The Illinois Business Law Journal

Zoning and Regulation of Detroit’s Adult Entertainment Businesses: Has it gone too far?

I.  Background

Detroit has been working hard to revive the city and bring residential growth to the downtown area. [1] Millions of dollars have gone into renovating historic buildings, creating new public transportation, reviving the riverfront and building residential lofts in the Central Business District area. [2] Detroit wants to prove that, “the growing population can support and sustain retail and grocery development,” for its current and future residents. [3] New casinos and stadiums have also enhanced the city’s cultural atmosphere while attracting a wave of young professionals. [4] Issues will arise, however, when the city tries to achieve this vision of a “better Detroit” by imposing ordinances and regulations on businesses that it deems problematic to their ideal. In particular, the city of Detroit has targeted the adult entertainment business as an industry they would like to see zoned out.

Following the LEEDer: What Attorneys Should Know About Green Building

Green building is gaining momentum as a construction trend with widespread benefits, from environmental efficiency and resource conservation to human health and lifestyle improvement.  Several government entities have reacted to the green building movement, creating national and local standards and monetary incentives for developers to create green buildings.  In representing developers and others associated with green building, attorneys should consider how to contractually plan for risks that may not otherwise arise in ordinary development projects.

Homeowners’ Associations & Their Limitations on Free Speech

I. Introduction

Free speech is a right guaranteed by the First Amendment, but is it possible to give up this right if you move into a neighborhood governed by a homeowners’ association? The New Jersey Supreme Court had to decide this issue when a group of residents subject to the rules of their homeowners’ association were restricted from posting signs on their lawns or the common areas of the community. [1] Although the ruling is limited to application in New Jersey, homeowners’ associations everywhere were watching the case closely to see whether it would have an impact on how their state dealt with such constitutional challenges to their rules and regulations. [2] This article will explore the outcome of the New Jersey case as well as its implications on homeowners’ associations elsewhere.

Have Brokers been Blowing the Housing Bubble?: Improper Ties between Brokers and Appraisers

I. Introduction

     Amidst all the recent talk of a housing bubble,[1] allegations have been leveled that mortgage providers have been encouraging the overvaluation of homes. The charge is that lenders have coerced appraisers to overprice properties in order to justify larger loans and correspondently larger profits. Such sharp practices put borrowers, and the market as a whole, in obvious danger. This article will explore a recent example of such practices and the implications which they could have on the individual consumers and the economy as a whole.

Illinois’ Right to Possess Statute Aims to Protect Tenants from Landlord Foreclosure

With real estate foreclosures at near record levels, more and more renters are forced to move prematurely because their landlords are unable to stay out of foreclosure. Foreclosed rental properties are quite common.  For example, 44% of the repossessed properties sold in California last August were not owner-occupied. [1] After foreclosure, banks are not contractually obligated to let tenants occupy the premises and in most cases, tenants receive very little notice of the need to vacate. [2]  In response, the Illinois legislature recently passed a law limiting a bank’s ability to force a tenant out after the property has been foreclosed. [3]

The Trade-off: Land for Fewer Dropped Calls

With 171 million wireless subscribers in the United States, it is no surprise that the number of cellular phone transmission towers grew from 22,663 in 1995 to 104,288 in 2000. [1] These towers range from fifteen to twenty stories tall, and can make quite a statement when added to a city block or neighborhood park. [2] Residents of cities all across America have protested the planting of these unsightly towers in their neighborhoods, but the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association has reported that "dead spots and dropped calls can be eliminated only by new cell sites." [3] Faced with that reality, we are forced to decide which is the lesser of two evils: dropped calls or backyard barbeques next to a cell phone tower.

Alternative Methods of Real Estate Investment

I. Introduction

     The traditional real estate investment strategy of “flipping” properties, while potentially quite lucrative, has several shortcomings, especially for small-scale investors.[1] Alternative models that allow for investment in portions of a property may offer more flexibility to investors.[2] A particually interesting alternative could be the option to invest in an occupant’s debt through an equity re-sale agreement would offer further flexibility to investors preferring steady returns to potential sporadic payoffs.[3]

Congressional Proposals to Fix the Subprime Mortgage Mess are a Bad Idea

The recent subprime mortgage crisis has put pressure on Congress to act to bail out troubled lenders and borrowers. The American housing market continues to struggle. According to the National Association of Realtors, sales of existing homes fell by 4.3% in August and the stock of unsold single-family homes rose to the highest number since 1989. [1] More and more homeowners cannot keep up with their mortgage payments, and Congress feels that it needs to act to avoid looking disinterested and out of touch.   There is bipartisan support for several proposals, including giving Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae a greater role in the mortgage market. [2] These proposals are a bad idea. They are misguided and could further damage the long-term housing market.

Casper the Lonely Ghost: Buyers Don’t Want Haunted Houses

As intriguing as haunted houses are, they are not an easy sell.  Whether you believe in ghosts or not, this is the scary truth: if a home has had a murder, suicide, or illness take place in it, it is “psychologically impacted” and carries a supernatural stigma.  [1]  This fact alone may keep buyers away more than any of its physical characteristics.  [2]  According to a study done by professors at Wright State University, psychologically impacted houses take 50% longer to sell than homes with comparable features.  [3]  On top of that, they price at an average of 2.4% less than those that do not come with a supernatural tenant.  [4] And since apparitions are not always readily apparent to the prospective buyer, sellers with stigmatized property are faced with the temptation to keep their ghosts a secret.  Legally though, it may not be in their best interests to do so.

Navigating the Chinese Real Estate Market

I. Introduction

In comparison to the sagging US real estate market struck by the subprime mortgage crisis, the Chinese real estate market has become more appealing to investors. Different from the late1990s, when foreign investment almost exclusively flew from East Asia, the source of capital has become much more diversified. In particular, some U.S. financial institutions have started navigating the Chinese real estate market.