Real Estate Law

The whopping bad faith verdict I wrote about in Whopping Bad Faith Verdict Caused By Insurers Hiring the Policyholder’s Expert, almost never happened. The insurance policy required a lawsuit to be […]

The Academy of Insurance membership is a deal for those wishing to learn how the insurance product is supposed to work. Members of Merlin Law Group regularly schedule classes to learn how the […]

The Merlin Law Group is often approached by individuals wishing to make insurance claims on policies where they are not the named insured. These are typically shareholders or members of a corporate […]

Predictions Hurricane season is quickly approaching. As Floridians, we are well acquainted with the immense power and destruction these storms can bring. The upcoming Atlantic Hurricane Season runs […]

This is a brief roundup of recent federal court environmental and regulatory law decisions from the federal courts over the past few months, including the much anticipated ruling in Sackett, et ux., […]

A whopping bad faith $112 Million punitive damage verdict in an Indiana federal court last week appears to be the result of insurers trying to “flip-flop” the policyholder’s expert consultant.1 […]

The deadline to file a lawsuit for Hurricane Ida damage is quickly approaching in Louisiana. The deadline is August 29, 2023—two months from now. If you are a policyholder, public adjuster […]

The insurance claims industry has coined a new word and definition. A white paper by CapeAnalytics, How to Automate Hail Claims Processing With 96% Accuracy, noted the following regarding […]

Please join Merlin Law Group this Memorial Day in remembering and honoring all who have served and sacrificed for our freedom. Continue Reading

The Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS) issued an Order dismissing a petition on whether individuals must be licensed as adjusters or public adjusters to be named appraisers to an […]

In late January, I wrote a blog post highlighting the absence of any published market conduct exams on the Oklahoma Insurance Department website after 2009, despite the OID’s claim that “[a]s […]

This article explains the importance of Florida quitclaim deeds, often used to transfer ownership interest in a property.

In this week’s roundup, we consider distressed property bonds and loans, cities that are sinking under their own skyscrapers, efforts to lower carbon emissions, the unexpected potential of dirty […]

In our latest roundup, we look at a downturn in home-flipping and a continuing overabundance of commercial office space, plus psychological support for construction workers and surging demand for […]

In our latest roundup, the commercial real estate sector continues to wobble, construction booms and busts, flood insurance premiums reach eye-watering levels, and more. In its latest Financial […]

With 2023 well underway, it is clear that inflation, interest rates, decreased valuations and geopolitical unrest, together with the uncertain future of major asset classes (particularly office and […]

In “No Cutting the (Priority) Line!: Incidental Beneficiaries to Assumed Contracts and Leases Cannot Assert Cure Claims Against Debtors,” colleagues Dania Slim and Alana A. Lyman examine a […]

In “Fifth Circuit Permits the Use of the Social Cost of Carbon, for Now,” Anne Idsal Austin and David M. McCullough examine the court’s decision to allow the Biden administration to further […]

Cash offers on homes have increased substantially over the last few years. In 2022, according to Redfin, 30% of all home sales were paid with all cash with 64% of all $1 million plus sales in Palm […]

The White House has released the text of the President’s new Executive Order strengthening the Federal Government’s commitment to taking new actions to enhance and promote environmental justice. […]

In today’s roundup, Americans can buy homes with bitcoin, new tech aims to engineer a novel building material, federal investments boost the coastline (and construction sales), and more. A bitcoin […]

In today’s roundup, construction waxes and wanes, energy goals are set, and concerns abound for the commercial real estate market in the United States and Europe. A new AI-driven real estate […]

The Live Local Act is Florida’s response to the housing crisis affordable legislation, designed to provide developers with substantial tax breaks and hundreds of millions of dollars in funding. On […]

New Rules Aimed At Reducing Pandemic Era Case Backlogs and Delays Are the old days of packed Thursday morning summary process sessions coming back? They just may be. With the expiration of a pandemic […]

As the global economic landscape continues to devolve, it is crucial to draw upon the lessons learned from previous financial crises, much like Marty McFly’s thrilling time travel experiences in […]

The University of Iowa College of Law Faculty Hiring Announcement The University of Iowa College of Law anticipates hiring one to two lateral faculty members in the areas of Property Law and Civil […]

