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• Ohio Amends the Good Funds Law Effective on September 29, 2017 By Tami Hart Kirby    The Good Funds Law went into effect on April 6, 2017 amending Section 1349.21 of the Ohio Revised Code to require stricter controls for all residential real estate transactions involving the sale, purchase, or refinance of such real estate. The law was passed as an attempt to combat and thwart fraudulent activities associated with the closings of such residential real estate transactions.  While the Good Funds Law only applies to residential real estate, some title companies have... More
• The Ohio Legislature Creates an Alternative to the Judicial Foreclosure Process for Certain Owners of Residential Property By Tami Hart Kirby    The D.O.L.L.A.R. Deed Program for Ohio (the “Program”) was created following the passage of Substitute House Bill 303, and went into effect on September 28, 2016 in order to provide an additional loss mitigation option for homeowners in default of their residential mortgage obligations. The acronym “D.O.L.L.A.R.” stands for Deed Over, Lender Leaseback, Agreed Finance.  Substitute House Bill 303 was unanimously passed by the Ohio legislature as a cost effective and efficient way for borrowers to avoid... More
• Ohio Revised Code §1301.401 – A Powerful Tool for Lenders with a Defective Mortgage By Walter Reynolds and Tami Hart Kirby    For years, it was generally accepted that mortgage creditors and bankruptcy trustees could assert the status of a bona fide purchaser and treat a defectively notarized mortgage as if that mortgage did not exist.  On February 16, 2016, our Supreme Court provided clarity regarding the legal effects of R.C. §1301.401 and provided protection to lenders regardless of whether their mortgages were defective. In Re Messer, 2016-Ohio-510 was a referral to the Ohio Supreme Court from... More
• Recent Decision Limits Utilization of Non-Consenting Secured Creditor’s Cash Collateral By Tami Hart Kirby    The ability of a single asset real estate debtor in a bankruptcy case to utilize a non-consenting secured creditor’s cash collateral has been limited by a recent decision from the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel of the Sixth Circuit in In re Buttermilk Towne Center, LLC, 2010 FED App. 0010P (B.A.P. 6th Cir. 2010). Under 11 U.S.C. § 552(a)(2), a pre-petition security interest in rents extends to rents generated by a debtor post-petition. Further, 11 U.S.C. § 363 provides that... More