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FCC Ban Gets Bad Reception
May 1, 2008
Less than two months after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) pulled the plug on exclusive contracts between property owners or developers and...
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1031s Under Scrutiny
Mar 1, 2008
If you're alarmed by newspaper headlines announcing that the Internal Revenue Service plans to tighten the rules on 1031 tax-deferred exchanges and audit...
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Battle Ends Over Terrorism Insurance
Jan 1, 2008
The U.S. House and Senate spent the last month of 2007 trying to show each other who's the boss of terrorism risk insurance legislation. The Senate won...
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Tax Witch Hunt Against Private Equity?
Sep 1, 2007
Keep your eyes on the Congressional proposal to increase taxes on partnerships commonly used by private-equity and hedge-fund firms. Legislators are positioning...
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SOX Auditing Rules Eased
Jul 1, 2007
REITs may find complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) easier since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission voted unanimously May 23 to ease some of its more restrictive requirements....
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Mold Issue Under the Microscope
Mar 1, 2007
Two events have put the issue of mold right back in the spotlight again. The first was the January publication of an article calling into question two scientific studies heavily relied on by defendants in mold cases. The second is the expected introduction of new mold legislation in Congress....
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Voters Trump Court on Eminent Domain
Jan 1, 2007
The November elections shook Washington, D.C. because they caused the first power shift in more than a decade. Less noticed but equally seismic was the fact that voters in state after state rejected laissez-faire federal rules on the use of government power to seize private property for development....
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Living With Sarbanes-Oxley
Nov 1, 2006
Since the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was signed into law in 2002, publicly traded companies, including REITs, have had to adjust to tougher reporting requirements....
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HUD Raises Hackles on the Hill
Sep 1, 2006
New rules slated to take effect on Oct. 1 will effectively reduce borrowers' leverage on most multifamily and health care loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration....
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Finding the Middle Ground
Jun 1, 2006
A construction industry already struggling with rising materials costs could lose as much as 11% of its workforce under immigration legislation currently...
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Louisiana Purchase Stuck in Maelstrom
Mar 1, 2006
A plan to bail out property owners in flood-ravaged sections of Louisiana has drawn fire from the White House, but the bill's proponents continue to seek...
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Capital Hill Rallies To Extend TRIA
Dec 1, 2005
A week after suicide bombers killed 57 people at U.S.-branded hotels in Amman, Jordan on Nov. 9, leaders in both the House and Senate introduced legislation...
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Sarbanes-Oxley Alters the Playing Field
Oct 1, 2005
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, signed into law in 2002 in response to a wave of corporate scandals, has stirred considerable public debate. Many in the business...
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Reforming Fannie and Freddie
Jun 1, 2005
Given the accounting scandals at both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, it's no great shock that the two companies are bracing for increased regulatory oversight....
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Who Will Bear the Risk of Terror?
Apr 1, 2005
Insurance policyholders in 47 states are in jeopardy of losing coverage on terrorism-related losses after Dec. 31 of this year. That's because insurance...
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Why the Basel II Accord Is Worrisome
Jun 1, 2004
In 1988, the Group of Ten (G-10), an international consortium of senior officials from central banks and regulatory agencies, agreed to a voluntary framework...
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Turning Up the Pressure
Feb 1, 2004
The Safe Drinking Water Act, passed in 1974, stated that anyone selling water was subject to the Act's water quality requirements. Until December 2003,...
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The Benefits of Bonus Depreciation
Oct 1, 2003
Bonus depreciation for the cost of tenant improvements just keeps getting better. First came the federal economic stimulus package in 2002 that contained...
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Rooting Out Money Laundering
Aug 1, 2003
Imagine this scenario: You are in the business of seeking investors in real estate transactions. You realize that one of the investors has arranged to...
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Homeland Security For D.C. Office Market
Apr 1, 2003
With net absorption down and vacancy rates up for the second consecutive year, 2002 was tense for many owners and investors in the Washington, D.C., office...
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A Much-Needed Morale Boost
Feb 1, 2003
For more than a year, the National Association of Office and Industrial Properties (NAIOP) and other organizations representing commercial real estate...
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