Transactional

By: Denise Werkley

The National Association of Realtors is reporting that December’s existing home sales rose 12.3 percent over November 2010, perhaps signifying a continuing trend toward a recovery of the real estate market. For the northeast specifically, the rise was 13.0 percent.The northeast sale numbers are still 5.4 percent below December 2009 but the median price was $237,300, which is only 1.4 percent below a year ago. You can see National Association of Realtors article here.

One local economist believes the housing market is definitely getting better and notes that investors are a large part of that trend. He reported that investors bought about 20 percent of the properties in December 2010 which is a large part of the recovery process. See the full article on the December housing trend here.

If you are a real estate investor or have questions about real estate investing, please contact Denise Werkley in our West Chester office at dwerkley@utbf.com or 610-692-1371.

By Denise C. Werkley

Are you thinking about starting a business? Want to buy real estate? If you are moving forward with any business or real estate plans, you might consider starting a limited liability company (LLC). The New York Times posted a quirky story reminding us all not to take business names too seriously. What name will you chose?

NY Times Story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/05/realestate/05deal1.html?ref=realestate

Denise Werkley

Denise Werkley is a partner at Unruh, Turner, Burke and Frees, Denise practices in the areas of Pennsylvania Commercial Transactions and Business Organizations, Pennsylvania Real Estate, and Pennsylvania Trademarks and Copyright Law. The firm maintains law offices in Malvern, Phoenixville, and West Chester Pennsylvania which serve the Main Line, and many surrounding communities such as Devon, Exton, West Chester, Ardmore and others.

By: Denise C. Werkley

If your business offers gift certificates or prepaid gift cards you need to be aware of a new law affecting those cards. In March 2009, the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 was enacted setting out certain restrictions on gift certificates, store gift cards and general-use prepaid-cards. That law requires the Federal Reserve to implement related rules and regulations. The Act and the rules and regulations go into effect August 22, 2010.

This new law and associated rules restricts the ability to charge fees, namely dormancy, inactivity or service fees. It also prohibits the sale of prepaid products with an expiration date of less than five years and imposes additional disclosure requirements. The rules apply to gift certificates, store gift cards, and general-use prepaid cards sold to consumers; specifically, those that are sold largely for personal, family, or household purposes. As always, exceptions are noted, such as certain products issued in connection with a loyalty, award, or promotional program, or that are reloadable and not marketed or labeled as a gift card or gift certificate.

Since many of your businesses may offer prepaid gift cards through a third-party provider or card sponsor, we recommend that you speak to your provider and discuss the steps they are taking to comply with the regulations so there is no delay once August 22, 2010 rolls around.

For more information contact Denise C. Werkley.

Welcome to the UTBF blog related to legal issues surrounding business and real estate transactions. This site is intended to provide information about current laws, interesting trends and legal news that affects business and real estate transactions. We hope that you find this site informative. Please sign up the right to be kept up to date when things are posted here.

William J. Burke, III

Theodore F. Claypoole

Denise C. Werkley