Residential
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March 06, 2025
Fla. Coverage Bill Could Add Pressure To Struggling Condos
A Florida bill that would require condominium associations to comply with building safety laws or risk their last-resort insurance option is well-intentioned, but could result in a slew of negative consequences for condo owners, insurance experts say.
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March 06, 2025
The Antitrust Litigation Surrounding NAR's Industry Rules
A year and a half after a Missouri federal jury found that the National Association of Realtors inflated fees for home sellers, the Eighth Circuit is evaluating a series of settlements in wake of the decision while the Justice Department pursues its own antitrust investigation with a court's blessing.
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March 06, 2025
La. Tax Break Doesn't Apply To Apartment's Affordable Units
The owner of a Louisiana apartment complex cannot claim a property tax exemption for the complex's affordable housing units because the units were not dedicated solely to a public purpose, a state appellate court ruled.
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March 05, 2025
Wash. Justices Won't Take Up Pemco's Fire Coverage Appeal
The Washington Supreme Court won't review a lower court's ruling that Pemco Mutual Insurance Co. must cover a woman's claim for fire damage to her former home after she was assaulted and set ablaze there by her ex-husband.
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March 05, 2025
Los Angeles County Sues SoCal Edison Over Eaton Fire
Los Angeles County joined the many dozens suing Southern California Edison over the devastating Eaton Fire on Wednesday, as the most populous county in the United States alleges in its lawsuit that the utility's faulty equipment caused the destructive blaze.
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March 05, 2025
Claimed Church Leader Ruled To Owe $1.3M In Taxes
A claimed church leader owes $1.3 million in tax debt after he was caught selling tax avoidance schemes, a Washington federal judge ruled Wednesday, rejecting his request for more time to mount a challenge and describing him as uncooperative.
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March 05, 2025
Black Colo. Homeowner Joins DOJ's Race Bias Refi Suit
A Denver homeowner joined the federal government in its suit accusing Rocket Mortgage LLC and other parties in Colorado federal court of deliberately undervaluing her home because she's a Black woman.
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March 05, 2025
Construction Co. Not Covered For $11M Verdict, Insurer Says
A construction company isn't entitled to coverage for an $11 million jury verdict against it in an underlying personal injury suit because the builder's policy excludes coverage for residential construction activities, an insurer told a Texas federal court.
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March 05, 2025
Lenders' Atty Reflects On FAPA's Foreclosure Fallout In NY
After state lawmakers in 2022 passed changes to New York's foreclosure rules, lenders left defending a spike in lawsuits challenging once-established mortgage rights faced another setback with a recent state appeals court ruling upholding the legislation.
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March 05, 2025
Willkie Farr Partner Gets $23K Fee In Suit Over Media Tip
A Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP partner has won the bulk of a $27,420 bid to recoup personal attorney fees after prevailing in a First Amendment feud with his former landlord's lawyer over a media leak, with a judge clipping just $3,550 for lack of a novel legal issue.
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March 05, 2025
Real Estate Lawyers On The Move
Greenberg Traurig and Rosenberg & Estis are among the law firms that have made recent real estate or construction hires.
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March 05, 2025
Newmark Lines Up $275M Refi For NYC Multifamily Complex
Newmark Group Inc. secured a $275 million loan that will refinance an 816-unit, two-tower multifamily complex in New York City's Financial District, the commercial real estate services company announced.
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March 05, 2025
Colorado's Last-Resort Insurer Partners With AI Analytics Co.
Colorado's last-resort insurer has partnered with risk modeling company ZestyAI in an effort to improve insurance access for homeowners through the use of artificial intelligence-powered models for heightened climate risks, the company said Wednesday.
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March 05, 2025
Montana Tasks Tax Agency With Review Of Exempt Property
Montana directed its Department of Revenue to establish a process to review property that is exempt from taxation under a bill signed by the governor.
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March 05, 2025
IRS Updates Foreign Housing Expense Limits For 2025
The Internal Revenue Service released adjustments to the limitation on foreign housing expense deductions and exclusions for 2025 on Wednesday.
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March 04, 2025
DC Opposes RealPage Bid For Sanctions In Antitrust Case
The District of Columbia and its attorneys at Cohen Milstein are opposing a bid for sanctions from RealPage in the district's rental pricing case, contending they have support for allegations about the company not wanting to work with landlords that reject its price recommendations.
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March 04, 2025
Attorneys Shift Gaze To Contracts As Trade Tensions Escalate
Construction experts are racing to keep up with rapid changes from the White House on tariffs amid what's now becoming a full-fledged trade war, and are working out how best to allocate cost-increase risk in their contracts. Lawyers shared several contract excerpts with Law360 Real Estate Authority.
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March 04, 2025
Insurer Can't Escape Fla. Condo's Hurricane Damage Dispute
An insurer can't escape a Florida condominium association's suit seeking coverage for property damage caused by a September 2020 hurricane, a New York federal court ruled, saying the association's update of a preexisting elevator replacement bid in light of storm damage was not clearly fraudulent conduct or misrepresentation.
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March 04, 2025
4th Circ. Finds No Harm In Facebook Ads For Young Renters
The Fourth Circuit affirmed a Maryland federal court's dismissal of a would-be renter's proposed class action alleging age discrimination by the D.C. area's largest real estate firms Tuesday, finding that the plaintiff failed to show that she was harmed by the company's targeting of younger renters in Facebook ads.
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March 04, 2025
NY Creates Framework For County Tax On Short-Term Rentals
New York established a framework for counties to impose tax on short-term rentals as part of a bill signed by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.
