Real Estate Issues articles from December 2003

Real Estate Issues archives from December 2003

About the Counselors of real estate[TM].
December 22, 2003... The Counselors of Real Estate, established in 1953, is an international group of high profile professionals including members of prominent real estate, financial, legal and accounting firms as well as leaders of government and academia who...

Editor's statement.(Editorial)
December 22, 2003... Over the years, when people ask me that difficult question, "So what is it that you do?", I have become accustomed to describing the fascination I have found in what is now a quarter-century in the field of real estate. For me, this has been a...

Evolution of liability for flood damages: where are we now?
December 22, 2003... Changing weather patterns and several recent catastrophic storms have highlighted the collision between urban redevelopment, suburban expansion, "sunbelt" or "greenfield" growth, and changing governmental philosophies regulating drainage. A...

The effect of the jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 on real estate investors.
December 22, 2003... If real estate investors are to maximize after-tax profits and maintain appropriate levels of capital investment, they must have a working knowledge of the latest legislative changes enacted by the United States Congress that pertain to real...

Advance due-diligence activities benefit contaminated real estate transactions.
December 22, 2003... Brownfields have been defined by the Environmental Protection Agency as: abandoned, idled or underused industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination. (1)...

Who's liable now?--new federal brownfields legislation.
December 22, 2003... On January 11, 2002, President Bush signed the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act (1) (the "Brownfields Amendments"). As its name suggests, the act provides relief to small businesses and funding for...

Use of letters of intent in retail leasing: when is a non-binding letter of intent really binding?
December 22, 2003... New case law may add a new, unexpected twist to "non-binding" letters of intent. Landlords, tenants and brokers are well advised to consider the pitfalls created by Copeland v. Baskin Robbins, U.S.A., (96 Cal.App.4th 1251 (2002)) and to...

Focus on global issues: what makes for a successful city.(Insider's Perspective)(Brief Article)(Column)
December 22, 2003... Perhaps I should start by introducing myself. I am proud to be the 135th President of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, with whom CRE enjoys a close and cordial strategic relationship. We share a common objective which is to promote...

Focus on market returns: what returns will the market deliver?(Insider's Perspective)(Column)
December 22, 2003... In 2003 capital market positives and space market fundamentals negatives combined to lower real estate investor return expectations. Today, investors face both the challenge of sustaining net income and understanding the future pricing multiple...

Focus on hospitality: predictive powers of hotel cycles.(Insider's Perspective)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2003... Whether we want to accept the fact or not the hotel business (both the sale of rooms and assets) is a cyclical business. Cycles exist in the hotel business for some good and well documented reasons. Most importantly, hotels are not the same as...

Focus on the economy; Economic report card: prognostication.(Insider's Perspective)(Column)
December 22, 2003... The purpose of this short note is to provide decision-making information regarding economic indicators relative to the broad market, especially with regard to real estate markets. Many factors create concern for local economies, as well as for...