At every real estate closing, the buyer pays for the real property, and title changes hands, but some real estate closings require many additional documents.
Read MoreThe pre-contract period, when the parties negotiate contract terms and may share information is the important first stage in a real estate transaction.
Read MoreFrom a legal perspective, renovating a historic building is not for the faint of heart. In addition to obtaining the building permits and inspections required for any construction project, renovation of a historic building may trigger additional legal requirements, including the ADA.
Read MoreFacial recognition has the potential to revolutionize commercial real estate access system and security. Yet, privacy advocates express concerns about how this technology might be used. In response, San Francisco now prohibits police from using facial recognition, and New York lawmakers have proposed a ban on facial recognition in residential buildings.
Read MoreIt's unfortunate when young musicians are pigeonholed into instrument selection based upon gender stereotypes. Those stereotypes eventually result in gender imbalances in professional orchestras. However, it's illegal to stereotype multifamily residents based upon gender and other attributes. Now, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals has held it violates the Fair Housing Act to establish an amenity use schedule based upon gender stereotypes.
Read MoreMany major cities have passed laws prohibiting smoking in public areas. Some apartment complexes have adopted smoke-free policies. But even in buildings that are not smoke-free, tenants who do not smoke may have a right under fair housing laws to a smoke-free environment.
Read MoreA few weeks ago, out of the blue, I received an e-mail purporting to be from a real estate paralegal at a law firm with which I had been working on a real estate transaction several months before. The e-mail included a link, which appeared to be a legitimate link from a well-known electronic signature processor, asking me to securely download a document for electronic signature. This particular e-mail made me suspicious because I had no open real estate transactions with the law firm that sent me the link.
Read MoreRecently, while in the midst of a managing a complicated commercial real estate closing, I took a few hours off to attend an orchestra concert. During intermission, while orchestra took a break, a string quartet played in the lobby. It was then that I realized that the typical commercial real estate transaction frequently has at least 15 different roles and is much more like an orchestra than a string quartet.
Read MoreFine violins do not have serial numbers, but they do typically have a label inside identifying the maker and frequently the year and location where the violin was made. Many violin makers, or luthiers[i] as they are known, like to copy well-known instruments, sometimes even down to the label inside the instrument, and the most famous violin maker, Antonio Stradivari, is also the most frequently copied.
Read MoreMost people have heard of Antonio Stradivari, who likely is the most renowned violin maker of all time. Few outside of the violin world, however, have heard of Francois Tourte, who developed the modern violin bow and has been called the “Stradivari of the bow.” Just as the violin student may overlook the importance of the bow, the real estate investor may overlook the importance of financing options and structure.
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