Business Organization › Residential Real Estate

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s Minimum Standards for Prioritization and Handling Borrower Files Subject to Imminent...

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s Minimum Standards for Prioritization and Handling Borrower Files Subject to Imminent Foreclosure Sale for all OCC Regulated Banks. The OCC guidance is significant because it...more

Senator Elizabeth Warren's May 14, 2013 letter to Ben Bernanke, Eric Holder, & Mary Jo White

Senator Elizabeth Warren's May 14, 2013 letter to The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, U.S. Department of Justice...

Senator Elizabeth Warren Pushes Feds For Answer On Big Bank Enforcement WASHINGTON — Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) raised the stakes of her quest to find out why a single Wall Street bank has not been prosecuted in the...more

Unsuccessful Law Suit By Condo Owner

In the case of Harvey v. Elgin Condominium Corporation No. 3 an unhappy condo owner sued the condominium corporation, claiming that the corporation undertook work that constituted a substantial change without proper...more

Condominium And Homeowners Bills Enacted By The 2013 Florida Legislature

HB 73- Omnibus Legislation - This bill containing 74 pages is a "stripped down" version of a bill which passed the House last year but failed to obtain Senate approval. It contains a potpourri of changes to the...more

Registration Of Condominium Liens - Time Is Of The Essence

In a recent case, YCC No. 82 v. Bujold, the Court of Appeal considered the interpretation of Section 85 of the Condominium Act (the “Act”) and, in particular, the timing requirements under the Act relating to notice of the...more

Court Of Appeal Makes Condominium Association Foreclosures More Costly

The Third District Court of Appeal recently issued an opinion that is a game changer for third-party purchasers of condominium units at foreclosure sales. The Third District’s opinion in Aventura Management, LLC v. Spiaggia...more

ROBO-LITIGATION Re: Attorney Misconduct at Foreclosure Mills

ROBO-LITIGATION Re: Attorney Misconduct at Foreclosure Mills The scale of attorney malfeasance in connection with the foreclosure crisis is enormous. Whether attorneys knowingly filed false documents or simply failed to...more

Sweeping Maine Tax Reform Proposal Announced

A bipartisan group of 11 legislators have proposed an overhaul of Maine’s tax system, including major changes to the individual and corporate income tax, property tax, sales tax, and estate tax. ...more

Directors Found To Be In Contempt Ordered To Pay $96,000 In Legal Fees

We previously blogged about the Boily case involving a dispute between some owners and the directors of a Condominium complex in Ottawa. This dispute revolved around the proposed alteration of the condominium’s courtyard. ...more

Mississippi Court Holds D&O Policy Not Triggered By Real Estate Scheme

In its recent decision in State Farm Fire & Cas. Co. v. Anderson, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57837 (S.D. Miss. Apr. 23, 2013), the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi had occasion to consider...more

How to run a condominium meeting

Are you the Director of a Condo Association or Condo Board? Efficiently and effectively running a Board Meeting can be harder than it sounds. To ensure you are making the most of everyone’s time, follow these easy tips. As...more

Considerations For International Clients Who Intend to Buy A Home In the U.S.

International buyers invested $82.5 billion in U.S. residential real estate (4.8% of total U.S. sales) according to the most recent survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors for the 12 month period ending with...more

What is a Reserve Fund Study?

A reserve fund is a separate fund that is maintained by the condominium corporation. The reserve fund is funded by condominium owners, and is used to pay for the major repair and replacement of common elements and assets of...more

Third Circuit Court of Appeals Issues Landmark Decision in Virgin Islands Economic Development Program Case

Disclosure: Joseph A. DiRuzzo, III of Fuerst Ittleman David & Joseph was part of the trial team that represented the taxpayers in the June 2010 bench trial in the District Court of the Virgin Islands....more

FDIC to host banker teleconferences on CFPB mortgage rules

The FDIC has scheduled the following three free teleconferences on the CFPB’s new mortgage-related rules for officers and employees of FDIC-supervised institutions... ...more

New initiatives from the WSIB in 2013

The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (“WSIB”) is in a state of flux, with many changes happening now and more on the horizon. In order to keep you up-to-date on the most recent workers’ compensation initiatives, this...more

J-REIT Reform – Finance and Insider Trading Regulations

On December 7, 2012, the working group of the finance committee of the Financial Services Agency of Japan (the “Working Group”) issued its final report (the “Final Report”) with respect to the reform of the legal regime of...more

Condo Alert: Assessment Appeal Deadline - April 1, 2013 - Don't Miss It!

Has your Corporation filed a request for reconsideration for the common amenity service unit(s) in your building (i.e. guest, superintendent, recreational units and other units owned by the Corporation that provide services...more

Condo Alert: Sheave Jammer Settlement Funds -- March 29th, 2013 Deadline

In 2006, the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) ordered that all elevator sheave jammers manufactured or installed by ThyssenKrupp be replaced. Many Condominium Corporations were affected by this order and had to...more

Challenging The Condominium Association That Tried To Ban Judaism At The Door

This past April a Connecticut condominium association reversed its decision to prohibit Mezuzahs on the doorposts of residents' apartments. A Mezuzah is a Jewish religious article in the shape of a small rectangle, which...more

Directors Found To Be In Contempt Of A Court Order

In a previous post, we reported on the Boily v. CCC 145 case, where a board of directors was ordered to reinstate the prior landscape of the condominium courtyard and to personally pay a substantial portion of the legal...more

Are Live-In Caregivers Permitted In Single-Family Condo Units?

The Alberta Court recently considered whether having a live-in caregiver constituted a violation of a condominium’s By-laws that prohibited roomers and boarders and any use of a residential unit other than as a single-family...more

Should You Consider Downsizing Before Retirement?

That's not a simple question to answer, as you balance the benefits of a lower cost of living with the realities of a soft real estate market and the emotional aspects of selling the family home ...more

IRS Denials of Tax-Exempt Status to Mortgage Foreclosure Assistance Providers Offer Lessons for Housing Counseling Agencies

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is preparing an industry-wide review of tax-exempt organizations that are engaged in mortgage foreclosure assistance, including housing counseling agencies (the “compliance project”). In...more

Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act Recast

I. INTRODUCTION - After years of legislative tinkering, the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, which regulates common interest developments such as condominiums, finally underwent a long-awaited...more