Citibank Forced to Resume Lending on Failed Mall Project

If a court in New York can come to this conclusion, can a court in California come to the same? That would probably be something Peter Pau and RREEF, developers behind the Sunnyvale Town Center that is headed to foreclosure want to know. Regardless, this is a huge decision by the NY court because it [...]

That Didn’t Take Long: Stuy Town Case Being Used as Precedent

Tenants at a Bronx apartment building at 1600 Sedgwick Avenue in Morris Heights will head to court today to make their case against landlord Riverview Redevelopment, which they say illegally hiked rents in their building. The residents face eviction for refusing to pay rent, following the landlord’s move to take 80 apartments in the building [...]

The Seven New Mortgage Laws

Schwarzenegger has signed seven new laws into place designed to make the mortgage market less casino-like. The most interesting one, perhaps is SB 239, which now makes it a felony to commit fraud on a mortgage loan application. We’ve embedded the bill below and it seems this law is not confined to residential since it [...]

AB1103 Takes Effect Soon – Requires Energy Rating Disclosures

AB1103 will be taking effect soon (January 1, 2010). If you’re not familiar with it, get to be soon.

The bill would require, on and after January 1, 2010, that a nonresidential
building owner or operator disclose Energy Star Portfolio Manager
benchmarking data and ratings, for the most recent 12-month period, to a
prospective buyer, lessee, or lender. After [...]

Forced Withholding on Contractors Defeated….So Far

The word is that the budget agreement that has been tentatively reached between the state legislature and the governor’s office is missing the provision that forces withholding on independent contractors. The final language is not yet available, but it seems that various organizations and individuals were successful in getting this provision removed. For all those [...]

Oppose Forced Withholding on Independent Contractors

A proposal to force those making payments to independent contractors to withhold 3% is making is making its rounds. This provision was included in a budget gap proposal approved earlier this week by a Budget Conference committee in the California legislature.
Here’s how the proposal would work:
When an agent closes a transaction, they are typically paid [...]

90-Day Foreclosure Moratorium Kicks In Tomorrow

The new California Foreclosure Prevention Act is kicking in tomorrow (and stays in effect until January 1, 2011). Under the new rules, which apply to owned-occupied homes with first mortgages recorded between January 1, 2003 and January 1, 2008, the time period before a notice of trustee sale can be filed is extended by 90 [...]