Podcast | Real Estate Tips: Business Planning

If you missed our radio show "Real Estate Investing with Andrew Lieb" on Sunday 3/1/20 on FM 103.9 from 12pm to 1pm, we share tips on how to write a business plan and open the door to invest in income producing property.

Listen to the podcast here

Top 5 Labor and Employment Laws of 2019

Mordy Yankovich, Esq. shares the top 5 employment laws that will have an impact in the workplace in 2020.

Read the full article published in The Suffolk Lawyer here. 

Top 10 Real Estate Laws of 2019

Andrew Lieb published the Top 10 Real Estate Laws of 2019 in the Suffolk Lawyer. Read the full article here. 

Why do banks care about your flood insurance?

Citibank recently paid $17,998,510.00 pursuant to a consent order for failing to place floord "insurance in a timely manner on residential Designated Loans and engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of the Flood Act and its implementing regulations, including 12 C.F.R. § 22.7(a)".

That's almost eighteen million reasons to care.

Real Estate Investing with Andrew Lieb - Guest Interview Opportunity

Recent Legal Matters CE Course & DOS Guidance on Paying Landlord's Agents

Last night, 2/6/2020, we were thrilled to have a packed house attending our new CE - Recent Legal Matters.

While not specifically a course topic, the DOS Guidance's Additional FAQs (updated: 1/31/2020) was brought up by students. Specifically, students inquired about FAQ #5:

5. CAN A LANDLORD’S AGENT COLLECT A “BROKER FEE” FROM THE PROSPECTIVE TENANT? No, a landlord’s agent cannot be compensated by the prospective tenant for bringing about the meeting of the minds. NY RPL § 238-a(1)(a) provides, in part, “no landlord, lessor, sub-lessor or grantor may demand any payment, fee, or charge for the processing, review or acceptance of an application, or demand any other payment, fee or charge before or at the beginning of the tenancy, except background checks and credit checks….” The fee to bring about the meeting of the minds would be a “payment, fee or charge before or at the beginning of the tenancy” other than a background or credit check as provided in this section. Accordingly, a landlord’s agent that collects a fee for bringing about the meeting of the minds between the landlord and tenant (i.e., the broker fee) from the tenant can be subject to discipline. 

What good timing for this to come up because our course materials included an explanation of the requirements for an agency (DOS) to issue a regulation, which were not undertaken with respect to this Guidance. As such, the Guidance is NOT law, but, instead an agency's interpretation of law. With respect to the Guidance constituting an interpretation rather than law, we explained how and when an agency's interpretation is given deference by the courts who are the co-equal branch of government with the constitutional authority to be the final voice on interpreting statutes (laws). Incident thereto, we shared the following quotes from case law with our students:

It is well settled that “[a]n agency's interpretation of its own regulation ‘is entitled to deference if that interpretation is not irrational or unreasonable’” &

“the question is one of pure statutory reading and analysis, dependent only on accurate apprehension of legislative intent, there is little basis to rely on any special competence or expertise of the  administrative agency and its interpretive regulations... And, of course, if the regulation runs counter to the clear wording of a statutory provision, it should not be accorded any weight.”

Oh, do we expect a legal battle on this issue. Stay tuned. It's going to get entertaining fast.