Category: Articles, Appraisals / Valuations, Architecture, Business & Commerce, Intellectual Property, Real Estate, Resources for Attorneys, Resources for Experts Analyzing Architectural Designs for Copyright Disputes TASA ID: 10524 IntroductionThere’s nothing simple about architectural copyright litigation. Activity generated from The Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act of 1990 continues to increase. The law continues to develop, but factual realities, though seemingly obvious, are often complex and difficult to compare What is an architectural work? It is a building design embodied in any tangible medium of expression, including a building itself, architectural plans, or drawings. Overall form is copyrightable. Exterior and interior spatial arrangements and elements of these arrangements are copyrightable. Individual standard features are not copyrightable. These presuppositions raise further questions. Read more
Category: Articles, Appraisals / Valuations, Business & Commerce, Real Estate, Resources for Attorneys, Resources for Experts Dissecting a Commercial Appraisal Report TASA ID: 1813 There are two styles of written appraisal reports: narrative and form (U.R.A.R.). This article only deals with narrative reports. While your focus is on proving that a bad appraisal caused or impacted a damages claim - and not on violations of The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (U.S.P.A.P.), due to a recent major change - you need a brief understanding of U.S.P.A.P. prior to January 1, 2016, where there were three types of written appraisal reports and now there are only two. Read more
Category: Real Estate Fraud and Litigation Involving Real Estate Closings, Closing Protection Letters, and Title Insurance Industry Standard Practices and Procedures TASA ID: 322 In the mortgage origination frenzy of the last few years, many problems occurred in the closing of loans that never should have been closed. The mortgage banking and mortgage lending industries rely upon the expertise of title insurance companies to make sure that mortgage loan closings are carried out properly... Read more
Category: Real Estate Sales and Listing Market Trends in San Diego TASA ID: 3250 On the local front, the underlying fundamentals for a strong housing (price) recovery have been in progress for the last 15-18 months. The pricing and velocity of home sales from the sell side most strongly relate to the simple economic equilibrium of supply and demand. The second variable that is of great importance is the employment situation. Fortunately, this is an area where San Diego is well ahead of the curve. Read more
Category: Real Estate Mortgage Rate Correlations and Direction TASA ID: 3250 When mortgage rates dropped into the sub-7.0% territory in 2000, pundits gasped at this temporary anomaly. Ten years later, it is apparent that the residential lending rates have changed to a more stabilized lower rate. Read more
