Judicial Foreclosure

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ace-frehley-facing-foreclosure-20130226

Former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley is at risk of losing his home in Yorktown, New York after he allegedly quit paying his mortgage for nearly two years. The type of mortgage loan was not disclosed in the article, but it did state that Frehley owed $703,581.48 plus interest, late charges and other expenses on his $735,000 mortgage.

The foreclosure at hand is classified as a judicial foreclosure because the bank asked a court to order the sale of the home for the amount that Frehley owed. The outcome of the court-ordered sale has yet to be determined.

The cause of the missed payments in unclear. There is speculation that Frehley has succumbed to temptation of drugs, alcohol, and gambling that so many other Rock n' Roll legends have fallen victim to in the past. Whatever the reason, it looks like Ace Frehley will be losing his Yorktown home to a judicial foreclosure.

My Hometown

My hometown is Coppell, TX, which is a suburb of Dallas located near the DFW Airport. I lived there for 13 years before I left for College Station. Coppell began as an agricultural town, but grew to become a thriving upper-middle class suburban community due to the opening of DFW Airport in 1974. The population grew to about 35,000 by 2000 and has remained steady since. There is currently a new development underway, which should bring several thousand more people to the populaion.

Demographically, the population is overwhelmingly White, with 9.3% Asian and 3.3% African American. Hispanics made up close to 7% of the population as well. An interesting growth pattern in Coppell's demographics has been a noticeable increase in the Indian community within the last few years. Coppell schools' strong academic reputation and an increase in affordable housing have greatly contributed to this change. Much of Coppell's population consists of families and a relatively low number of residents above the age of 65.

According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $106,783, and the median income for a family was $119,229. Less than 2% of residents live below the poverty line. Coppell's close proximity to the airport boosts its economy, and many corporations have shipping and distribution facilities in Coppell. It is also home to the headquarters of CiCi's Pizza.

Coppell is a very family-oriented city that has strong ties to its many schools. A large portion of the community attends different high school sporting events, especially football games at Buddy Echols Field. There are many parks and recreation areas, such as Duck Pond Park, that are also popular among Coppell residents. One noticeable aspect of Coppell real estate is the uniformity in buildings and developments. Coppell's zoning and planning officials are notorious for being very stringent and tight-laced.

Buddy Echols Field

Coppell High School

Duck Pond Park

Guest Lecturers

Our guest speakers in class were Mr. Mike Gentry and Dr. Sam Harrison. Dr. Harrison is a part of the historic Harrison family, who have been staple-folds in the Bryan/College Station community for many generations. The topic of the discussion was the development of Dr. Harrison's land located just off of Highway 6. Mr. Gentry is Dr. Harrison's real estate lawyer and specializes in real estate law with West, Webb, Allbritton & Gentry, PC. Both speakers were from Texas A&M and remain as leaders in the community.

The speakers' main discussion was about the struggles and difficulties of developing Dr. Harrison's land. Dr. Harrison told us that the land had been in his family since his great grandfather won the land in poker match many decades ago. With a recent boom in development in the B/CS area, Dr. Harrison decided to start selling off parts of his land for development. Many of the complications with selling the land come early on in the process. Early on, the government requires a historical survey of land before the land can be developed. If any historical artifacts are found, you have to shut the project down to do a complete inventory. They must also do a soil sample. In this case, the soil sample revealed that spilled oil that leaked out when Exxon moved a pipeline on the property in 1918 remained in the soil. This forced Dr. Harrison to excavate a 20'x10'x6' parcel of soil to send to Austin for more testing. Another large portion of the discussion dealt with zoning and how different zoning rules can save you money on taxes. Mr. Gentry spoke about a Tax Incremental Reinvestment Zone, in which you issues bonds to pay for the cost of buildings and roads, and the increase in tax revenue in the TIRZ zone from the development will pay off the bonds. The discussion also included easements, surface rights, and mineral rights.

Probably the most interesting thing about the lecture was the fact that Dr. Harrison's family acquired the land at hand in a poker game. It was probably a more common occurrence at the time,  but in today's world, it just seems like such an informal and crazy way to pass off ownership of property.

Public Restrictions on Real Estate

In my previous blog post, I discussed private restrictions on real estate. For this post, the topic will be public restrictions on real estate. The difference between the two types of restrictions on ownership is that public restrictions come from government. There are four types of public restrictions: taxation, eminent domain, police power, and escheat. Governments use an ad valorem tax, which is a tax levied as a percentage of the value of the property. Eminent domain refers to when a government can acquire property for public use as long as they provide just compensation, which can lead to differences in what is considered "just." Police powers enable governments to have the power of regulation in order to protect the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare. Lastly, escheat occurs when the government takes over a property after the death of the landowner if that landowner does not specify someone to pass the estate down to or if he or she does not have any heirs.

http://manchester.patch.com/articles/town-wins-eminent-domain-case-over-manchester-country-club-12th-tee

The article above talks about a town using eminent domain to acquire land for a country club golf course. The Manchester Country Club of Bedford, New Hampshire recently added a 1.29 acre piece of land to its property to serve as the 12th tee of its golf course. The former property owners felt that the $52,000 that they received for the land from the city did not satisfy as just compensation, but a Superior Court judge ruled that the amount was correct based off of a "more credible" appraisal by the town's appraiser than the private appraiser.

Private Restrictions on Real Estate

In real estate, there are certain restrictions or limitations that can be imposed on a piece of real estate that are  referred to as encumberances. Some examples of encumberances include covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs), liens, and easements, just to name a few. CC&Rs limit the way a property owner can use a property. For example, there may be a restriction that a fence can only reach a certain height within a neighborhood. Liens are claims on property as either security for a a debt or fulfillment of some monetary charge or obligation. An example of a lien is a mortgage on a property in order to borrow money. Lastly, easements are rights given to one party by a landowner to use the land in a specific way. Easements come in two different types, easement in appurtenance and easement in gross, and can be created in multiple ways. Other types of private restrictions include profit a pendre, encroachment, and adverse possession.

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/county/article_c5d54bee-7b11-11e2-8b78-001a4bcf887a.html

The article in the link above addresses a conservation easement that was recently approved  to pursue by the Gallatin County commissioners. A conservation easement is a specific type of "negative" easement that prevents specific uses of the real estate by the owner. The real estate at hand in this article is referred to as "Section 35." Peter Brown, the Galllatin Valley Land Trust stewardship manager stated "Located where three springs merge to form Camp Creek, the property is prime agricultural land with 12 acres of riparian habitat. It hosts wildlife and was a favored Native American campsite, as indicated by fire rings and other artifacts found there." The property also features a "primitive cabin standing on a scenic ridge."

If the conservation easement is granted, it will keep future landowners and developers from using the land for other uses detrimental to the preservation of the land. The easement would also reduce the appraised value of the land from $1.66 million to $1.08 million, but that appears to be a cost that the owners are willing to give up to ensure to safety and serenity of the surrounding habitat.