S. federal bank regulators were very active in 2024 with initiatives ranging from antitrust and capital to proposals regarding controlling shareholders and incentive-based compensation, but many regulations face an uncertain future under the new administration, say attorneys at Latham.

  • Conducting A 'Reasonably Expected Market Area' Analysis

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    Regardless of whether the incoming administration scales back on redlining examinations and investigations, lenders should take steps to understand how regulators define "reasonably expected market areas," and how to conduct analyses of such areas, say attorneys at Mitchell Sandler.

  • Adapting Force Majeure To A Predictably Unpredictable World

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    As the climate and political landscapes get more complicated, force majeure provisions will likely be triggered increasingly often, demanding an evolving understanding of when events and their impacts are truly unforeseeable, say attorneys at Nossaman.

  • Impact Of Corporate Transparency Act Ambiguity On Banks

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    Even though banks generally needn't file beneficial ownership information reports, financial institutions must continue to monitor the status of the Corporate Transparency Act and understand its requirements in case the nationwide injunction that was issued against the CTA earlier this month is overturned, say attorneys at Armstrong Teasdale.

  • Strategies For Home Equity Investment Providers In 2025

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    The home equity investment product market is thriving even amid consumer concerns, regulatory scrutiny and conflicting court decisions, setting the stage for a promising but challenging environment for providers in 2025, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • What Interest Rate Cuts Mean For Housing Markets

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    The Federal Reserve's recent reduction of interest rates may provide limited immediate relief for real estate sectors, but offers potential opportunities for commercial real estate investors and construction firms, which now face an environment ripe for new projects, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • California Supreme Court's Year In Review

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    Attorneys at Horvitz & Levy highlight notable decisions on major questions from the California Supreme Court's last term, including voter initiatives, hostile work environment and the economic loss rule.

  • How CFIUS' Updated Framework Affects Global Investors

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    The recent change to the monitoring and enforcement regulations governing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States will broaden administrative practices around nonnotified transaction investigations, increase the scope of information demands from the committee and accelerate its ability to impose mitigation on parties, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.