Real Estate Market

CFPB Takes Action Against Real Estate Kickbacks Under RESPA

by Stephen M. Quinlivan | Leonard, Street and Deinard - Employee... on 5/21/2013

The CFPB has ordered a Texas homebuilder, Paul Taylor, to surrender more than $100,000 he received in kickbacks for referring mortgage origination business to Benchmark Bank and to Willow Bend Mortgage Company....more

Keys To A Successful Luxury Real Estate Transaction: Part II

by Schecter Law on 5/21/2013

After luxury real estate attorneys have reviewed the contract, a checklist of items required for the sale can help prepare for closing....more

CFPB Targets Service Provider in Real Estate Kickback Enforcement Action

by Jonathan L. Pompan | Venable LLP on 5/21/2013

The CFPB continues to use its enforcement power on service providers, including companies involved in advertising and marketing and lead generation The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the "CFPB") announced it...more

The Mergers & Acquisitions Review - Sixth Edition: Chapter 13: British Virgin Islands

by Leonard Birmingham, Simon Hudd | Harney Westwood & Riegels on 5/13/2013

I OVERVIEW OF M&A ACTIVITY - Given the international financial climate, it is perhaps unsurprising that the past 12 months have seen unpredictable deal flows involving British Virgin Islands (‘BVI’) companies, with...more

Florida Real Estate Market A Hot Spot For Canadian Investors

by Melissa Pallett-Vasquez | Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP on 5/2/2013

The Florida real estate market remains a prime target for Canadian investment, with a particular focus on South and South West Florida. These Canadian purchasers are being credited with playing a role in the rebound of the...more

Site Assembly

by Hopkins & Carley on 5/2/2013

The “good old days” of formal redevelopment are over. Real estate developers no longer can negotiate to assemble development sites under the threat of condemnation. Silicon Valley developers now face serious challenges in...more

Investing in luxury properties in France: a counterflow strategy that could pay off

by Nadia Chatraoui, Stéphane Illouz | Reed Smith on 4/26/2013

Since the new taxation reform was passed earlier this year, a number of wealthy owners have moved out of France and put up their properties for sale. This resulted in an exceptional price fall of up to 15% for properties over...more

State Law Update: Tennessee, Kansas Update Mortgage-Related Provisions

by BuckleySandler LLP on 4/23/2013

On April 11, Tennessee enacted HB 160, a bill that makes certain minor changes to the state’s mortgage licensing law. The bill removes current licensing exemptions for (i) a person who owns a vacant tract of real property...more

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

by Amy McEvoy | Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 4/23/2013

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

Luxury Real Estate Buyers Seek Waterfront Properties

by Schecter Law on 4/17/2013

South Florida is a top luxury real estate market. The Sun-Sentinel reported that last year Broward County posted 464 sales of homes and condos valued at $1 million or more and Palm Beach County had 791 sales of $1...more

Should You Consider Downsizing Before Retirement?

by Ronald Adams on 3/14/2013

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

Mortgage Bankers Association Report: Foreign Interest in US Real Estate Growing - News Release of the Week

by Rosa Eckstein Schechter on 3/12/2013

As discussion continues this week on the potential impact of Hugo Chavez's demise on the exodus of Venezuelans to South Florida, the Mortgage Bankers Association has just released a report on housing demand of foreign...more

Banks Begin to Welcome Mortgages From Foreign Buyers as International Investment in Florida Real Estate Continues to Grow

by Rosa Eckstein Schechter on 2/27/2013

Foreign investment in South Florida real estate has been a tremendous boost to the local economy in the past several years, and now it appears that banks are becoming more accommodating to these international buyers of local...more

Goldman Sachs Forecasts Housing Recovery Is Solid: Home Sales to Rise Over Next Few Years

by Rosa Eckstein Schechter on 2/22/2013

Goldman Sachs is an international investment banking legend, having been around since 1869 and when Goldman Sachs issues its opinion on the economic future of an industry or economic segment, many respect and value what the...more

Real Estate Finance Deals: Jersey Law Update

by Katie Hillier, Jonathan Lawrence, Nadia Saleh | K&L Gates LLP on 2/18/2013

Jersey LLPs: a new dawn as investment and property holding vehicles A recent amendment to the Limited Liability Partnership (Jersey) Law 1997 (the "Law") could see Jersey Limited Liability Partnerships (Jersey LLPs) gain...more

Kentucky Joins List of States Suing MERS for County Real Estate Recording Fees ($12 Each)

by Rosa Eckstein Schechter on 2/13/2013

MERS has been sued again, and it's probably not going to be the last time. The state of Kentucky (actually, it's a commonwealth) has followed the lead of states like New York, Texas, Alabama, and Delaware, and is going after...more

Three New Residential Condominiums Coming Soon To Brickell

by Krista DeCastro, James W. Shindell | Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP on 2/12/2013

Miami’s financial district has deservingly earned itself a reputation for being a bustling neighborhood with great places to live, dine and work. Not surprisingly, Brickell will be home to three fresh new residential...more

Time To Focus On Investment Opportunities In Miami’s Submarkets

by Suzanne Amaducci-Adams, Javier Avino | Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP on 2/12/2013

We recently attended a presentation by The Real Deal about the Miami Commercial Real Estate Market in 2013: Beyond Downtown. Pointe Group Advisors hosted the event on the rooftop of the Miami green building– the first green...more

Lennar’s 2012 Sales Revenue Exceeds Expectations

by James W. Shindell, Lindsey Zohn | Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP on 2/11/2013

The talk of re-bound, recovery and strength in the real estate market is growing and now we have further evidence from one of Miami’s own. Miami-based Lennar Corporation, the largest U.S. homebuilder by market value, reported...more

It's Time to Revisit Risk Retention

by Rick Jones | Dechert LLP on 2/7/2013

Two and a half years after Dodd-Frank and almost two years after the first hurriedly issued proposed rules, the six agencies (Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Federal Housing...more

Hard Hit Hedge Funds Flock to Invest in All Things Housing - and to Relocate Operations to Florida

by Rosa Eckstein Schechter on 2/6/2013

Last year was not a good year for hedge funds, at least according to reports by experts like those at Goldman Sachs, where their own David Kostin is quoted in the media as having hedge funds underperforming at 88%. That's a...more

Opportunities for Real Estate Transfer Tax Refunds in Pennsylvania

by Michael Jacobs, Stephen Lyons III, James Mogan III, Anne Ryan | Reed Smith on 2/5/2013

Taxpayers that paid Pennsylvania or Philadelphia real estate transfer tax on certain transactions involving real property located in Philadelphia during the period July 1, 2012 through January 5, 2012 may be entitled to...more

Federal Help to Get Residential Real Estate Market Back on Track: 2 New Programs to Resolve Mortgage Issues Debut for Freddie Mac,...

by Rosa Eckstein Schechter on 1/30/2013

The federal government, through the Federal Housing Finance Agency which oversees Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, continues to find ways to resolve the Housing Crisis and news this week is that two new, big programs that are...more

Florida Has Highest U.S. Foreclosure Rate in 2012: Great News for Foreign Investors Interested in Buying Florida Real Estate...

by Rosa Eckstein Schechter on 1/18/2013

There isn't far to look when investigating reasons why real estate investors all over the world are looking at buying property here in Florida. Some foreign investors, as we pointed out on Tuesday, are doing this via the web,...more

Is the Fed's Settlement with Mortgage Servicers Good for the Market?

by Donald Rea | Saul Ewing LLP on 1/17/2013

On January 7, 2013, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the U.S. Federal Reserve Board announced an $8.5 Billion settlement with 10 of the nation's top residential loan servicers ending independent...more

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