Real Estate & Property Law

Real Estate Lawyers Warned of Closing Scam Using Mobile App

Real-estate lawyers are being warned about a new scam involving wired funds, mobile check deposits and real-estate closings. The Illinois Bar Journal explains how it works. At the end of a real-estate closing, the lawyer gives the seller a check for the property. The seller leaves the office, but returns…

Oct 27, 2011 4:23 PM CDT

Who Will Get Legal Custody of Washed-Up Lego Man? His Creator Steps Forward

A Lego man character that washed up Tuesday on a Florida beach was transported to police custody, but there was no shortage of people willing to give him a home. The Lego man is about eight-feet tall and weighs about 100 pounds, the Sarasota Tribune reports. His green chest carries…

Oct 27, 2011 4:04 PM CDT

Foreclosure King David Stern Beats Ethics Rap re Appeal Inaction; His Firm Handled the Case at Trial

A Florida lawyer once known as the state’s foreclosure king has won the dismissal of an ethics case brought by the Florida Bar. David J. Stern was accused of ignoring a state appellate court order to produce documents. However, his law firm handled the case at issue at the trial…

Oct 26, 2011 5:46 PM CDT

Cutting-Edge Code Enforcement Program Uses Secret Citizen Volunteers to Issue Notices to Neighbors

Once upon a time, at least in theory, neighbors talked to each other about any issues they perceived with property upkeep. And, in a really egregious situation that posed a safety hazard or had been a long-standing nuisance, they might call the city to complain. But some cash-strapped cities are…

Oct 26, 2011 4:53 PM CDT

Set to Move Ahead on Possible MERS Suit, Texas County Instead Looks to State AG to Take Lead Role

Seemingly on the verge of retaining counsel to follow the lead of another Texas county and file suit against a national electronic mortgage recording entity, officials in Harris County, which includes Houston, instead decided to look to the state attorney general to take a potential leading role. “If this is…

Oct 26, 2011 1:07 AM CDT

Lawyer Pleads Guilty in Scheme to Elect Condo Board Members Favoring Construction Lawsuits

A Las Vegas lawyer who once ran a courthouse restaurant has pleaded guilty in a scheme to take $3,000 in kickbacks to rig two condo board elections in Nevada. David Amesbury, 57, is the first lawyer to plead guilty for his part in a wide-ranging scheme that has already resulted…

Oct 25, 2011 2:29 PM CDT

2 NY Lawyers Sued, 1 Disbarred re Their Claimed Roles in Convicted Developer’s $92M Mortgage Fraud

A New York title attorney who is awaiting sentencing for his role in a Long Island real estate developer’s $92 million mortgage origination fraud in Nassau County was disbarred last week. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is suing Ted Doumazios along with a closing attorney allegedly involved with him in arranging…

Oct 24, 2011 6:00 PM CDT

More Underwater Borrowers Will Get Refinancing Help Through Changes in FHFA Program

More homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages will be eligible for a refinancing program as a result of changes announced today by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Borrowers with mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before June 2009 will be eligible for the refinancing program, no matter…

Oct 24, 2011 3:19 PM CDT

Rothstein Clawback Suits Seek $9.8M from Jeweler, $1.5M from Bugatti Seller, $57K from Cigar Store

The bankruptcy trustee settling the affairs of onetime law firm chief and convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein is targeting the sellers of some of his favorite things in an effort to recover assets for creditors. Clawback suits filed today in federal court in South Florida seek $9.8 million from Levinson…

Oct 20, 2011 1:06 AM CDT

Another Attorney Is Charged in Mortgage Fraud Case re High-End Versailles Development in South Fla.

A Miami-area attorney charged in a federal mortgage fraud prosecution is at least the third Florida lawyer to face a criminal case concerning the high-end Versailles development near Wellington. Kimberly S. Daise, 48, was charged with conspiracy to commit fraud on a financial institution and wire fraud, reports the South…

Oct 19, 2011 8:43 PM CDT

Scalia Lumps Kelo Decision with Dred Scott and Roe v. Wade

Justice Antonin Scalia predicted Monday that the Supreme Court’s decision in Kelo v. City of New London will be overturned. Speaking to students at the Chicago-Kent School of Law, Scalia criticized the decision allowing the city of New London to use eminent domain to seize property for economic development, the…

Oct 19, 2011 1:05 PM CDT

After Robo-Signing Scandal, Fannie and Freddie Will No Longer Use Attorney Networks

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will allow mortgage servicers to choose their own foreclosure law firms after some firms in the mortgage giants’ discounted attorney networks were caught up in the robo-signing scandal. The Federal Housing Finance Authority, which oversees Fannie and Freddie, announced it has ordered a revamp of…

Oct 19, 2011 11:52 AM CDT

Top Mass. Court Offers Suit Options for Buyers of Property Won in Dubious Foreclosure Cases

What’s a good-faith buyer to do if a foreclosed property purchased from a financial institution turns out to have been seized in a questionable court case? That was the issue that the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court addressed today in litigation brought by a real estate developer who converted a foreclosed…

Oct 18, 2011 10:54 PM CDT

Owner of Motel Cites 10th Amendment in Forfeiture Battle

Guests at the Motel Caswell in Tewksbury, Mass., only pay $57 a night for a standard room without a heart-shaped tub, but the property is valuable to its owner, Russell Caswell. Caswell is at the center of a 10th Amendment legal battle over forfeiture of the 56-room property stemming from…

Oct 18, 2011 12:49 PM CDT

Some Banks Are Giving Away Foreclosed Properties; Cleveland Serves as Model

In Cleveland some banks are losing so much money holding onto run-down foreclosures that they are bulldozing the properties and giving them away. The properties are turned over to the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corp. under a 2009 Ohio law creating land banks, the Washington Post reports. The Cuyahoga land…

Oct 13, 2011 12:06 PM CDT