Boston College Law School’s new Initiative on Land, Housing & Property Rights, founded and directed by Professor Thomas W. Mitchell, a MacArthur Fellow, will have its launch on March 23rd and […]

While there still are residential home buyers waiting to buy until mortgage rates lower and with home appreciation prices slowing, there are nevertheless opportunities for homebuyers in the new […]

Wu Administration Misled Public On Details Of Plan: Corrupt Local Rent Control Boards Can Override Rent Increases, Lifetime Leases Allowed, Small Housing Providers Unfairly Targeted The Boston City […]

Commercial workspaces are evolving as more people split their time between home and office. As a result, there are innovative ideas as to how the future of commercial real estate will evolve in terms […]

There seems to be a pricing disconnect between would be homebuyers and sellers these days. Why? Homebuyers want to offer lower contract offers and yet sellers still want to obtain higher than normal […]

While mortgage rates are still well above the 3% range from a year ago, the average 30 year home loan rate has fallen a full percentage point for the high 7% in November, bringing new buyers into the […]

In my 25 years of law practice, I’ve seen a lot of crazy stuff, but this recent eviction case may top my list of “Professional Tenants.” With 14+ evictions, a slew of larceny charges on their […]

Homebuyers, now more than ever, are buying homes which come with all of the furniture. While it was not unusual for second home or resort community homebuyers to purchase homes including the […]

Just in from SLU: Saint Louis University School of Law seeks a visiting professor for spring 2024 to teach a course package which includes property (a 4-credit, 1L course). We are open to considering […]

The Doctrine of Merger in California real property law provides that when a greater and lesser estate are vested in the same person, the lesser estate may merge into the greater estate and the lesser […]

As more and more people search for affordable homes, housing start-ups such as Boxabl offer an alternative to “traditional” housing. Boxabl provides mass produced building construction for small […]

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu Preparing To File Comprehensive Rent Control and Just Cause Eviction Bill Update (3/8/23): Learn About The Disastrous Rent Control Bill Passed By Boston City Council […]

High Court Rules That Trial Judge Improperly Instructed Jury On Golf Course Property Easement, Covenants and Restrictions In a case which has received national attention and a People Magazine […]

With increased interest rates and high home prices cooling the housing market, there are some homebuyers who have had a change of mind or “buyer’s regret” after executing a real estate […]

Appeals Court Rules That Liquidate Damages Clause Is Unenforceable Where It Allowed For Recovery of Rent For Remaining Term On Top of Rent Received From New Tenant If you enjoyed the famous Seinfeld […]

Assessor’s Parcel Numbers are usually included in the legal description of a deed. But that does not always work; there are times when the APNs do not exactly describe the individual parcel. The […]

This just in from Vanessa Casado Perez (Texas A&M): This year the Property Journal at Texas A&M is hosting a symposium around Rachael Walsh’s (Trinity College Dublin) new book Property […]

Section 252.363(1)(a), Florida Statutes (2022), provides that certain qualifying permits and authorizations are eligible for an extension once a state of emergency is issued by the Governor for the […]

Becker is thrilled to announce that several attorneys in the firm’s Florida and New Jersey offices have been named as 2022 Super Lawyers, an honor that recognizes the top 5% of the total lawyers in […]

Easements for road purposes are common in California. But what happens when the width of the granted easement is far greater than the road actually used by the easement holder? In a decision out of […]

The 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®, one of the oldest and most revered peer review publications, honors 33 Becker attorneys across the Firm’s practices. Two Becker attorneys, Joseph […]

Juliet Moringiello (Widener-Commonwealth) and Chris Odinet (Iowa-me!) have just posted Blockchain Real Estate and NFTs (William & Mary Law Review) to SSRN. Here’s the abstract: Non-fungible […]

LSU is looking to make multiple hires this year in a variety of areas, including, but not limited to, property law. The chair of the Faculty Appointments Committee is Missy Lonegrass, who you may […]

A Notice of Action, also known as Lis Pendens (Latin for “a suit pending”), may be recorded in a lawsuit that involves title to real property. Because this will prevent sale or refinancing of the […]