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Issue of May 9, 2005 |     |
Travelin’ ManGov. Mitt Romney appears, on paper at least, to have made an eminently wise decision in the selection of Massachusetts Highway Department Commissioner John Cogliano as the state’s new transportation secretary. The governor appointed Cogliano to the post last Monday to replace Dan Grabauskas, who resigned in April to seek appointment as general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Interesting Week There is no direct link between them, so last week’s news that long-term mortgage rates fell for the fifth consecutive week even as the Federal Reserve nudged a key short-term interest rate upward for the eighth time was not greatly unusual. Still, it has been widely assumed that as the Fed slowly continues to increase the federal funds rate – the interest that banks charge each other on overnight loans – mortgage rates would follow along eventually. Setting Smarter Housing Policy Since taking office more than two years ago, Gov. Mitt Romney has been laudably committed to increasing housing production in Massachusetts. His administration has also been promoting a smart-growth development policy that has largely complemented its housing goals. But as it now considers imposing a stringent smart-growth location requirement upon the issuance of site approval letters for Chapter 40B housing projects, the administration may be sacrificing production for principle. Versatility, Speed Make Tenant-in-Common Structures Attractive By John G. Balboni and Robert J. LeDuc Tenant-in-common, or TIC, structures for real estate transactions are one of the hottest products within the real estate industry, causing nothing short of an explosion in new business activity. The driving factor behind this phenomenon is that the TIC structure uniquely serves the needs of many buyers and sellers of real estate. The demand for TIC interests is growing rapidly both nationally and locally and, while such deals are more prevalent on the West Coast, TIC structures are moving east. Fortunately, the barriers to entry with regard to selling this product are not overly burdensome, provided certain tax and securities law guidelines are kept in mind. Check & Balance Banker & Tradesman's political cartoon. |
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