On March 17, 2023 Commonwealth Court entered an Order as to the validity of the City of Pittsburgh’s Rental Ordinance. Among part of the requirements under the Ordinance, Landlords would have been required to obtain a permit from the City designating a “responsible...
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New CDC Eviction Moratorium Impacts Landlords through October 3, 2021
On Saturday, July 31, 2021, a waive of relief could be felt across the country by landlords as the CDC Order preventing many evictions expired. Landlords had been inhibited by the CDC’s ban on evictions since September 4, 2020, and with each extension the frustration...
Alternative Resolution of Pennsylvania Real Estate Agreement of Sale Disputes: Part One- Residential Agreement Mediation
By: Bradley S. Dornish, Esq. Sooner or later most real estate investors face a real estate agreement of sale dispute. It is less likely for consumers but always a possibility. There are required non-court processes in both the PA Association of Realtors’ residential...
Recent Developments in PA Rental Registration and Inspection Cases
By: Bradley S. Dornish, Esquire The last few months have seen several important developments in rental registration litigation in Pennsylvania. The most recent development was a series of Commonwealth Court decisions on May 17th, which will have a significant impact...
Crowdlending Mortgages for Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment
By Bradley S. Dornish, Esquire Solicitation of mortgage backed loans for rest estate investment has long been regulated and greatly limited by both Federal and Pennsylvania Securities laws. Federally, under the Securities Act of 1933, the offer and sale of securities...
Investors – HR-5201 is Our Chance to Bring Back the Seller Financing Business
By Bradley S. Dornish Recently, I attended the National REIA Mid-Year Leadership Conference in Atlanta. While there, I had the opportunity to network with Charles Tassell, National REIA’s Chief Operating Officer and Director of Government Affairs, and with Jeff...
Use of Criminal History to Deny Rental Applicants and Fair Housing
By Bradley S. Dornish, Esq. For many years I have used criminal records histories to screen applicants for my own rental properties, and taught others how to search online for PA criminal records histories of their own rental applicants. I have done this without...
Tax Proration and Payment Tips When Buying and Selling Real Property
By Bradley S. Dornish, Esquire Last month, I was contacted by a seller who sold his home last August. He had been trying for months to figure out why he paid 2015/2016 school taxes through his tax escrow, paid more 2015/2016 school taxes at closing, and never got his...
Facts and Figures about Pittsburgh’s anticipated 2016 Rental Registration Ordinance
By Bradley S. Dornish, Esquire In November of 2014, the Pittsburgh City Council had a public hearing on Ordinance 2014-1020, the Residential Rental Housing Registration Ordinance which would impose on each residential rental unit in the city a $65.00 per year...
PROA Regroups for the Long Haul on Student Housing Legislation
By Bradley S. Dornish, Esquire After over a year of hard work finding the right language, a committed sponsor in the legislature, and the right timing to move forward, we had in HB 809 sponsored by Representative Sue Helm a vehicle we believed would protect students...