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U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch on Monday signaled a desire for clearer rules on when appeals courts can hear disputes stemming from bankruptcy sales, in a case involving a cheap lease Sears had at the Mall of America that was transferred following its bankruptcy, Reuters reported. Douglas Hallward-Driemeier, a lawyer for the Minneapolis-based mall's parent company, MOAC Mall Holdings LLC, sought to convince the justices to reverse a lower court ruling finding it had to honor an extremely tenant-friendly lease it made with Sears Holdings Corp in 1991 that offered Sears rent of just $10 a year for 100 years. After Sears went bankrupt in 2018, it sold its assets for $5.2 billion to former chairman Eddie Lampert and his hedge fund ESL Investments Inc., and the lease was transferred months later to Transform Holdco LLC, a company formed by Sears' new owners. Transform's lawyer Eric Brunstad argued that under bankruptcy law no court has the jurisdiction to hear Mall of America's appeal and that finality in bankruptcy sales protects both debtors and buyers.

Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper and his real estate company are the focus of a criminal investigation to see if they misused any public money in their failed effort to build a practice facility for the NFL team in South Carolina, the Associated Press reported. The York County Sheriff’s Office said state agents and local prosecutors are aiding its investigation, and that the probe does not mean that any crime happened. “An investigation is simply an inquiry and should not create any inference that wrongdoing has been committed by any party,” York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson and Solicitor Kevin Brackett said in a joint statement Thursday night that named Tepper and GT Real Estate, the company created to oversee the construction project. Tepper’s company denied any criminal wrongdoing and suggested the timing of the announcement might be meant to disrupt a settlement the team reached with York County to repay more than $21 million, an amount roughly equivalent to the sales tax money the project received to improve roads around the facility.

Reverse Mortgage Investment Trust Inc., one of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders that enables people to tap the equity built up in their homes, has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The Bloomfield, N.J.-based company partly attributed rising interest rates to the disruption of its business. Reverse Mortgage said it faced a liquidity crunch and stopped mortgage origination in early November as it had to increase the capital to support the origination of new loans and to service portfolios. Reverse mortgages are typically made to seniors looking to tap the value built up in their homes. Backed by investment firm Starwood Capital Group, the company lists both assets and liabilities of $10 billion to $50 billion, according to a court filing. Reverse Mortgage is in talks to ensure that its servicing portfolio is managed and that work has begun to transfer loans in its pipeline to other lenders. Reverse Mortgage, established in 2012, is at least the second real-estate lender to file for bankruptcy this year. In June, residential lender First Guaranty Mortgage Corp. filed for bankruptcy as fewer home borrowers were refinancing due to rising interest rates and tight housing supply.

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers has pledged support for an affordable housing bill that could lead to the development of 500,000 starter homes in struggling communities over the next decade, The Hill reported. The Neighborhood Homes Investment Act, introduced in both the House and Senate, would offer a tax incentive to developers to minimize their risk when building or rehabilitating existing housing. In some areas of the U.S., the cost of rehabilitating or building a home could exceed the eventual sale price. This bill would fill the “value gap,” up to 35 percent of eligible development costs for new homes. The bill currently has the support of 124 U.S. lawmakers across 37 states, and lawmakers have stressed the urgency to pass the bill before the end the current legislative session. “It is critical that we get the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act over the finish line,” Sen. Rob Portman (Ohio), the lead Republican sponsor of the bill, said in a statement. The Neighborhood Homes Coalition estimates that the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act could lead to 785,714 jobs in construction and construction-related industries, $42.9 billion in wages and salaries, and $29.3 billion in federal, state and local tax revenues and fees.

The federal government is about to backstop mortgages of more than $1 million for the first time in high-cost markets, such as parts of California and New York, the Wall Street Journal reported. The increase reflects the rapid appreciation in home prices over the past few years, even as the mortgage market has recently cooled. The maximum size of home-mortgage loans eligible for backing by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will rise to $1,089,300 next year in a few expensive markets, from $970,800 this year, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said Tuesday. For most parts of the country, loan limits will rise to $726,200 from a 2022 maximum of $647,200, said FHFA, which oversees mortgage-finance giants. By law, loan limits are calculated annually using a formula that factors in average housing prices. In all, about 100 counties and county equivalents, out of more than 3,000 across the U.S. are designated as high-cost markets, also including some in New Jersey, Virginia and Utah, according to the FHFA.

Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX, his parents and senior executives of the failed cryptocurrency exchange bought at least 19 properties worth nearly $121 million in the Bahamas over the past two years, official property records show, Reuters reported.
Separately, attorneys for FTX said on yesterday that one of the company's units spent $300 million in the Bahamas buying homes and vacation properties for its senior staff, and that FTX was run as a "personal fiefdom" of Bankman-Fried. No further details were given. Most of FTX's purchases registered in the documents seen by Reuters were luxury beachfront homes, including seven condominiums in an expensive resort community called Albany, costing almost $72 million. The deeds show these properties, bought by a unit of FTX, were to be used as "residence for key personnel" of the company. Reuters could not determine who lived in the apartments.

Dina Bologa was shocked when she learned in July that the rent for her Jersey City, N.J., two-bedroom apartment would go up 40% to more than $6,000 a month if she renewed her lease. She thought about moving and tried negotiating with her landlord. Then Ms. Bologa’s neighbors, who were facing similar rent increases, started organizing, the Wall Street Journal reported. They filed petitions with the city saying that the 19-story waterfront building should be subject to rent control. The city’s rent-control administrator agreed. As of late August, the landlord could raise rent in Ms. Bologa’s building by no more than 4% a year. “When they go to these crazy numbers…people say, ‘Really? Can they do this? Are there no laws that limit anything on rent?’” said Ms. Bologa, referring to her landlord, Equity Residential. A spokesman for Equity Residential said it uses rental-pricing software and market comparisons in lease negotiations. The company plans to operate Ms. Bologa’s building under rent control in accordance with the city’s ruling, the spokesman said. Skyrocketing rents are prompting cities and towns across the U.S. to consider enacting rent control to keep prices in check. But in communities where these tenant protections have long been on the books, many residents aren’t aware of them or find that enforcing rent control is no easy task. Residents often don’t have the resources to pursue rent-control enforcement or are worried that they could lose their homes by fighting their landlords, said Brian Rans, attorney for the Jersey City-based nonprofit the Waterfront Project, which provides free legal assistance for housing and other civil issues.