Archives: Corporate Real Estate

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Are Contractor Joint Ventures the next development in Development?

The construction industry is witness to some fascinating developments, particularly around trophy properties in prime US coastal cities. Within the US –and California particularly- we’re seeing a large number of reputable, experienced contractors banding together to pitch and win construction contracts on trophy properties. Companies that once ferociously competed have joined forces under Joint Venture … Continue Reading

(US) California Nonresidential Building Owners Face New Energy Use Disclosure Requirements In 2014

Effective January 1, 2014, owners of nonresidential buildings of 10,000 square feet or more must disclose energy use information to prospective purchasers, lessees and lenders. Owners of nonresidential buildings 5,000 square feet or more can look forward to the same disclosure obligations beginning July 1, 2014. The new law (AB 1103) establishes a benchmarking system … Continue Reading

(US) Creative Financing-Let the Purchaser Do It

Despite the recent low interest rate environment, some projects just will not support market rate construction loans. What then is the developer to do? Over the last few years developers have begun to turn to the purchaser to finance construction of a project. This technique can be used for both residential and commercial development. Many … Continue Reading

(US) First Step in Regulatory Relief for Condominium Developments

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously to approve H.R. 2600, which, if ultimately passed, would expressly exempt condominium developments from the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act (“ILSA”). If a developer fails to satisfy ILSA requirements, a contract purchaser may have revocation rights; so an exemption from ILSA would be a welcome … Continue Reading

(US) An Old Lesson Worth Learning Again: If It Is Important to You, Put It In the Contract!

A recent appellate court decision in Illinois emphasizes yet again the need for buyers to include any and all representations and covenants of sellers expressly in the real estate contract – if you expect to be able to rely on them and enforce them against the sellers later. In the case of Siegel Development, LLC … Continue Reading

(US) Cherryland Update: Is Turnabout Fair Play?

Last year in this space we reported on a pair of Michigan court decisions (51382 Gratiot Avenue Holdings, Inc. v. Chesterfield Development Company (Chesterfield) and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Cherryland Mall (Cherryland), which each held that a CMBS borrower’s insolvency could trigger personal liability on the part of its non-recourse carve-out guarantor. Those decisions … Continue Reading

(US) In re Crane Reversed on Appeal: Illinois Statutory Mortgage Form Held to be Permissive, Not Mandatory; Incorporation by Reference Held to Be Sufficient

This post was written by Daniel Slattery and Ann Pille. The United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois has arguably driven the last nail into the coffin of In re Crane, the much criticized decision of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of Illinois. The coffin was already set … Continue Reading

(US) Illinois Legislation Rejects In re Crane

This post was also written by Cynthia Jared. Custom and practice in Illinois with respect to mortgages has been to incorporate the note or other debt instrument by reference, rather than to disclose all of the financial terms of a loan transaction in the mortgage. Then, in April 2012 (as previously reported in the Reed … Continue Reading

When Is a Property Owner Entitled to a Property Tax Exemption?

Recent Developments in the Law Portend of Widespread Reconsideration of This Question This post was written by Dusty Elias Kirk with Contribution from Kyle Smith. Courts in a number of states are reconsidering how to determine whether a property owner, often a nonprofit entity, is entitled to a property tax exemption or other special property tax … Continue Reading

Can Public Agencies and Private Developers Work Together to Help Fix Pennsylvania’s Transportation Infrastructure? The Promise of P3 Legislation

Pennsylvania’s transportation infrastructure needs far surpass the Commonwealth’s ability to fund them. According to a 2010 study by the State Transportation Advisory Committee, an additional $3.5 billion a year is needed to fully meet those needs. To close the funding gap and facilitate the development of new transportation facilities throughout the Commonwealth, Pennsylvania, on July … 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

New Lawsuit May Derail Fiber-Optics Installations in Western PA

A class-action complaint, filed this July in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, seeks millions of dollars in damages from four telecom companies, alleging a deliberate failure to obtain the permission of hundreds of Beaver County property owners before burying fiber-optic cables on their lands. According to the plaintiffs in Lake … Continue Reading

Tech One Associates v. Bd. of Prop. Ass’t. of Allegh. Co. – The Pennsylvania Supreme Court Addresses the Taxation of Improvements Constructed Pursuant to Long-Term Ground Lease

This post was written by Dusty Elias Kirk and Peter H. Schnore. [This article was originally published in the June 2012 issue of the Institute for Professionals in Taxation Tax Report.] On April 25, 2012, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court handed down its much-anticipated decision in Tech One Associates v. Bd. of Prop. Ass’t. of Allegh. Co. … Continue Reading

New Michigan Nonrecourse Mortgage Act Seeks to Restore Protections for Borrowers

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder recently signed into law the Nonrecourse Mortgage Loan Act, MCL Sec. 445.1591, et seq., the purpose of which was to overturn the effect of two Michigan court decisions that interpreted and applied certain special purpose entity (SPE) and nonrecourse "carve-out" loan provisions in a way that seemed to favor lenders, and … Continue Reading

The Non-Recourse CMBS Loan: Apparently Not All It’s Carved Out To Be

In the world of securitized commercial mortgages, non-recourse carveout guaranties have long been a matter of standard practice. For CMBS lenders, they offer a critical backstop against fiscal mischief by borrowers, and for responsible borrowers they provide access to real estate financing without fear of personal ruin. Nevertheless, two recent court decisions have thrown the … Continue Reading
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