The Property Line Seyfarth Shaw LLP

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) was passed in 2019 to address the use of legal entities in money laundering, the financing of terrorism, and other illegal activities. Commencing on its effective date of January 1, 2024, the CTA will require affected legal entities to disclose information about their beneficial owners and controlling parties to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The CTA is set to impact an estimated 32 million companies, including most commercial real estate entities.

In this episode, Russ Robertson and Trevor Tullius join James O’Brien for a discussion on what this means for the industry and why commercial real estate owners should begin preparing now in order to comply with the reporting requirements.

Amidst rising interest rates and lower asset values, many borrowers find themselves struggling to refinance existing commercial mortgage loans. As a result, both borrowers and lenders are confronting a surge in distressed mortgage debt.

In this episode, Arren Goldman and James Sowka return to join James O’Brien and Eric Greenberg for a discussion on the early stages of the loan restructuring process — including due diligence considerations, pre-negotiations agreements, and bankruptcy strategies — as well as best practices for both borrowers and lenders when tackling a troubled loan workout.

Distressed loans are becoming increasingly relevant across all sectors for borrowers, lenders, and servicers, but is this distress a result of economic conditions, over-extended sponsors, poor management, or a combination of all of these factors?

In this episode, Richard Fischel, partner at Brighton Capital Advisors, joins Arren Goldman and James Sowka to share his perspective on loan modification trends, approaches and demands from servicers and sponsors compared to prior years, and strategies to alleviate the inherent risks involved.

When a borrower faces financial distress, a deed in lieu allows it a voluntary path to transfer ownership of the property in question back to the lender. Though this can help avoid the lengthy and expensive traditional foreclosure process, both borrowers and lenders should be aware of potential cons depending on the circumstances of the situation before proposing or agreeing to the arrangement.

In this episode, Ron Gart and Mitchell Kaplan join Dan Evans and Jay Wardlaw to discuss the basics of a deed in lieu in addition to benefits and pitfalls for both parties involved.

Across the US, retail tenants, landlords, and customers are grappling with the detrimental effects of organized retail theft, which involves groups of individuals stealing goods to finance criminal activities. As the issue continues to grow in both scale and complexity, property owners and retailers are seeking ways to protect the safety of customers and employees while minimizing profit losses.

In this episode, Alesha Shemwell and Carl Kleinknecht of Kemper Development Company join Brian Atherton and Eric Greenberg to discuss their experiences with organized retail theft, as well as technologies and resources that landlords and tenants can employ to help deter such crimes.

Foreign sovereigns frequently engage in real estate transactions in the United States, ranging from embassies and consulates leasing property for their offices to sovereign wealth funds investing in real estate. Owners of real estate might interact with foreign sovereigns for other reasons as well — for example, if your neighbor is an embassy or consulate, you may need to negotiate access during construction or repair work. Because foreign sovereigns are generally immune from lawsuits in the U.S., property owners negotiating leases and other contracts should be aware of certain key points regarding sovereign immunity.

In this episode, Owen Wolfe and Eddy Salcedo join James O’Brien to discuss the key points that property owners should keep in mind when dealing with foreign sovereigns.

View Owen and Eddy’s related blog post here: https://www.internationaldisputeresolutionlaw.com/2023/03/new-york-state-court-decision-provides-practice-guidance-for-sovereigns-and-landlords/