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Kitchen with smart home icons overlaid“Hey Siri…” “Alexa…” “Okay Google…” These are just some of the buzzwords and phrases that have entered day-to-day vocabulary as a result of the explosion of smart technology. Internet of Things (IoT) devices are in our cars, in our workplaces and on our bodies. But nowhere is smart technology more prevalent than in our homes. The array of services that are available coupled with the growing number of companies and service providers eager to innovate, should only grow this technology’s market share in the coming years.

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In episode #26 of Industry Insights podcast, Steve Hamilton joins host Joel Simon to discuss certain segments of the real estate market and related financing that remained robust in the midst of the pandemic.

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Over the past year, our attorneys have explored numerous insolvency topics affecting real estate. Together, the alerts in this series tackle many facets (and potential applications) of the Bankruptcy Code as potential balm and bane for owners, landlords and lenders trying to navigate a landscape made exponentially more treacherous by COVID-19 in Insolvency Issues, Real Estate and COVID-19.

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The control and beneficial ownership of real estate in the U.S. has been relatively easy to conceal. Christian A. BuergerDavid L. Miller, and Andrew J. Weiner discuss how this disclosure regime is about the change dramatically in “What New Corporate Disclosures Mean For Real Estate.”

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Pillsbury partner Breann Robowski will present during ABA/IPT’s 2021 Advanced Property Tax Seminar on March 18. Breann will present on the topic, “Valuing the Fee Simple Interest for Tax Purposes in Situations Not Involving ‘Dark Stores.’” For more information and to register, please click here.

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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.

 

 

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Land surveyor construction siteThe “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.

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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.

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Pie chat adjusted to COVID-19 shapeOn 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.

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