New York magazine has a lengthy story on the largest real estate deal deal in US history: The $5.4 Billion sale of MetLife’s interest in the Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village residential complex. The complex is enormous: 80 acres of land on Manhattan’s East Side, 25,000 residents, 110 buildings, over 11,000 units, 2,260 enclosed…

In a Bloomberg story By Hui-yong Yu, REITs in U.S. Consider Paying Dividends in Stock to Save Cash, many publicly traded REITs may take advantage of a IRS ruling allowing them to pay dividends instead of cash.On December 10, 2008 the Internal Revenue Service issued Revenue Procedure 2008-68 announcing that the IRS will treat…

On January 14, the SEC issued a no-action letter to OMNI Brokerage, Inc., Argus Realty Investors, L.P., and PASSCO Companies, LLC regarding their tenant in common interest program. The SEC said no to the “no action.””Based on the facts presented, the Division disagrees with your view that the proposed offer and sale of undivided tenant…

Standard & Poor’s announced that Health Care REIT Inc. (NYSE:HCN) will replace Sovereign Bancorp Inc.(NYSE:SOV) in the S&P 500. Standard & Poor’s Announces Changes to U.S. Indices [.pdf] Sovereign is being acquired by Banco Santander SA, leaving a vacancy in the index.Health Care REIT, Inc. is an equity real estate investment trust that invests…

According to the Wall Street Journal, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York has filed a forfeiture proceeding against 650 Fifth Avenue in New York.In its press release: United States files civil forfeiture action against ASSA corporation’s interest in Manhattan office tower (.pdf), the DOJ claims that a 40% interest in…

The New York Daily News tried to show that it is easy to “steal” property by filing fake deeds. The story is rather foolish, but if you want to read it: It took 90 minutes for Daily News to ‘steal’ the Empire State Building.The reporters think that by filing a forged deed, they somehow…

Sutherland published a timely legal alert on what a landlord can do with a tenant allowance and tenant build-out obligations when a tenant goes bankrupt: Obtaining Relief From Tenant Allowance and Build-Out Obligations When a Tenant Files for Bankruptcy.The alert points out that lease provisions that allow the landlord to stop completion or funding…