On November 17, 2008, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development adopted a new Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) reform rule. The new rule effected significant changes to Regulation X, most notably dramatically altering...

If a local zoning code does not protect the water view from your home from obstruction by the construction of a “McMansion”, can you turn to the federal courts for relief? A federal court ruled this summer in Puckett v. City of Glen Cove , 2009...

A federal judge has ruled against an increasingly common practice of real estate brokers in Vicki Busby v. JRHBW Realty, Inc. , 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41720 (N.D. Ala., Apr. 20, 2009). The District Court ruled that the charging of unearned administrative...

The obligation to mitigate damages for the breach of a contract is a staple of hornbook law. This obligation is so ingrained in our system of jurisprudence that most jurisdictions have refused to enforce contractual waivers of the obligation to mitigate damages....

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke announced that in 2007 there were 1.5 million home foreclosures, up 53 percent from 2006, and it looks as though 2008 the rate of new foreclosures will be even higher. One of the issues debated in Congress is whether...

The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. New London, Conn. —affirming the right of governments to use the power of eminent domain to take private property for private economic development projects—was the most controversial condemnation case...

Subprime loans made to higher-risk borrowers are roiling the mortgage market because rising interest rates and stagnant or declining home values have led to trends similar to the following:   • Soaring subprime mortgage defaults and foreclosures....

New York has enacted legislation to protect owners of distressed properties from predatory practices by purchasers. In his Expert Commentary, Alfred C. Tartaglia discusses the Home Equity Theft Prevention Act, its effect on title insurance, and its application...

Robert M. Jaworski analyzes the "perfect storm" that has hit the subprime mortgage industry--including what caused the storm and what the effects of the storm have been. Mr. Jaworski writes:         Speculation...