The real estate industry is experiencing a situation due to new rules relating to buyers’ brokers in residential real estate transactions. Earlier this year, facing a $1.8 Billion verdict, the National Association of Realtors…
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/ Antitrust & Trade Regulation, Real Estate - Residential
Maryland has been proactive in passing laws to encourage EV ownership and installation of EV chargers. This article discusses some of these laws and how they affect residential and commercial real estate…
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/ Real Estate - Residential, Transportation
Owners Survey, about 70% of U.S. households own pets, up from 67% in the 2019-20 survey. As pet ownership increases, apartment dwellers may face the challenges of finding pet-friendly housing. Apartment leases often come with…
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/ Real Estate - Residential
This article discusses one of my guiding maxims: Be careful what you incentivize. Whether negotiating a contract, managing a business, or operating a rental property, people eventually turn toward their incentives and often…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts, Real Estate - Commercial, Real Estate - Residential
Common Contract Add-Ons -
Exhibits, addenda, and schedules all can be attached to contracts. They should be agreed to before the contract is signed. With commercial real estate contracts, there’s a common practice of…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts, Real Estate - Commercial, Real Estate - Residential
Our country continues to experience economic conditions triggered by a worldwide pandemic and subsequent inflation. These conditions have mostly been outside of anyone’s control. Yet, when government officials see their…
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/ Real Estate - Residential
The Fair Housing Act Applies to Residential Real Estate Appraisals -
The Fair Housing Act (FHA) was passed in 1968 to prohibit housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, and national origin. Since then, the FHA…
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/ Civil Rights, Real Estate - Residential
Suppose we compare how orchestra violinists are paid to how residential real estate agents are paid. In contrast to violinists, who must spend a fixed amount of time in rehearsals and concerts, real estate agents receive the…
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/ Real Estate - Commercial, Real Estate - Residential
When reviewing legal documents, it’s easy to become so focused on a particular area that and forget about “everything else.” Each “everything else” item might seem minor, but collectively, “everything else” can make a serious…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts
On March 1, 2024 a United States District Court in Alabama held in National Small Business United dba National Small Business Association v. Yellen (NSBA Case) that the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is unconstitutional. In…
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/ Business Organizations, Constitutional Law, Finance & Banking, Taxation
Like an accordionist, real estate sponsors often seek to be innovative. Cutting-edge opportunities like crowdfunding and online selling platforms call to them. However, based on statistics from the Securities and Exchange…
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/ Real Estate - Commercial, Real Estate - Residential, Securities Law
Recently, my son took an online college course about social justice in the as-built environment. One topic in the class was redlining – a practice that limited the availability of affordable home loans for minorities. …
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/ Civil Rights, Finance & Banking, Real Estate - Residential
During the past few years, there has been increased focus on transparency in corporate law. Concerned that corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs) were used to conceal unlawful activities, in 2020, Congress passed…
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/ Business Organizations, Privacy
Contracts, real estate leases, and other legal documents also often include provisions that are mandatory (like obligatos) and/or are optional (like ossias). Terms such as "shall," "must," "will," "may," and "should” each convey…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts
The most basic real estate investment is a home; for many people, their home is their largest single asset. Since real estate historically has increased in value over time, buying a home can be a way to grow wealth while also…
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/ Real Estate - Residential, Wills, Trusts, & Estate Planning
