CRE Insider Blog

Welcome to the CRE Insider Blog, a source of info and insights from First American’s leading real estate experts.

Recent Posts by Mike Berey

Senior Underwriting Counsel First American Title Insurance Company; formerly Chief Underwriting Counsel (New York) and Senior Vice-President, First American Title Insurance Company; Fellow, American College of Mortgage Attorneys; Member, American College of Real Estate Lawyers; Member, Executive Committees of NYSBA’s Real Property Law Section (2000 – 2014) and the New York State Land Title Association; Chairperson, Task Force on Electronic Recording and Webmaster, NYSBA Real Property Law Section (2000-2014); Chairperson, Law Committee (2010-2013) and President (August 2013 – September 2014) New York State Land Title Association; Recipient of NYSBA Real Property Law Section’s 2014 Professionalism Award. Boston College Law School, 1976. Frequent lecturer on mortgage recording tax, transfer taxes, transferrable development rights and New York’s Lien Law. Author of “Current Developments”, a summary of real property-related cases and legislation for New York, since 1997. Author of numerous articles including, most recently, “ Step Transaction Doctrine Applied to New York City Transfer Tax”, New York Law Journal (“NYLJ”) June 9, 2015; “A Primer on New York’s Mortgage Recording Tax”, N.Y. Real Property Law Journal (“RPLJ”) Spring/Summer 2015; “New York’s Court of Appeals Rules on the Lien Law”, NYLJ August 6, 2013; and “New York’s Mortgage Tax Partially Securing Multiple Obligations”, RPLJ Spring/Summer 2013. Current Developments and articles are posted at www.firstamny.com.
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Failure to Disclose a Property Condition May State a Cause of Action for Fraud

By Mike Berey on September 4, 2019
The Defendants-Sellers had completed a mold remediation project in the pool wing of the house prior to entering into a contract of sale with the Plaintiffs. Under the contract, the property was sold “as is”, no express representations as to the condition ...
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Topics: Fraud Mortgage Lending

UCC Sale in the Enforcement of a Mezzanine Loan May Not be Unwound

By Mike Berey on August 21, 2019
The Plaintiff sought a ruling that the sale of equity interests in eleven commercial properties, which interests were pledged as collateral for a mezzanine loan, was commercially unreasonable because the auction sale was not conducted in a commercially ...
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Topics: Commercial Real Estate UCC mezzanine loan

A Deficiency Judgment Cannot be Had When the Mortgagee Failed to Foreclose on Additional Parcel

By Mike Berey on July 17, 2019
In the foreclosure of mortgages encumbering two parcels, the Plaintiff moved for a judgment of foreclosure and sale for one property, representing that it would seek reformation of an erroneous legal description in the mortgages of the other parcel. If ...
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A Combined Zoning Lot in NYC Cannot Include a Partial Tax Lot

By Mike Berey on June 26, 2019
A “zoning lot” is defined in Section 12-10(d) of the Zoning Resolution (“ZR”) of the City of New York, in relevant part, as “a tract of land, either unsubdivided or consisting of two or more lots of record contiguous for a minimum of ten linear feet, ...
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Topics: zoning

Religious Corporations Not Authorized to Mortgage

By Mike Berey on June 12, 2019
A church in East Harlem filed a petition seeking court approval for a mortgage on its house of worship, which was its sole asset, under Not-for-Profit Corporation Law Sections 510 (“Disposition of all or substantially all assets”) and 511 (“Petition for ...
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Topics: Mortgages New York Mortgage Tax

No Common Law Easement for Light and Air in New York

By Mike Berey on June 5, 2019
The Plaintiff owned two adjoining units on the 16th floor of the Essex House Condominium. The Defendant owned two units on the 15th floor, directly below the Plaintiff’s units. The Board of Directors of the Condominium, also a Defendant, authorized the ...
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