Although the Small Business Administration has not yet opened the program to grant applicants, the agency recently released a series of FAQs that address certain definitions and eligibility criteria for prospective grantees. David L. Miller provides insights on the updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (Grant) Program published by the SBA in the recent alert Updates on Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program.
The “Minimum Standard Detail Requirements for ALTA/NSPS Land Title Surveys” is a document jointly promulgated by the American Land Title Association (ALTA), representing the title insurance industry, and the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS), representing professional land surveyors, which describes the uniform minimum standards with which surveyors must comply when preparing a survey to be used by a title insurance company for the purpose of deleting the general survey exception from ALTA title policy forms. The first such set of standards was developed in 1962 and has since been revised 10 times. The standards are currently updated every five years and are relied on by real estate professionals, including purchasers, lenders, title insurers and their attorneys, nationwide. In October 2020, a joint committee comprising representatives of both ALTA and NSPS adopted the “2021 Minimum Standard Detail Requirements for ALTA/NSPS Land Title Surveys,” which will become effective on February 23, 2021. The significant changes between the 2021 standards and the previous 2016 standards are summarized below.
This is a brief review of recent significant environmental and administrative law rulings and developments. With the change in presidential administrations, the fate of at least some of the newly promulgated rules is uncertain.
On the one-year anniversary of China’s Wuhan lockdown, COVID-19 has become a part of everyday life and as we enter the new year, real estate borrowers and lenders alike will need to understand this new normal and face the reality that is fast approaching. In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the United States, many state and local governments instituted eviction moratoria and other protections for real estate tenants and borrowers. These protections created a window of opportunity for tenants and borrowers to negotiate reasonable solutions with their respective landlords and lenders regarding rent and debt payments amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This temporary period of restricted remedies also allowed courts to analyze legal arguments on how the COVID-19 pandemic impacts the real estate industry.
On 19 January, the EC published a strategy setting out wide-ranging ideas for the development of its financial market infrastructure. The strategy includes plans for driving the green transition in line with the European Green Deal through turning the EU financial markets into a “global green finance hub.”
Pillsbury partner and Global Co-Head of the Energy & Infrastructure Projects team Mona Dajani discusses energy transition with Jigar Shah, President and Co-Founder of Generate. Join us on February 4, 2021 where Jigar and Mona chat about entrepreneurship, sustainable sectors including hydrogen, food waste and EVs and the role of government in the energy transition. To attend this fireside chat, register here. 
Legislation signed into law on December 27, 2020, fixed the rate for the 30% present value low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC), which had dropped to a historic low of 3.07 in 2020, at 4% (the 4% Floor). Congress hopes that the 4% Floor will increase the supply of affordable rental housing in 2021 and beyond by reducing the need for other types of financing and subsidies for qualified LIHTC projects.
Real Estate partner Andrew Weiner and Tax partner Craig Becker discuss the intersection of transfer tax with enforcement in distressed real estate in New York and California in the latest Swimming Lessons Series presentation.
Here are some significant environmental and regulatory rulings and administrative actions from December 2020.
