Federal Forfeiture of Real Estate in Practice: A New Form of Eminent Domain?

Winter 2012, Vol. 37, Nos. 2&3 Abstract: The owners of the Motel Caswell in Massachusetts currently are contesting the federal forfeiture of this motel in federal court. The United States Department of Justice asserts that the property should be forfeited under federal law on the ground that it had been used in connection with recent drug… Read more

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RESOURCE REVIEW: Privatizing Military Family Housing: A History of the U.S. Army’s Residential Communities Initiative, 1995–2010

Winter 2012, Vol. 37, Nos. 2&3 Abstract: As reviewer Peter Holland, CRE, notes, this book “is an advocacy piece” as well as a history of U.S. Army military housing, but it might not have been written at all if not for the innovative thinking and efforts of CRE Mahlon “Sandy” Apgar, IV. In his role as… Read more

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Determining Real Estate Damages from Natural Disasters: Real Estate Counseling in Class Action Litigation—Lessons from Hurricane Katrina

Winter 2012, Vol. 37, Nos. 2&3 Abstract: In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, hundreds of lawsuits, including two major class actions in Federal District Court, were filed against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, local levee districts and others alleging negligence in the design and construction of the dike system protecting New Orleans. This case study… Read more

The Failed Experiment of Vancouver’s 2010 Olympic Village

Winter 2012, Vol. 37, Nos. 2&3   Abstract: This article is a cautionary tale for cities that dream of hosting the Olympics, and explores the fallout, financial and otherwise, for the City of Vancouver. In 2003, the city won the international bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympics. Included in the bid was a commitment to… Read more

The Case for the Return of CMBS

Winter 2012, Vol. 37, Nos. 2&3 Abstract: Commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) was a significant source of long-term capital for commercial real estate from the mid-1990s until the time of the financial crisis in 2007–2008. CMBS issuance went to near zero at that point, and has been on the road to recovery since 2009. In this article,… Read more

Mortgage Fraud: Current Trends and Issues

Winter 2012, Vol. 37, Nos. 2&3 Abstract; The Great Recession of the past few years and its parallel “meltdown” of the real estate market have had a sinister “underbelly” to it. The perpetration of fraudulent real estate transactions was, and still is, widespread, especially in the mortgage industry. This article surveys the more common types of mortgage fraud, to include such criminal methods as short sale schemes, foreclosure... Read More

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