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The Paley Rothman Blog

Paley Rothman shares this library of resources with clients and friends of the firm to help them stay ahead of legal and business developments and trends. Here, you will find helpful tips and tools written by our attorneys. The information in the blogs and articles is not a substitute for legal advice and should not be relied on as such. Should you have any questions or want legal advice, please contact the attorney who wrote the blog or article.

Real Estate

Lawsuit Over Second-Hand Smoke Goes “Up in Smoke”

CIGARETTE SMOKERS — REJOICE! This past summer you may have found a new friend in the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. In July, 2013, the court may have introduced a breath of fresh air into the nicotine stained and smoke filled rooms of private homes all over the State. Schuman v. Greenbelt Homes, Inc., 212 Md. App. 451 (2013). Here’s what happened.

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Real Estate

Recordation Exemptions for Commercial Refinancings

Several recent changes to Maryland’s recordation tax exemption law (§12-108 of the Tax-Property Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland), which took effect on July 1, 2013, should result in lower transactional costs in conjunction with the refinancing of commercial loans secured by a mortgage or deed of trust (for convenience, both will be referred to as “deed of trust”) on commercial property.

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Real Estate

What Tenants Can Expect if Landlord is Selling

If your landlord intends to sell or refinance the building in which you lease space, you will most likely first hear about it when you receive a letter requesting that you sign and deliver what’s called an Estoppel Certificate to the landlord, the prospective purchaser and/or the proposed new lender (either for a refinancing of a loan by the landlord or for a new loan to the prospective purchaser).

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Real Estate

Maryland IDOT Exemption Limited by Senate Bill 1302

During a Special Session held May 14-16 of this year, the Maryland General Assembly passed the State and Local Revenue and Financing Act of 2012 (Senate Bill 1302), which limits application of the Maryland IDOT Exemption (Tax Property, §12-105) to Indemnity Deeds of Trust (referred to in the Bill as Indemnity Mortgages) securing less than $1,000,000.

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