condemnation

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development told Congress it could not  say if the Federal Housing Administration would insure new mortgages in communities including Richmond, California that propose to seize home loans through eminent domain. “Pending legal developments and possible further execution of the plans in question, HUD does not know whether any…

In Church of Grace and Glory v. PennDOT, PennDOT filed a declaration on May 1, 2006 seeking to condemn subsurface coal of a property in which a church owned the surface property. PennDOT alleged that, despite a diligent search, it was unable to identify or otherwise determine the owner of the subsurface coal and published…

U.S. Rep. John Campbell, R-Orange County, has reintroduced a bill that would limit the ability of municipalities to use eminent domain to seize underwater mortgages. The proposed Defending American Taxpayers from Abusive Government Takings Act would also prevent Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from buying any home loans seized by eminent domain. The legislation is…

The PA House of Representatives passed a bill decreasing the time allowed for nonprofit organizations to rehabilitate and sell abandoned blighted properties.  HB 1363 seeks to amend the Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act by decreasing the time for court action on a petition from within 120 days of receipt of the petition to 60 …

Six federal financial regulatory agencies recently issued a proposed rule that would create exemptions from certain appraisal requirements for a subset of higher-priced mortgage loans. According to the agencies, the proposed exemptions are intended to save borrowers time and money and to promote the safety and soundness of creditors. The appraisal requirements for higher-priced…

In 2005, the US Supreme Court issued one of its most controversial decisions. In Kelo v. City of New London, the Court held that it was not unconstitutional to use the power of eminent domain to take homes and other private property and transfer the property to private entities for economic development. It found that…

The New Jersey legislature has passed legislation somewhat restricting local governments’ use of eminent domain for private redevelopment. It also creates an alternative to condemnation for redevelopment projects.

S-2447, passed 36-1, was expressly designed to codify New Jersey Supreme Court’s decisions holding that the prior statutory standard for “blight” — that the property be in…

The city of North Las Vegas has entered into an advisory agreement with Mortgage Resolution Partners. This entity promotes the concept of local governments using the power of eminent domain to seize underwater mortgages from investors for the purpose of restructuring them.
In response the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, the Association of Mortgage…

The House Judiciary Committee approved legislation by voice vote prohibiting state and local governments that receive federal economic development funds from using eminent domain to transfer private property from one private owner to another for the purpose of economic development. The “Private Property Rights Protection Act” (H.R. 1944) is a direct, albeit delayed, response to…

In a dramatic change in eminent domain law, the PA Supreme Court has now opened the door, in certain circumstances, for the use of purchase offer amounts in valuing condemned properties. Prior to this decision, the general law in PA was that offers could only be used to establish demand for a particular use but…