Real Estate & Property Law

Reports: Lax Regulators Let Lenders Illegally Target Racial Minorities

Statistical studies have shown for several years that so-called subprime mortgage lenders apparently targeted racial minority groups for home loans with unfavorable terms. However, government regulators reportedly stood by and did nothing to stop them from violating numerous laws including fair-lending rules against redlining. Now, as the real estate market…

Jun 13, 2007 10:20 PM CDT

Seizure of Unproductive Land Blocked

The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled today that local governments may not seize land merely because it is unproductive and could be put to better use. The court said the state constitution permits seizure of land for redevelopment only if it is blighted, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Supreme Court Chief…

Jun 13, 2007 7:17 PM CDT

DC Firm Racks Up Big Bill in RI Case

A well-known Washington, D.C., law firm is sending the state of Rhode Island six-figure monthly bills for ongoing representation in a huge environmental clean-up case. When the state asked Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan to represent R.I. in the case concerning a Southern Union Co. site in Tiverton, it anticipated monthly…

Jun 12, 2007 1:00 AM CDT

10-Year Court Battle Continues Over Historic CA Home

After a decade of litigation, a historic California home was about to be demolished. But a last-minute stay of the demolition order means an epic legal battle over the future of the Juana Briones house in Palo Alto isn’t yet over. Preservationists hope that there may still be a way…

Jun 8, 2007 12:07 AM CDT

Same-sex Couple Splits a $3.5 M Home; New York Judge Applies ‘Divorce’ Rule

A Manhattan judge treated a same-sex couple as if they were married when deciding recently how to divide their $3.5 million home after they split up. Although the two were tenants in common, which ordinarily calls for a 50-50 share in the equity after the partners sell, the judge instead…

Jun 7, 2007 9:46 PM CDT

Subprime ‘Debt Bomb’ Debacle Decimates Detroit Block

An unprecedented epidemic of mortgage foreclosures on a single, upscale Detroit block is emblematic of similar scenarios in minority neighborhoods throughout the country that does not bode well for homeowners. Once “redlined” by lenders (which is now an illegal practice under fair housing laws), minority communities in urban centers have…

May 30, 2007 9:32 PM CDT

Condo Owner Fraud Squad Local Heroes in Florida

A successful effort by condominium residents near Miami to bring to justice those involved in management malfeasance has made the whistleblowers local heroes. Calls are coming in from all around South Florida, congratulating the residents and asking them how they did it, reports the Miami Herald. Four men have been…

May 30, 2007 7:32 PM CDT

Did Massive Mortgage Fraud Up Home Prices?

Mind-boggling amounts of mortgage fraud by rings throughout the country may be responsible for big increases in U.S. home prices. If so, what went up can also come down, reports the Washington Post in a lengthy article detailing tens of millions of dollars in documented mortgage fraud by rings involving…

May 12, 2007 12:25 AM CDT

Politically Connected Chicago Lawyer Indicted

A politically connected Chicago lawyer has been indicted on bribery and fraud charges for allegedly seeking a kickback in a multi-million-dollar real estate deal, federal prosecutors announced today. The U.S. Attorney’s office says Edward R. Vrydolyak, 69, who formerly served as a city alderman and Cook County Democratic chairman and…

May 10, 2007 8:28 PM CDT

Subprime Loan Frenzy Spawns Litigation Storm

As Lelon DeWitt was undergoing quadruple bypass heart surgery in Elkhart, Indiana in 2004, a subprime mortgage broker caught up with his wife, in the hospital waiting room. It was now or never if the couple didn’t want to lose their loan, she remembers him saying. She left the hospital…

May 9, 2007 1:25 AM CDT

‘Gazumping’ Loophole Ups British Legal Fees

A quirk in English property law, combined with a super-hot housing market caused by a shortage of homes for sale in London, is costing would-be purchasers of homes there extra attorney fees. Because British law only makes real estate contracts final once they are actually exchanged, buyers are on the…

May 8, 2007 10:40 PM CDT

New Mortgages Planned to Forestall Foreclosures

Against a backdrop of planned legislation now being drafted in Congress to rein in runaway subprime lenders, two of the nation’s mainstream mortgage mainstays are developing new products to help beleaguered borrowers. With millions potentially facing foreclosure litigation because of high-rate adjustable mortgages and unsuitable products marketed to those who…

Apr 17, 2007 6:02 PM CDT

Federal Laws Proposed for Mortgage Industry

New federal laws to regulate the troubled mortgage industry are being recommended by the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. In a report discussed today in a news conference by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who chairs the committee, the panel detailed the impact of high-risk sub-prime mortgages and foreclosures and called…

Apr 12, 2007 12:12 AM CDT

Up Against the Seawall

After Last Year’s Hurricanes, a New Storm Over Property Rights and Beach Protection Engulfs Florida’s Coast

Jul 10, 2006 5:17 PM CDT

Long Road to Recovery

Victims of Hurricane Katrina Face Legal Issues at Every Turn

Feb 21, 2006 10:46 AM CST