Steven M. Regan

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(US) Are Small Business Administration 504 Loans Exempt from High Volatility Commercial Real Estate Regulations?

As discussed in a prior blog , Basel III regulations governing high volatility commercial real estate (HVCRE) went into effect. The HVCRE rules require lenders to assign a higher risk weighting to loans for the acquisition, development or construction (ADC) of commercial real estate. The higher risk weighting may be avoided if: the loan-to-value ratio … Continue Reading

(US) Revised Pennsylvania Statute Creates Power of Attorney Chaos

The Pennsylvania Legislature enacted extensive changes to Title 56 of the Decedents, Estates and Fiduciaries Code affecting powers of attorney, effective as of January 1, 2015. The amendments create a number of issues for creditors in commercial transactions and individuals and businesses engaging in the transfer of equity interests, bonds or other assets of a … Continue Reading

(US) High Volatility Commercial Real Estate: New Rules Have Effect on Cost and Availability of Mortgage Capital

On January 1, 2015, the final Basel III rules regarding regulatory capital for banks with greater than $500 million in assets and all savings and loan holding companies took effect. Basel III imposes new rules for high volatility commercial real estate (HVCRE) which the regulations define as a credit facility that finances the acquisition, development … Continue Reading

(US) Tenant’s Proportionate Share of Taxes: Don’t Overpay

Many commercial leases pass through to tenants a proportionate share of the landlord’s operating expenses and taxes for the property based on terms expressed in the lease. However, some landlords attempt to pass-through certain taxes that a tenant should not be expected to pay.   A recent lease negotiation on behalf of an industrial client … Continue Reading

(US) Open and Transparent -or- Hide the Ball? Some Leasing Best Practices

Recently, the Commercial Lease Law Insider advised landlords to avoid lease disputes by refusing to disclose the square footage of the space. The Landlord is well advised to follow a course of action that creates trust and fosters a mutually beneficial long term Landlord/Tenant relationship. https://www.commercialleaselawinsider.com/article/dont-put-square-footage-or-dimensions-lease. The size of the tenant’s space, expressed in square … Continue Reading

(US) Take the Over or Under? 2014 commercial real estate predictions

A new year brings the inevitable macroeconomic predictions and conjecture about how those predictions will affect real estate and capital markets, in addition to real estate asset class and market forecasts. The CoStar Group summarized 14 predictions it likes for 2014, and other real estate firms, such as Colliers International and Jones Lang LaSalle, offered … Continue Reading

(US) The Ring of Solitude; Negotiating a Retail Lease Radius Clause

The August 2013 issue of the Commercial Lease Law Insider featured an article about negotiating lease radius clauses which was voted the best issue of 2013 by the publication’s insider subscribers. Why would radius clauses garner such interest? Radius clauses are an important tool at the disposal of a retail landlord to protect its economic … Continue Reading

(US) How did you calculate my oil and gas royalty? Pennsylvania Legislature Seeks Clarity.

The Pennsylvania legislature is considering amendments to the Guaranteed Minimum Royalty Act (GMRA) that would require oil and gas lessees to disclose to oil and gas lessors the post-production costs deducted from the sale of gas to calculate the royalty owner’s 12.5 percent minimum guaranteed royalty. House Bill 1414 would require oil and gas producers … Continue Reading

(US) Where is my Blanket (Assignment)?

Pa. House Bill would end longstanding blanket conveyancing practice and increase transaction costs. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is considering drastic changes to Pennsylvania recording and conveyancing laws that would significantly increase real property transactional costs. House Bill 942, introduced March 12, 2013, would prohibit the transfer of multiple properties with one instrument, except for … Continue Reading

(US) Pennsylvania Supreme Court Affirms the Dunham Rule and Restores Certainty to Oil and Gas Law

Last August, we reported that a Pennsylvania Superior Court decision (Butler v. Charles Powers Estate) threatened to undermine nearly 200 years of mineral-rights law in Pennsylvania by rejecting the “Dunham Rule” – a legal doctrine that presumes that in private deed transactions where there is a reservation or exception for “minerals,” without any specific mention … Continue Reading

Animal, Vegetable or Mineral, What is Marcellus Shale?

Title to Oil and Gas in PA Threatened In 1882, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania pronounced what would be known as the Rule in Dunham’s Case. In Dunham and Shortt v. Kirkpatrick, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that a grant or reservation of "all minerals" does not include oil or gas, despite the fact that … Continue Reading

Marcellus Shale Uncertainty: Pennsylvania Municipal Zoning Ordinances Held to Trump Statewide Uniformity

On July 26, 2012, in a decision of major significance to the Marcellus Shale industry, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court in the case of Robinson Township et al. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission et al., No. 284 M.D. 2012 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2012), declared Section 3304 of Act 13 of Pennsylvania’s Oil and Gas … Continue Reading

SEC Targets Key Mortgage REITs Exemption

SEC Action Threatens Already Shaky Housing Market Mortgage real estate investment trusts (“MREITs”), which provide much needed liquidity to a capital starved real estate market, are at risk of losing a key exemption under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Act”). MREITs are currently exempt from the Act and its limits of the amount of … Continue Reading
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