Pennsylvania Eminent Domain Code

The NJ Supreme Court has ruled that a borough was not required to negotiate with the holder of the final foreclosure judgment prior to condemnation of the encumbered property.  In Merchantville v. Malik & Son LLC, the Court held that the borough’s effort to negotiate directly with the record titleholder was legally sufficient.  Condemnors

The US House Financial Services Committee approved H.R. 5148 which would grant certain “high-risk” mortgages an exemption from having an appraisal performed in accordance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (“USPAP”).  USPAP – the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice – is provided by the Appraisal Foundation and is described as “the generally

The City of Orlando on Monday dropped its attempt to condemn a family-owned church to build a new Major League Soccer stadium.  The Church was the last holdout for the project.  Orlando will move the new stadium about a block west using property the city bought for $2 million.

Orlando and the Church have had

The Appraisal Institute has produced its Standards of Valuation Practice which may, in certain circumstances, be used as an alternative to “USPAP.” USPAP – the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice – is provided by the Appraisal Foundation and is described as “the generally accepted standards for professional appraisal practice in North America. USPAP contains

Data from commercial real estate firm Calkain Companies confirms that the demand for net lease assets remains strong.  Transaction volume for these properties increased 15 percent.  Retail net lease cap rates have compressed to below 7 percent.

“Net leases remain highly popular in 2014, averaging the lowest cap rates in the past three years despite

According to analytics firm Interthinx, the risk of property valuation fraud increased during the first quarter.  The report noted that in addition to high property appraisals, individuals purchasing and listing multiple properties in the same neighborhood to artificially control prices to their advantage also is a contributing factor to the rise in property valuation fraud

Joseph Pasquarella, MAI, has been appointed by Gov. Tom Corbett to the Pennsylvania State Board of Certified Real Estate Appraisers for a four-year term, the Appraisal Institute reported July 14.  Pasquarella, senior managing director at Integra Realty Resources’ Philadelphia office, will help establish professional standards for all real estate appraisers throughout the state and help

My partner, Abe Reich, recently successfully argued before the PA Supreme Court a case determining “whether the occurrence of a murder/suicide inside a house constitutes a material defect of the property, such that appellees’ failure to disclose the same to the buyer of the house constituted fraud, negligent misrepresentation, or a violation of the Unfair

PA law requires that challenges to condemnations must be filed within 30 days of service of the Declaration of Taking. The document that is filed challenging the taking is called “Preliminary Objections.”

HB 2387, currently being considered in the PA House of Representatives, would increase the time for filing the Preliminary Objections to 90 days.