Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Good news from Supreme Court for NYC renters - rent control stays in place

A lawsuit filed by property owner in New York City went against them at the US Supreme Court. The issue, whether NYC's rent stabilization law requiring landlords to accept rents that are below market value is an unconstitutional taking of property prohibited by the 5th Amendment to the Constitution. The court said it was not. As reported by the New York Times,
Tenants in nearly a million apartments subject to New York City’s rent regulations could breathe a sigh of relief on Monday. The United States Supreme Court, after indicating it might be interested in hearing a challenge to the regulations, decided to let them stand. As is customary when the court declines to hear a case, the justices gave no reasons. There were no published dissents. Perhaps one in a hundred petitions seeking review by the court is granted, meaning that the decision not to hear the case sent no larger message.
The suit did not directly challenge the rent control law, an older system that applies to far fewer tenants. The Harmons said that requiring them to accept below-market rents amounted to an unconstitutional taking of their property.
“We still believe that the Constitution does not allow the government to force us to take strangers into our home at our expense for life,” Mr. Harmon said in a statement issued after the court turned down the case on Monday. “Even our grandchildren have been barred from living with us. That is not our America.”
Obviously, New York City and State officials were delighted with the outcome. Renters vote, too, you know.

Read the full article here.

For your next title order or
if you have questions about what you see here, contact
Stephen M. Flatow, Esq.
Stephen's Title Agency, LLC
165 Passaic Avenue, Suite 101
Fairfield, NJ 07004
Tel 973-227-4724 - Fax 973-556-1628
E-mail Stephenstitle AT comcast.net - www.stephenstitle.com

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Good advice about partner's bankruptcy

Bankrate.com's bankruptcy adviser has a timely article on the effect of your partner's bankruptcy.

Dear Bankruptcy Adviser,
I am going to marry someone who has filed bankruptcy. He gave up his house as part of the bankruptcy and came to live with me. His bankruptcy has since been discharged. My house is all paid for, and I have no debts other than a car loan, which I can easily cover. I have an excellent credit rating and have never gotten into difficulties financially. Will there be any problems for me once we are married?
Excellent question, I think.  Here's more,
It's smart to be concerned that your positive financial credit history could be affected by his negative one. I would suggest not putting him on any of your accounts for the foreseeable future. You might want to open up a joint checking account, but try to keep your finances separate until he has recovered his credit rating.
At the end of the day, the goal is to rehabilitate your partner's credit without dragging you down into the muck an mire.

Read more: Make Sure Fiances Bankruptcy Wont Affect You

For your next title order or
if you have questions about what you see here, contact
Stephen M. Flatow, Esq.
Stephen's Title Agency, LLC
165 Passaic Avenue, Suite 101
Fairfield, NJ 07004
Tel 973-227-4724 - Fax 973-556-1628
E-mail Stephenstitle AT comcast.net - www.stephenstitle.com