Real Estate & Construction

By Jaime Reichardt & Ted Zangari on April 24, 2019

On April 17, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued new proposed regulations to address a number of the outstanding questions and ambiguities pertaining to the Opportunity Zone program. The hope is that the new IRS guidance will spur significant Opportunity Zone investments that have been on the sidelines waiting for additional clarity. The proposed regulations answer major questions regarding original use and substantial improvement of tangible property and vacant land, requirements for being considered a…

Keeping It Real Estate

Second time around for RICS consultation on Lease Code

By Jane Dockeray & Claudia Oliver on April 24, 2019

In our blog on 4 April 2018, we encouraged interested parties to input into the RICS consultation on its professional statement, Code for leasing business premises, 1st edition. With the status of a professional statement, the new Code has sufficient weight to deliver a professional punch whereas the current regime is voluntary. Following last year’s consultation and discussions between landlords, tenants and other trade bodies, a number of changes have been made to the Code…

California Land Use & Development Law Report

California Supreme Court Upholds Validity of Local Aesthetic Regulation of Telecommunications Infrastructure

By Jacob Aronson on April 24, 2019

Local governments may require a permit conditioned on compatibility with aesthetic standards to install and maintain wireless communications infrastructure in the public right-of-way, the California Supreme Court held in T-Mobile West LLC v. City and County of San Francisco, No. S238001 (April 4, 2019). The court rejected a facial challenge brought by telecommunications companies to a San Francisco ordinance that requires a permit to install and operate wireless service facilities in the public right-of-way…

Association Alert

Wisconsin Condominium and Homeowner Association Owners Need to Follow their Rules Even When they Are Not Recorded.

By Daniel Miske on April 24, 2019

Facts When you are headed down the wrong path – TURN BACK. This applies to owners and associations when they act on their belief of what their documents say, but then learn that their understanding may be wrong. Often parties who make a mistake, or learn that they might have made a mistake, refuse to reevaluate their situation and at least allow turning back to be an option. Such appears to have been what happened…

The Lien Zone

Who Can Prepare and Sign a Claim of Lien?

By Alex Barthet on April 24, 2019

Do you know who can prepare and sign a claim of lien? You better. Having the wrong person do it can invalidate the claim of lien and even expose you to significant liability. Specifically, a claim for a construction lien in Florida should only be prepared by the lienor, the lienor’s employee or the lienor’s construction law attorney licensed to practice in Florida, and that claim of lien should only be signed by the lienor or its…

Land Use Law Blog

2019 CEQA 1st QUARTER REVIEW

By William W. Abbott, Diane G. Kindermann & Glen C. Hansen on April 23, 2019

Welcome to Abbott & Kindermann’s 2019 1st Quarter cumulative CEQA update. This summary provides links to more in-depth case write-ups on the firm’s blog. The case names of the newest decisions start with Section 3 and are denoted by bold italic fonts. 1. 2019 CEQA UPDATE To read the 2018 cumulative CEQA review, click here: 2. CASES PENDING AT THE CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT There are 2 CEQA cases pending at the California Supreme Court.…

Fair Housing Defense

Some Thoughts Concerning Reported Cases and a Reader Comment

By Scott M. Badami on April 23, 2019

A Fair Housing Defense blog reader (thanks for stopping by) left a comment criticizing your humble blog editor for failing to appropriately research the facts of a case I reported on. I have broad shoulders and I can take a little heat. No worries. Like most of my clients, if I make a mistake, I will certainly try to fix it. When I report on a case, many times I specifically state that “there are…

Crunched Credit

A Survival Guide for Winning Default Rate Interest in Courtroom Battles

By Adorah Nworah & Allie Strauss on April 23, 2019

Last year, a California Bankruptcy Court wiped out $10.2 million in default interest (“DRI”) when it ruled that a 5% DRI was an unenforceable penalty in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case where the construction lender fully recovered principal, interest, and other costs of collection. In acting as the borrower’s fairy godmother, the Court noted that the 5% DRI, an industry standard for construction loans, was unreasonable because it was not negotiated in detail at origination…

BuildSmart

Federal Court Rules Contractor Is Not Intended Third-Party Beneficiary under Owner-Engineer Agreement

By Amandeep S. Kahlon on April 23, 2019

In March, a Massachusetts federal court addressed whether a design-builder contractor could recover for breach of contract under an intended third-party beneficiary theory against a design firm hired by the project owner to complete 30% designs. In Arco Ingenieros, S.A. DE C.V. v. CDM International Inc., a Salvadoran contractor entered into a design-build agreement with the U.S. government to build eight schools and a health clinic in El Salvador as part of a hurricane relief…

Barry C. McGuire

Real Estate Investing Workshops: Edmonton and Toronto

By Barry C. McGuire on April 23, 2019

How to Make Quick Money in Canada with Creative Real Estate Investing. So, you want to be a real estate investor. But financing is a problem, so you’re not sure about getting started or whether you can continue investing. You might feel like you don’t have the money to buy now, or you want to purchase real estate with little-to-no money down. Maybe you already own some investment properties, and you can’t qualify for more…