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March 04, 2025
DeSantis Backs Canning Fla. Rent Tax, Cutting Property Taxes
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called on state legislators Tuesday to eliminate the state's business rent tax on commercial leases and reaffirmed his pledge to support an effort by lawmakers to draft a constitutional amendment that would cut property taxes.
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March 04, 2025
PE Firm Bascom Buys LA County Apartments For $127M
The Bascom Group, a private equity firm based in Irvine, California, has announced it acquired a 257-unit apartment complex in the Los Angeles area for $127 million.
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March 03, 2025
Real Estate Bills To Watch In Florida's Legislative Session
Florida's annual two-month legislative session officially kicks off Tuesday, but lawmakers have already been at work drafting and filing bills. With a total of 1,821 bills filed between the two chambers before last Friday's deadline, a considerable number have the potential to impact real estate, with several likely to feature prominently in upcoming debates.
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March 03, 2025
9th Circ. Rejects Redo Of Antitrust Case Against Zillow, NAR
The Ninth Circuit on Monday said it would not revive a defunct brokerage platform's case accusing Zillow and the National Association of Realtors of deception related to the online real estate company's website, saying there was no conspiracy in the way changes were made to how listings were displayed.
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March 03, 2025
Purlin Harnesses AI To Connect The Dots In Homebuying
Law360's Proptech Profile series looks at California-based software company Purlin Co., whose founder has striven to combine business and technology principles to deliver AI-powered homebuying tools that he says align with consumers' wants while delivering superior efficiency and results for real estate providers.
Expert Analysis
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Assessing Algorithmic Versus Generative AI Pricing Tools
A comparison of traditional algorithmic pricing models and those powered by generative artificial intelligence can help regulators and practitioners weigh the pros and cons of relying on large language models to price products or services, say Maxime Cohen at McGill University, and Tim Spittle and Jimmy Royer at Analysis Group.
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Navigating A Potpourri Of Possible Transparency Act Pitfalls
Despite the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's continued release of guidance for complying with the Corporate Transparency Act, its interpretation remains in flux, making it important for companies to understand potentially problematic areas of ambiguity in the practical application of the law, say attorneys at Sidley.
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DOJ Must Overcome Hurdles In RealPage Antitrust Case
The U.S. Department of Justice's recent claims that RealPage's pricing software violates the Sherman Act mark a creative, and apparently contradictory, shift in the agency's approach to algorithmic price-fixing that will face several key challenges, say attorneys at Clifford Chance.
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What To Know About CFPB Stance On Confidentiality Terms
A recent circular from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau represents a growing effort across government agencies to address overbroad confidentiality agreements, and gives employers insight into the bureau's perspective on the issue as it relates to the Consumer Financial Protection Act, say Holly Williamson and Elizabeth King at Hunton.
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What's Next For Federal Preemption In Financial Services
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's review of its preemption interpretations and growing pressure from state regulators signal potential changes ahead for preemption in U.S. financial services, and the path forward will likely involve a reevaluation of the entire framework, say attorneys at Clark Hill.
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Increased Scrutiny Raises Int'l Real Estate Transaction Risks
Recently proposed regulations expanding the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' oversight, a White House divestment order and state-level legislative efforts signal increasing scrutiny of real estate transactions that may trigger national security concerns, say Luciano Racco and Aleksis Fernández Caballero at Foley Hoag.
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Financial Incentives May Alleviate Affordable Housing Crisis
There is a wide array of financial incentives and assistance that the government can provide to both real estate developers and individuals to chip away at the housing affordability problem from multiple angles, say Eric DeBear and Madeline Williams at Cozen.
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Portland's Gross Receipts Tax Oversteps City's Authority
Recent measures by Portland, Oregon, that expand the voter-approved scope of the Clean Energy Surcharge on certain retail sales eviscerate the common meaning of the word "retail" and exceed the city's chartered authority to levy tax, say Nikki Dobay at Greenberg Traurig and Jeff Newgard at Peak Policy.
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The Bank Preemption Ripple Effects After Cantero, Flagstar
The importance of federal preemption for financial institutions will only increase as technology-driven innovations evolve, which is why the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Cantero v. Bank of America and vacatur of Kivett v. Flagstar Bank have real modern-day significance for national banks, say attorneys at WilmerHale.
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Assessing The Practicality Of Harris' Affordable Housing Plan
Vice President Kamala Harris' proposed "Build the American Dream" plan to tackle housing affordability issues takes solid recommendations into account and may fare better than California's unsuccessful attempt at a similar program, but the scope of the problem is beyond what a three-point plan can solve, says Brooke Miller at Sheppard Mullin.
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RealPage Suit Shows Growing Algorithm, AI Pricing Scrutiny
The U.S. Department of Justice's suit against RealPage for helping fix rental rates, filed last week, demonstrates how the use of algorithmic and artificial intelligence tools to assist with pricing decisions is drawing increasing scrutiny and action across government agencies, and specifically at the Federal Trade Commission and the DOJ, say Andre Geverola and Leah Harrell at Arnold & Porter.
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What To Expect From Evolving Wash. Development Plans
The current round of periodic updates to Washington counties' growth and development plans will need to address new requirements from recent legislation, and will also likely bring changes that should please property owners and developers, says Jami Balint at Seyfarth.
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Brownfield Questions Surround IRS Tax Credit Bonus
Though the IRS has published guidance regarding the Inflation Reduction Act's 10% adder for tax credits generated by renewable energy projects constructed on brownfield sites, considerable guesswork remains as potential implications seem contrary to IRS intentions, say Megan Caldwell and Jon Micah Goeller at Husch Blackwell.