Buyers look to 40-year-old federal law to revoke contracts
March 16, 2009
Robert M. "Bob" Chasnow- Washington
Global Hospitality, Resort and Timeshare Team partner Bob Chasnow was quoted in "Buyers look to 40-year-old federal law to revoke contracts" in the on-line edition of New York's The Real Deal on March 16, 2009. The Real Deal covers New York City's real estate industry and its readership is primarily comprised of real estate professionals and lawyers.
The article discusses hundreds of condo buyers in the New York City area who are anticipating court decisions and settlements in an effort to be refunded all or a part of their initial down payments on condo purchases over the past few years. The article discusses how the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act (ILSA), a federal law designed to protect purchasers in the purchase of certain types of real estate, has received increased attention from buyers and their attorneys looking to revoke their contracts to purchase condominium units in projects in New York City. Bob attributes recent use of ILSA in New York cases to the fact that New York's condo market remained stronger longer than in some other markets and thus only recently have purchasers sought to exit their purchase agreements, saying ". . . the difficulties in the marketplace have caused purchasers to look wherever they can for relief...And that looking wherever they can has led them to where many others outside New York have found it."
The article goes on to attribute to Bob the idea that ILSA will not be a panacea to purchasers because there are many statutory and other "exceptions to the rule" requiring registration which may prevent buyers from severing their contracts.
READ: Buyers look to 40-year-old federal law to revoke contracts
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