The leadership at Madison Commercial Real Estate Services (MCRES) will be attending and exhibiting at RECON 2012, the largest retail commercial real estate convention in the world. Hosted by the International Council of Shopping Centers, the RECON Show will be held in Las Vegas, NV from May 20-23, 2011. Continue reading
For most real estate companies, the process of reviewing leases is decidedly inefficient. Throughout the term of the lease, from commencement to termination and upon acquisition, assignment or sublet, a lease will be reviewed time and time again for the very same information. Continue reading
According to Preqin, between 2003 and 2012, more than 300 real estate private equity funds have raised around $670 billion in institutional capital. Unfortunately, PE firms had earned the reputation of being the vultures of the financial world. While Private Equity firms have been portrayed as greedy irresponsible investors in the past, with changing times a new outlook on them may be necessary. Continue reading
A recent tax court memo raised a lot of questions regarding cost segregation. I would like to give you some clarification and perhaps even answer some of those questions. Continue reading
Most of the transactions that Madison insures for title involve fee estates (properties that are being purchased). From time to time, however, we are asked to insure a commercial or industrial leasehold transaction, whether it is a creation of a brand new lease or assignment of an existing lease. A prospective tenant of a property may have similar concerns as a prospective fee purchaser (buyer) of a real property. Likewise, a prospective lender of a leasehold mortgage also wants to make sure that it has a valid mortgage on the leasehold estate. That is where title insurance comes in – a leasehold title policy insures the lessee’s right of possession under a specified lease and insures the leasehold lender has a valid leasehold mortgage. Continue reading
In case you didn’t notice the new NAR HAI report that came out last week, you missed what may be one of the biggest indicators about where the current housing industry is heading.
First the basics….what on earth is the NAI HAI??? It stands for the National Association of Realtors’ Housing Affordability Index. This number is a reflection of how affordable a basic house is for a basic family with 100 being the median rate at which, all other things being equal, that a normal house can be purchased by a regular, typical American family. Continue reading
Fort Properties, Inc. vs. American Master Lease LLC, 2012 WL 603969, — F. 3rd — (USCA Fed. Cir, 2012)
There are numerous strategies in the marketplace for creating “headache free” real estate investments to be used as replacement property in like kind §1031 exchanges. American Master Lease LLC (AML) created such a strategy, as described in its patent application: Continue reading
Whether we like it or not, we will be hearing much more about the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS) as the year progresses. Established in 1995, MERS’ shareholder roster reads like a list of the nation’s largest financial institutions. Shareholders include: Continue reading
A number of years ago, when I was a transactional real estate attorney, I got a call from a client who wanted to purchase an apartment building in Manhattan. The real estate market was smokin’ hot and buildings were selling fast. There were usually multiple bidders all offering to sign a contract in two days and also willing to buy the building subject to all violations. My client wanted the building badly but I insisted we do some due diligence. I needed to find out how many and what kind of violations affected the building. I needed to determine the legal use permitted by the Certificate of Occupancy so I could make sure my client could continue to maintain the rental stream upon which the purchase price was based. Continue reading
According to New York Tax Law, Section 1402, a tax is imposed on each conveyance of real property when the consideration exceeds five hundred dollars, at the rate of two dollars for each five hundred dollars. However, with respect to a conveyance of a one, two or three-family house and an individual residential condominium unit, or conveyances where the consideration is less than five hundred thousand dollars, the consideration for the interest conveyed shall exclude the value of any lien or encumbrance remaining thereon at the time of conveyance.
How does this translate to real situations? The best way to understand the rule is to see it in effect. Here are a few examples. Continue reading
