Effective January 2016, California lenders will be able to work more easily with limited liability companies (LLCs). These new changes, referred to as Assembly Bill 506, come in response to the existing Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act. The amendments simplify the lending process as well as the specifics of mergers in order to make each…
Continue reading ›Choosing to rent a commercial space for a start-up business is usually the most economic decision during the early years of the company. It is critical to the future of the business that buyers understand the ins and outs of leasing commercial real estate as well as the best way to negotiate terms that could…
Continue reading ›Who says the economy is stagnant? California’s commercial construction industry shows the highest level of activity since 2001, and further growth is expected over the next three years, according to an article published in L.A. Biz. This promising news originated in a study conducted by Allen Matkins, a California law firm, and UCLA’s Anderson School…
Continue reading ›You decide to rent your condo in Sacramento. You think you found the perfect tenant. However, after three months, your tenant stops sending you the rent. They are in breach of the lease. What do you do? This unfortunate scenario occurs quite often and is one of the risks associated with renting property as a…
Continue reading ›Even when a project benefits the public, there are interest groups that will work tirelessly to stifle progress and business development. Unfortunately, the California Court of Appeal for the First District sided with such an interest group when the court held that an exchange agreement initiated by the California State Lands Commission regarding the 8…
Continue reading ›When you make a quid pro quo deal and you are in the real estate business, watch out. You may be violating the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided that a title insurer’s “equity investments” in title agencies in exchange for agreements that the agencies would refer customers…
Continue reading ›The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the interpretation offered by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) of 12 U.S.C. § 2607(c)(2) of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) was not entitled to “Chevron deference.” The case at issue is Edwards v. The First Am. Corp., No. 13-55542. Before analyzing the decision, let…
Continue reading ›Entering into a consent order with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will not shield you from class action litigation. Castle & Cooke Mortgage, LLC, the mortgage company that entered into a consent order with the CFPB in November 2013 learned that the hard way. A federal judge in California rejected Castle & Cooke’s motion…
Continue reading ›The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a final rule postponing the effective date for all provisions of the TILA-RESPA Final Rule and Amendments to October 3, 2015. “TILA” stands for Truth in Lending Act and “RESPA” stands for Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. This new regulation promulgated by the CFPB is often described as…
Continue reading ›Ever since the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took over the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 2011, the CFPB has turned out to be progressively dynamic in bringing implementation activities claiming infringement of section 8 of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). The highlight of today’s article is two such enforcement…
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