Real Estate News – May 14, 2011




Having taking a day off from blogging to commemorate “All About Jeff Day” aka “Three Dozen Years of Awesome” (which is my shamelessly self-promotional way of describing my 36th birthday) via my Facebook page yesterday, we’re back today with a jumbo-sized edition of the most pertinent real estate law news from around the U.S.:


Foreclosures: Are Bank Regulators Messing Up the Housing Recovery? (via curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com): http://ti.me/kBYWAX


Although the 2,314-page Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act signed into law last year doesn’t affect real estate brokers and agents as much as, say, mortgage originators, it does have some significant implications for the industry, said Phillip Schulman, a partner at the Washington, D.C. law firm K&L Gates LLP (via REALTORMag): http://bit.ly/kfzNwB


US property market will reach bottom in 2012 (via ibtimes.com): http://bit.ly/ieWP9D


Thirteen banks failed in April, with nearly all them heavily exposed to commercial real estate. It’s a familiar pattern that U.S. regulators say they’ve been observing for several months (via CNN.com): http://bit.ly/mFnc2i


The Politics of Mortgage Reform (via CNBC.com): http://bit.ly/kE81aX


Unimpressed by the recent efforts of state and federal regulators to rein in the mortgage servicing industry, a bipartisan group of senators led by Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) introduced legislation Thursday to make it easier for struggling homeowners to negotiate with their banks (via huffingtonpost.com): http://huff.to/mtuROC


A Porterville, California man convicted of illegally offering loan modification services to distressed homeowners was sentenced Wednesday to 300 days in county jail, five years of felony probation and ordered to pay more than $20,000 in restitution (via crimevoice.com): http://bit.ly/mLQQQF


Is cat lover running astray of HOA rules? (via Fredericksburg.com): http://bit.ly/kDqGUk


Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced today that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement has finalized a rule that will streamline the noncompetitive leasing process for offshore wind (via offshorewindwire.com): http://bit.ly/m7SWHh


Michigan appeals court ruling could erase thousands of foreclosures (via BattleCreekEnquirer.com): http://bit.ly/lHR2MX


Sales and leasing volumes in commercial real estate have turned a corner and are heading up, but because the past few years have been so difficult, the upturn barely feels like one. However, the sector is expected to strengthen more over the next couple of years, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun told commercial real estate practitioners on Thursday at the 2011 REALTORS® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo in Washington (via REALTORMag): http://bit.ly/jkXbEz