Real Estate & Property Law

4 New York Lawyers Indicted in Alleged $1.4M Equity-Stripping Scam

Four New York lawyers are among eight individuals indicted in an alleged $1.4 million equity-stripping scheme involving four homeowners in the New York City suburbs. They are accused of having defrauded four Westchester County homeowners and two lenders by purchasing homes from owners facing foreclosure at lowball prices, then taking…

Aug 26, 2009 7:49 PM CDT

2 Adorno Partners Defect With Most of Mortgage Default Practice Group

Two partners at Adorno & Yoss have defected along with most of the mortgage default practice group there to form their own firm. The new boutique, Rubin Lublin Suarez Serrano, is based in Norcross, Ga., and represents lenders and title companies, according to a Daily Report article reprinted in New…

Aug 26, 2009 7:25 PM CDT

N.Y. Lawyer Is Accused of Stealing At Least $400K from Real Estate Clients

A 47-year-old New York real estate lawyer who has been working since 2002 at Excelsior Title has been criminally charged for allegedly stealing at least $400,000 from clients. Patrick Reidy of Saratoga Springs was arraigned today in Saratoga County Court on two counts of second-degree grand larceny concerning money he…

Aug 24, 2009 11:45 PM CDT

Bedbugs Are the New Mold, Vexing Real Estate Lawyers and Clients

At one time, home buyers fretted about toxic mold, but now they have a new worry—bedbugs. The problem is so widespread in New York City that some lawyers have begun adding sellers’ representations about bedbug-free condo and co-op units into the sales contracts, the New York Times reports. “Complaints about…

Aug 24, 2009 4:01 PM CDT

Mortgage Delinquencies at Record 13%, Still Rising

Mortgage industry data released today shows that delinquencies and foreclosures nationwide topped 13 percent in the second quarter of 2009, the highest level ever since the Mortgage Bankers Association began its survey in 1972. And that number is expected to continue to rise, as the unemployment rate remains high, reports…

Aug 20, 2009 6:45 PM CDT

Wells Fargo Used Dubious Appraisals to Cut Home Equity Lines, Suit Says

A new lawsuit has been filed against Wells Fargo & Co. over its home equity line practices, adding to a growing list of litigation against the mortgage lender for which class action status is being sought. Homeowner Michael Hickman contends that Wells Fargo is using inaccurate computerized appraisals to obtain…

Aug 19, 2009 6:31 PM CDT

Appeals Court OKs Contempt for Veteran Lawyer Over Debt Collection Case

Kenneth Loewinger has written a treatise on landlord-tenant law in Washington, D.C., that is relied on by judges. But the veteran practitioner, who has been a lawyer since 1971, was appropriately held in contempt for filing suit in an attempt to collect unpaid rent when the client landlord’s building was…

Aug 17, 2009 9:57 PM CDT

Judge Axes Case, Awards Legal Fees for Texting Witness at Trial

A Florida judge who declared a mistrial earlier this year after a company CEO texted an executive about his testimony during a brief trial break has now imposed additional sanctions over the incident. Describing the texting by Sky chief executive officer Yizhak Toledano as “underhanded and calculated to undermine the…

Aug 17, 2009 7:24 PM CDT

‘Garbage’ New York Fair Housing Suit Leads to Landmark Settlement

A lawsuit initially dismissed as “garbage” by officials in the well-to-do New York City suburb of Westchester County has now led to what the New York Times describes as a landmark settlement. Without admitting liability concerning claims that the county misrepresented when obtaining federal funds that it had complied with…

Aug 10, 2009 7:34 PM CDT

N.H. Ups Ante for Stone Wall Thieves; New Law Provides for Attorney Fees

Updating a more than 200-year-old law against stealing the material in the historic stone walls that line much of New Hampshire’s farmlands and woods, the state’s governor has just signed a bill that ups the ante for doing so. Thieves can now be fined three times the considerable cost of…

Aug 10, 2009 6:26 PM CDT

Boston Lawyer’s Suit Over Unaffordable Loans Could Be a Model

A Boston lawyer’s suit targeting two large mortgage companies accused of making unaffordable loans could spur similar suits throughout the country. Gary Klein, of the law firm Roddy, Klein and Ryan, filed suit against Bank of America Home Mortgage and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage in federal court in June and…

Aug 5, 2009 1:25 PM CDT

Condo Hotel Buyers File Suits Claiming Securities Law Violations

Buyers of condo hotels are going to court in an effort to get their money back, arguing that the sellers violated securities laws. The units have turned out to be bad investments for many buyers, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. The condos have lost much of their value…

Aug 5, 2009 11:29 AM CDT

Battle on the Home Front

A proposal to modify mortgages in bankruptcy fails in Congress, but proponents say it’s the missing weapon in fighting foreclosures

Aug 2, 2009 3:50 AM CDT

Mortgage Modification Stymied by Lucrative Lender Late Fees

Much has been said about how the so-called securitization of mortgage loans—reselling small fractions of the loans to multiple investors, sometimes again and again—has stymied efforts to encourage lenders to renegotiate mortgage interest and other loan terms with struggling homeowners. But another factor in addition to the difficulty of obtaining…

Jul 30, 2009 9:36 PM CDT

Legal Bills in Pet Pug Custody Case Top $40K as Judge Mulls ‘Subjective Value’

When Eric Dare and Doreen Houseman first asked a New Jersey judge to determine which of the two would get custody of their pet pug, Dexter, he treated the toy dog as if it were simply another item of property to be apportioned as part of the break-up of their…

Jul 30, 2009 6:06 PM CDT