Blog

  2011 was marked by a global wave of civil unrest. The fact that social media   played such an important  role has prompted many  government  agencies and  businesses to step up their monitoring of  Twitter and other social  networks. These actions confirm the widening power of social media as   an accelerator of social and business change. Commercial property industry leaders increasingly recognized that social media immediately amplifies negative buzz about their brands and reputations, and can have an impact on positive imaging and sales if used effectively. Many leaders, like CBRE and GE Capital Real Estate, asked us to start monitoring…

2011 stood out as a year when government and business organizations explored their shared goals on sustainability and realized that public-private partnerships and collaborative initiatives are frequently the most effective way to foster sustainable development. Many of these joint efforts will start to bear fruit in 2012. One example: The launch of the Better Buildings Challenge in December. The public-private partnership component of President Obama’s Better Buildings Initiative, the Challenge is designed to spur private-sector investment in energy efficiency to reduce the cost of energy to business by $40 billion annually and create some 300,000 jobs. Sixty leading companies and…

A recent Utah Supreme Court decision may influence taxes throughout the country by clarifying whether goodwill is a component of taxable real estate value. Most states exclude intangible property from taxation, so identifying intangible components of a business can significantly reduce property tax liability. In T-Mobile vs.Utah State Tax Commission, the Court declared that accounting goodwill is intangible property and not subject to property tax. The Court defined goodwill as “a business’ reputation, patronage, and other intangible assets that are considered when appraising the business.” The taxing jurisdictions argued that “accounting goodwill is not intangible property but rather taxable tangible…

The USC Lusk Center’s Richard Green blogs about what global real estate investors are looking for in the countries where they choose to invest.

Peter Boritz of Real Data Management offers a video briefing on the latest real estate-friendly apps for tablets, especially iPads.  

Property taxes represent the largest operating cost for most real estate portfolio owners. By combining powerful technology with a solid data management plan, that pesky annual tax bill can likely be cut, adding dollar-for-dollar to the bottom line.  Successful property tax appeals depend on facts. Not only are facts about the property important, but data pertaining to competing properties, equality of appraisal, intangible components, market trends and macroeconomic forces play a vital role in obtaining meaningful tax savings. Gathering information about your own property is easy. Rent rolls, income statements and deferred maintenance lists are readily available. Unfortunately, this is…

There are essentially four elements in developing a strategy to minimize property taxes: The law, dates and timing, risk and reward, and a professional team. As in many aspects of real estate, there are practical considerations and then there are details to be addressed by specialists. Here are some points to consider in your strategy development: 1. The law that governs property taxation can vary greatly among states, and practical knowledge of tax law is not confined to simply how frequently jurisdictions reassess, but also to how, and what, is being taxed? In certain states, for instance, property is assessed…

By James DuMars As the commercial mortgage banking market has been discussing for the last few months, CMBS as a debt vehicle is essential to the functioning of our real estate capital markets. However, it is important to grasp how vastly different CMBS is from a portfolio loan at a life insurance company. When it comes to the choice between the calm life company environment and CMBS, there is just no comparison. For example, during the period when spreads were blowing out, one of my clients locked rate on a 50% LTV for a grocery anchored retail center with a…