An important decision came out on December 23, 2014 regarding the right of first refusal—the requirement that a property owner, if and when he is offered to sell his property to a third party, must first present that offer to the party who previously entered into a contract which gave that party the right to purchase the property before others. The right of first refusal is easy to understand if we use a basic example. Let’s say Allison wanted to sell her real estate to Bobby but Carrie had a written right of first refusal for the property in question. Allison would first get an offer from Bobby and then, offer that to Carrie. If Carrie accepts the terms set by Bobby, she can purchase the property. If not, Bobby has a deal to buy the property.

Here, in the case, Centech LLC v. Yippie Holdings LLC, the issue was whether a party who had a right of first refusal could exercise it based upon a foreclosure sale. The Court found that the right of first refusal was not applicable in the foreclosure sale because the language of the right of first refusal did not clearly provide for a foreclosure sale as a trigger to the right of first refusal.

The takeaway is that when you have a right of first refusal, make sure that it clearly sets forth the trigger to our ability to exercise your right. Vagueness can prevent you from having a right that you otherwise believe to be yours. 

Crowdfunding, a way of funding a project from a large number of individual contributions, has become very popular in the commercial real estate world as a result of the JOBS Act of 2012, which eased securities regulations to give small businesses better access to funding. For example, Fundrise, a leading crowdfunding website, allows individuals to invest in commercial real estate projects, such as hotel or restaurant construction, for a low amount of money, opening up investment opportunities to everyone and not just wealthy accredited investors.

Now that crowdfunding is on the rise, it is important that everyone who is looking to invest in a project knows that they are entitled to certain disclosures under law. Rule 506(b) of Regulation D under the Securities Act is a new rule as of 2013 which established specific requirements to determine whether or not a transaction or project is exempt from Securities Act registration. When securities (i.e. investments) are registered, they provide important disclosure information to investors, such as a description of the company’s properties/businesses, a description of the securities, the company’s management information, and the company’s financials. Under Rule 506(b), some companies do not need to register their securities if they do not advertise their securities to the general public and do not sell the securities to more than 35 non-accredited investors. Therefore, it should be noted that if companies on Fundrise want certain transactions or projects exempt from registration, they must be careful not to sell securities to more than 35 non-accredited investors. However, these companies, despite being exempt from registration, must still give the same important disclosure documents and financial information to non-accredited investors and must answer questions from non-accredited investors. This rule is in place to protect individuals, who are not as knowledgeable or savvy as accredited investors, from being victims of fraud or misrepresentation.

If you are thinking of investing in a real estate project in the near future, remember that you are entitled under law to certain disclosures about the project and company in question. Regardless of any exemption, this information must be given to you as long as you are a non-accredited investor.

Click here if you would like to know the top 60 real estate crowdfunding platforms.

The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act (MFDRA) was extended through 2014 by the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 on December 19, 2014.

Homeowners who were forgiven debt a/k/a “cancellation of debt income” (difference between the total amount of the mortgage still owed at closing and the sale price or fair market value of the property) resulting from a short sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure or foreclosure sale, will have the forgiven debt excluded from their taxable income for transactions completed through 12/31/2014. 

             
The MDFA previously expired on December 31, 2013.

So, for those who lost a home to foreclosure or a short sale in 2014, you will receive a nice holiday tax break when you file your taxes in the new year.