If you’re a commercial property owner facing the threat of foreclosure, or just skimming headlines you’ve likely seen the phrase “giving back the keys”. Although this expression may sound like an informal and straightforward...more
Many owners of commercial properties across the country encumbered by mortgage debt are still struggling to navigate the distressed real estate market, primarily due to their inability to pay current debt service resulting...more
This is the second of a two-part series addressing special considerations for government lessors in the current commercial real estate market. Part I addressed the risks posed by government downsizing and early lease...more
Back in March, we wrote about the then-current news of some of the nation’s largest real estate owners defaulting on loans secured by office buildings. At the time, we envisioned a market ripe for borrowers and lenders to...more
Amidst soaring interest rates and the recent swell in commercial real estate loan workouts, borrowers and lenders alike are increasingly considering an alternative to the traditional and sometimes long and cumbersome...more
In Stream T.V. Networks, Inc. v. SeeCubic, Inc., the Delaware Supreme Court (“Court”) held that section 271 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“D.G.C.L”), which requires stockholder approval for a Delaware corporation...more
Given the current demand for downtown properties, borrowers are acquiring contaminated properties like never before. Against this backdrop, lenders should become familiar with the basics of environmental laws imposing...more
In a deed in lieu of foreclosure, a defaulting borrower agrees to convey the mortgaged property to the mortgage lender. But handing over the keys can raise a number of potential pitfalls. Below, we discuss some of these...more
For several years, the United States Small Business Administration (SBA) has experienced continuous growth with its flagship 7(a) and 504 business loan programs. For fiscal year 2018, the SBA made over $24 billion in loans...more
The background to the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in Marchisio v. Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC, — F. 3d — (11th Cir. March 25, 2019)(2019 WL 1320522) demonstrated repeated recklessness by a lender in updating its...more
Real Property Update - Lis Pendens: trial court erred by not discharging lis pendens concerning real property because defendant did not grant an interest in the property, and plaintiff's claims did not allege requisite fair...more
Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal continued to broadly apply the holding in Nationstar Mortgage LLC v. Glass, 219 So. 3d 896, 898 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017), review granted, SC17-1387, 2018 WL 2069328 (Fla. Feb. 13, 2018) in...more
The Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, recently concluded that the City of Chicago’s real property transfer tax did not extend to assignments of mortgages because, contrary to the City’s arguments, mortgage...more
In October 2015, we discussed Cook County, Illinois circuit court cases City of Chicago v. KTCP and Halsted West v. City of Chicago, which held that an assignment of a mortgage is a transfer of a “beneficial interest in real...more
In the case of Wells Fargo Bank N.A. v. RLJ Lodging Trust, an Illinois district court denied a lender’s motion for summary judgment seeking to enforce a bad boy carve-out provision in a guaranty agreement providing for full...more
For secured lenders, a consumer debtor’s chapter 13 bankruptcy filing can be a mixed bag. A chapter 13 bankruptcy petition often is utilized by a consumer debtor to avoid a foreclosure by allowing a debtor time (usually...more
Recently the City of Chicago’s Department of Finance issued Real Property Transfer Tax Ruling #4, which clarifies the intent of the City’s Real Property Transfer Tax. The ruling details the application of the exemptions to...more
If there is anything that galls servicers of government-insured loans, it is the forfeiture or curtailment of all accrued interest from mortgage insurance claims resulting from the failure to foreclose fast enough within...more
In re Primes, 518 B.R. 466 (Bankr. N.D. Ill. 2014) – A mortgagee moved for relief from the automatic stay, arguing that it acquired title to property prior to the bankruptcy under a quit claim deed given to it by the...more
REAL PROPERTY UPDATE - Probate/Quit Claim Deeds: trial court correctly ordered personal representative to issue deeds conveying properties to son and mother, subject to life estate held by son – Ciungu v. Bulea, Case...more
Good news! The murkiness surrounding declarant rights in North Carolina became a little clearer this summer. On July 7, 2014, Governor McCrory signed an amendment to the Planned Community Act addressing the transfer of...more
The California Court of Appeal recently held that a foreclosure by the beneficiary under a first deed of trust extinguished a junior lien, even though the beneficiary acquired the property by way of a deed in lieu of...more
Lenders most often choose to proceed with the trustee's sale pursuant to the deed of trust because a trustee's sale is faster and cheaper than proceeding with a judicial sale, and it has advantages over accepting a deed in...more
The Office of the Chief Counsel of the Internal Revenue Service has issued a Legal Memorandum (Number AM2013-001, dated March 1, 2013) (the “Memorandum”), which has important implications and represents a victory for lenders...more
In a time when foreclosures are all too common, many secured lenders end up taking title to the real properties securing their loans. One of the questions, then, is should a lender obtain an owner’s title insurance policy or...more