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

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

Green building is quickly becoming the "norm" across America, and those who are not familiar with it could be missing important opportunities in today’s construction climate.  The United States Green Building Council ("USGBC") is a non-profit community of leaders working to make green buildings available to everyone.   USGBC developed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental

Ohio House Bill 292, which prohibits the future creation of transfer fee covenants, was signed into law on June 14, 2010 and will become effective on September 13, 2010. Transfer fee covenants in effect prior to September 13, 2010 are not affected by the new law.

Transfer fee covenants create revenue streams for real estate