A beta version of Cuyahoga County’s property information website called MyPlace is now up and running.
There is no need to separately search the webpages of the county recorder and county auditor (two divisions of the County Fiscal Office) in order to obtain property information in Cuyahoga County. Now, all information is available in one
Thank you to Integra Realty Resources, Inc. for the above analysis relating to 2014 Cap Rates in the major U. S. metropolitan areas. As you will see the secondary markets like (Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton) remain strong performers and attractive for investment. We believe that
It seems that old is new again ! In cities throughout the U.S. buildings originally built for a specific purpose: banks, office buildings, schools and warehouses are being converted or "re-purposed" into other uses, but in particular into restaurants and hotels. In Cincinnati alone there are three projects undergoing renovation for their new life as
Unmanned drones have been in the news lately. First we saw them used in national security situations outside the United States. Recently, there has been debate relating to the use of unmanned drones as a law enforcement and national security tool within the United States.
What about a less sinister use as a selling tool for
Take a look at how the Korean’s are putting previously unproductive space to use and combining internet sales with brick and mortar real estate. Good idea huh !
Has modular construction finally come of age ? The Modular Building Institute thinks so. Modular construction is no longer just for preparation of walls and roof joists. Today, contractors are using prefabrication and preassembly in construction of steel framed structures, multi-story structures, health care and education facilities. The benefits of modular construction positively affects:
Technology has revolutionized our practice. Faxes used to be the greatest thing ever, and we have moved way past faxes in the last 10 years. Technology will continue to evolve. My wish list:
1. Phones as we know them are eliminated. All phone calls will be video calls over the computer, screen to screen
Remember Enron and off-balance-sheet accounting scandals? The efforts to clean up these accounting practices are still in the works and are about to hit the world of commercial real estate—arguably at the worst possible time. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) (which is endowed with the power to decide U.S. generally accepted accounting principles) and its international counterpart, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) are hoping to enact a new lease accounting standard by 2013. The Securities and Exchange Commission in a 2005 report to Congress estimated that the current lease accounting standards which went into effect in 1976 allow tenants to keep about $1.25 trillion in future liabilities off-balance-sheet.
Currently, a lease may be shown on a tenant’s balance sheet as either a capital lease which is treated on the balance sheet much like a finance transaction or as an operating lease which is mostly off-balance sheet. The FASB and IASB believe that investors are not getting a full picture of a tenant’s obligations when the lease is treated as an operating lease because the lease payments are recognized as an expense when they are incurred or paid rather than all of the rental payments for the term appearing as a liability on the balance sheet.
Continue Reading ELIMINATING OFF-BALANCE-SHEET ACCOUNTING OF LEASES
The Situation:
Certain covered dwellings that are not designed or constructed in strict compliance with the Fair Housing Act are increasingly subject to suit, with strict liability befalling developers, designers, and contractors alike. In fact, contractors are strictly liable for FHA violations even if they correctly follow a designer’s noncompliant drawings. Further, courts across America are consistently holding that potentially liable parties cannot sue each other for alleged contribution for a FHA defect, which enhances exposure for those sued directly by FHA protected class members. Needless to say, the financial risk of FHA noncompliance is grave.
Continue Reading Necessity for Fair Housing Act Compliance Amplified by Recent Court Rulings
Take a look at a very informative article appearing in the July 2010 Shopping Center Today describing the recent activity of several sovereign wealth funds shopping for distressed real estate to acquire. Perhaps this is the cash we have been hearing about which has been sitting out the downturn ?