Valuation

According to the firm RealtyTrac, national foreclosure filings fell to a six-year low in January. The report states that foreclosures dropped 7 percent in January from December 2012, with foreclosure activity down 28 percent from January 2012. It further found that U.S. bank repossessions dropped 5 percent from the previous month and were down 24…

New Jersey has adopted a process which may expedite foreclosures on vacant and abandoned residential properties. Under this procedure, vacancy and abandonment must be established by clear and convincing evidence. In that case, a mortgage holder may be able to obtain a judgment and get to a sheriffs sale in 120 days. That is much…

Market researcher RealtyTrac reports that fewer foreclosure processes were initiated in August 2012 than in August 2011. Foreclosures reached a 17-year high in August 2011. RealtyTrac said the number of homes entering foreclosure is projected to continue decreasing gradually.

Approximately 99,400 homes entered foreclosure in August. This was a 1 percent increase over July, but

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Philadelphia Trial Court Judges Herron and Tereshko announced in a notice to the bar that they were not going to change a popular residential foreclosure diversion program. There was a proposal to end conciliation for foreclosures after a maximum of four conferences held within 150 days after foreclosure complaints were filed. The Judges stated that…

The United States Tax Court recently issued an opinion that contains valuable lessons for any forum. Real estate valuation litigation regularly occurs in the Tax Court.

In Boltar LLC v. Commissioner, the Tax Court granted the government’s motion to strike the taxpayer’s appraisal because it was “unrealiable and irrelevant.” In that case, the IRS and…

Real estate valuation occurs in a variety of forums and we often find ourselves playing “away games.” Recently, I assisted my partners in our Las Vegas office in a bankruptcy case in which the debtor – our client – owned a number of commercial properties. Las Vegas’ real estate market is one of the hardest…