Sign of the times: Squatters insurance
Landlord insurance typically doesn’t cover costs accrued in a squatter situation. Property insurance, which offers short-term rental insurance, created a unique type of coverage coming out of the COVID pandemic, that is specifically designated...
DOJ sues RealPage for housing inflation government caused
President Biden, Vice-President Harris and their Department of Justice have come out strongly against RealPage for their algorithm designed to help landlords better understand current market conditions in setting their rents. They claim it enables...
Lawsuits coming as courts question federal agencies
You might have seen the headlines: “Supreme Court Just Defeated Big Government" (Fox News), “Guts Agency Power” (Axios), “Imperils an Array of Federal Rules” (New York Times). In August 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a...
Why corporate America is retreating from social activism
In January, Axios reported a developing trend in corporate America: corporations across the United States were backing away from DEI, which had become a “minefield” for companies. Following a multi-year boom in the Diversity, Equity,...
Paying the fox to watch the chickens: The war on private housing
Despite the rise in homelessness, the federal government continues to raise the barrier to creating shelter for those without permanent housing. Infusing bad actors with HUD money is another layer. In September the Biden admin....
The price of disorder
I was once pitched a deal in the heart of the Amazon—Manaus, Brazil. What was I buying? Firstly, a commercial asset. But I couldn’t shake my concern around governance. The sanctity of a contract...
New game post-Chevron
For decades, the judicial doctrine called “Chevron deference” dominated American administrative law. In the aftermath of Chevron’s demise in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, however, a new legal debate is brewing over an 80-year-old judicial precedent:...
Is land-use regulation holding back construction productivity?
Ed Glaeser is perhaps the pre-eminent urban economist working today, and I’ve cited his work repeatedly when looking at land-use restrictions and burdens on new development. So I was very interested to see he’s coauthored...
Major U.S. Supreme Court decisions coming down the track MAJOR UPDATE
June 28, 2024 Update: The Supreme Court in an unprecedented victory for multifamily and other businesses, has today reversed its 40-year-old decision in Chevron v. Natural Resource Defense Council. This law governed how courts...
The incredible disappearing Starwood CRE investor
The $10 billion fund from Starwood Capital Group has been trying to preserve its available cash and credit by limiting investor redemptions. In the first quarter, the fund was hit with $1.3 billion in...
