Banks own and operate a surprising amount of real estate for their branches and offices. There were over 77,500 bank branches in America as of the end of 2023. By comparison, McDonalds has about 13,000 stores in the US. That’s a lot of property, and it comes with a lot of legal considerations.
Continue Reading 3 Real Estate Issues Facing All Bank Branches

A seemingly small win for birds could potentially have big implications for builders. A recent court of appeals decision may impact commercial buildings and construction.
Continue Reading Local Governance Expand Influence over Commercial Building

Developer beware! In Wisconsin, assessors may use an “anticipated” vacancy in making assessments.
Continue Reading Assessors Allowed to Use “Anticipated” Vacancy in Making Assessments

The City of Milwaukee (and various other municipalities) has sent its Biennial Property Tax Exemption Report and Filing Fee Notices. Owners of tax-exempt real property in Wisconsin must file a Form PC-220 Tax Exemption Report (the “Report”) by March 31, 2024, to ensure their property is properly classified and continues to be recognized as tax-exempt. The Report must be filed with the clerk of the town, village, or city in which the property is located biennially of each even…
Continue Reading Wisconsin Real Estate Property Taxes: Biennial Exemption Report Filing
Deadline – March 31, 2024

On February 7, 2024 FinCEN issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that FinCEN issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would require certain professionals involved in real estate closings and settlements to report information to FinCEN about non-financed transfers of residential real estate to legal entities or trusts. FinCEN’s proposal targets residential real estate transfers considered high-risk for money laundering.
Continue Reading Enhancing Transparency in Real Estate: FinCEN's New Reporting Requirements
for Non-Financed Transfers

On October 10, 2023, the Indiana Supreme Court denied a landowner’s petition to transfer filed  in the matter of State of Indiana v. The Market Place at State Road 37, LLC, et al., 22A-PL-2765 (May 17, 2023), and as a result, did not consider certain novel issues presented by the owner’s chain of title. The Market Place at State Road 37, which owns property near the intersection of State Road 37, now I-69, and Fairview Road in Greenwood, Indiana,…
Continue Reading Nearby Road Closures Remain Non-Compensable in Indiana Eminent Domain
Proceedings

As digital currency grows in use and acceptability, digital currency has entered into many traditional investment markets. Commercial real estate is no exception. The conversion of real estate assets to digital tokens using blockchain technology (“tokenization”) is continuing to grow, with a market size of approximately $200 million, real estate tokens account for nearly 40% of the digital securities market.
Continue Reading Will the Proposed IRS Regulations Hinder the Growth of Tokenization in Real
Estate?