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Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act
In 1974, Congress enacted the important Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), a major consumer-protection law that protects residential real estate buyers and sellers during the settlement procedure, also known as the closing. RESPA protections are required only for residential real estate transactions financed by federally related mortgage loans, which for all practical purposes means virtually all residential mortgages. Residential real estate for purposes of RESPA is real estate constructed for one to four families, including cooperative and condominium units.
What Are Equity-Stripping Scams?
The US economic crisis has hit the average homeowner hard. Millions of people will face foreclosure on their homes in the next couple of years. If you are facing a possible foreclosure due to late mortgage payments, be sure to proceed carefully. Using a scheme known as equity stripping, unscrupulous scammers nationwide are increasingly preying upon distraught and unsuspecting homeowners who are in fear of losing their homes. Particularly hard hit are communities of color.
Property Law & Real Estate Case Summaries
[06/25] Rathborne Land Co. v. Ascent Engy., Inc.
In an action for breach of defendant's obligations to reasonably develop and explore a leased parcel of oil, gas, and mineral land, judgment for plaintiff is affirmed in part where: 1) plaintiff's letter to defendant met the La. Rev. Stat. Ann. section 31:136 demand requirement; and 2) district court did not clearly err in concluding that plaintiff would have been able to lease the disputed acreage more than once if it had been able to seismically survey the parcel prior to 2006. However, the judgment is vacated in part where neither the district court nor plaintiff could show an adequate ground -- indeed, any relevant precedent -- for awarding consequential damages for lost leasing and seismic revenues on the entire parcel.
[06/25] Greenspan v. LADT, LLC
In a trust's suit for breach of contract and other claims against two affiliated companies and individuals, trial court's confirmation of an arbitrator's award against defendants in the amount of $6.34 million is affirmed where: 1) per the JAMS rules, the arbitrator, not a court, determines what issues are arbitrable, and here, the arbitrator determined that the issue of joint and several liability was arbitrable; 2) arbitrator's finding of joint and several liability was rationally related to the parties' contract; 3) as to the timeliness of the final award under JAMS rules, the arbitrator's interpretation and application of the rules cannot be judicially reviewed on the merits; and 4) the suit against the arbitrator was barred by arbitral immunity and would not have caused a reasonable person to doubt the arbitrator's impartiality.
[06/25] Flava Works, Inc. v. City of Miami
In an action challenging the Miami Code Enforcement Board's final administrative ruling that plaintiffs were engaged in "adult entertainment" in an inappropriate zone and "illegally operating a business in a residential zone," judgment for plaintiffs is reversed where the activities taking place at the residence at issue were a clear violation of the prohibition against operating a business in a residential zone.
Real Estate Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean when something is said to be grandfathered in for zoning purposes?
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