New Jersey Real Estate Lawyer Blog

Considered to be a bottom of the market deal, in July of 2008 the first two floors of 666 Fifth Avenue sold for $525 million to private equity firm Carlyle and Crown Acquisitions ("Crown"), as reported in the Wall Street Journal's article "Fifth Avenue Gem Is Back on Block." Carlyle and Crown have added value by buying out existing tenants with below market leases and re-leasing at higher market rents. Currently, 666 Fifth Avenue has an average rent of $2,500 per square foot.

Carlyle and Crown are now seeking to sell the first two floors for a price of between $600 million and $700 million. This will test New York City's decimated commercial real estate market. If they are able to obtain a 14% to 33% markup on their investment, the sale will signal that New York's commercial real estate market is on the rebound. It would also add between $18 million and $21 million to the city's coffers due to the 3% transfer tax.

Continue reading "New York's Premier Fifth Avenue Retail Property: Selling a Market Rebound" »

In our post "Brookfield Bids for General Growth Properties" we wrote about Brookfield Asset Management's ("Brookfield") $15 per share bid for General Growth Properties ("GGP"). In last week's Wall Street Journal Article "Simon Remakes Offer for Rival" it was reported that Simon Properties ("Simon") modified its initial takeover bid for GGP by using a similar model to Brookfield. Instead of attempting to merge two of the country's largest mall owners, Simon has decided to offer $6.5 billion, which includes a $1 billion commitment from hedge fund Paulson & Co., to finance GGP's exit from bankruptcy as a standalone entity. If Simon's bid is accepted, it would become one of GGP's largest shareholders. The revised deal structure is due to GGP's antitrust concerns over combining two of the largest domestic mall operators.

Continue reading "Simon Ups the Ante for General Growth Properties" »

Glenn Reiser writes, in his New Jersey Law Journal article "The Rights and Remedies Available to A Distressed New Jersey Homeowner," about a scenario in which a lender forecloses on a homeowner's property due to a default, but the sheriff's sale is halted while the homeowner files for a loan modification with his lender. Unfortunately, there is no communication between the lender, which includes the lender's loan servicing company and the attorney prosecuting the foreclosure action, and the borrower. The borrower's application for the loan modification is eventually declined, but the lender and its agents neglect to send the borrower actual notice of the adjourned sheriff's sale. What rights and remedies may the borrower employ if his property is purchased by a third party at the adjourned sheriff's sale?

New Jersey Court Rule 4:65-2 requires that (i) the party obtaining the order for the sale must serve the owner of the property with notice of the sale at least 10 days in advance of the sale by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested and (ii) notice of a sheriff's sale be posted by the sheriff in the sheriff's office and also on the property being sold. In addition New Jersey Court Rule 4:65-4, which deals with adjourned sales, provides "the sheriff, receiver or other person may continue such sale by public adjournment, subject to such limitations and restrictions as are provided specially therefor." One may infer from "public adjournment" that notice of the adjourned sale be given to interested parties.

Continue reading "New Jersey Homeowners' Foreclosure Remedies " »