Week Ending November 19, 2021

The supervisors intend to spend $219,000 in ARPA funds to digitize records for the Des Moines County recorder's office as well as the auditor's office. 

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed Senate Bill 1780C on Dec. 22, 2021, which allows the state's notaries to conduct remote online notarizations (RON). 

A legislative committee has resurrected a many-times-failed real estate transfer tax, a levy that proponents say could help turn the corner on a workforce housing crisis that’s fraying the community fabric of Wyoming’s costliest locale. 

Consistent with the Bureau’s past practice, we have published the Bureau’s Fall 2021 Agenda as part of the Fall 2021 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, which is coordinated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Agenda lists the regulatory matters that we plan to pursue during the period from November 1, 2021 to October 31, 2022, as described further below. The complete Unified Agenda is available to the public at the following website: http://www.reginfo.gov. 

2021 saw significant activity by both the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”). The DOJ, for example, finally followed through on its 2016 warning/threat to investigate and criminally prosecute no‑poach arrangements/agreements between competitors. And, as previously commented on by Benesch, the FTC is currently following through on President Biden’s executive order to examine the impact restrictive covenants have on the marketplace. This article looks at the role the DOJ and FTC played in the restrictive covenant space in 2021 and will likely continue to play in 2022.

Florida District Court Finds for Mortgage Provider in RESPA Claim

The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation originally occupied territory in southern Wisconsin, northern Illinois and northwest Indiana. Now, the Band hopes to reclaim land reserved for them in the 1800s.

Asheville real estate investor Robert Perry Tucker II had just purchased 10 acres along the Blue Ridge Parkway, but nine siblings in the Lyda family still had a claim to approximately 25% of the property, left to them by their grandfather.

This case involved a dispute between the owner/operator of a golf course and the owners of adjacent property in a residential community. Originally all the land was owned by one entity, that then sold lots overlooking the golf course at a premium. 

After much debate, President Joe Biden signed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill into law. There is money for projects in most states which will require taking private property. In his Condemnation and Tax Certiorari column, Michael Rikon reviews what is in the infrastructure package and asks: Is your office ready for the cases that will be coming? 

The British Columbia Builders Lien Act (BLA) is a complex piece of legislation that should be understood by those advising, or participating in, the construction industry, particularly on the business side. Yet there are aspects of the BLA that are sometimes overlooked, misunderstood, or are inadvertently ignored. Its operation is not always obvious. Here are some of the BLA’s less obvious characteristics:

It all started in April this year, when I wrote an article sharing the idea that real estate is the perfect asset to convert into a Non-Fungible Token (NFT). This led to a life-changing collaboration with other innovative individuals, united to build something transformative.

A suspected serial killer, who is also a handsome real estate agent, was charged with attempted murder for the non-fatal shooting of a homeless man in Miami, , according to the Miami Herald.

For agents interested in growing their business by expanding into multiple states, we’re here to make the process simple and profitable. We offer you one point of contact to streamline your options and solutions.

Back in the day, those who made a living hauling goods from the Great Lakes to New York City spent their summers working and the cold winters living on their barges tied to the city's docks. On Christmas night in 1926, a storm blew in while the residents were sleeping and somehow caused the moorings that kept the barges in place to came loose. They silently began to drift down the East River, toward what seamen called "Hell Gate," where currents and tides were particularly dangerous. Two dogs on the barges, named Fanny and Sandy, started barking frantically.

For Christmas, The Hatching Cat has strung together similar stories in several animals posts with holiday themes. One is a list of cats who saved lives in New York around the holiday season between the years of 1904 and 1932. 

Inexplicably bad property photographs. It's that simple.