Seattle Washington Building Expert Directory

Demand for New Homes Good News for Home Builders

October 01, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
Stock prices are up for both KB Homes and Lennar, with shares of KB Homes up 7 % and Lennar up 5.5%. Both home builders are profiting from increased demand for new homes while supplies were scarce. Both firms have seen a strong increase in orders during the last quarter. Read the court decision
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What Buyers Want in a Green Home—and What They Don’t

March 19, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Jennifer Goodman interviewed researcher Suzanne Shelton to find out what buyers want in a green home and what they do not. The questions and answers were published in Big Builder. Shelton has studied “Americans’ thoughts on environmental and energy issues” for the last ten years. Goodman wrote that while the term “high-performance” is often used by “builders and their advisors,” the term doesn’t resonate with buyers. In fact, in last fall’s Energy Pulse study, eighty-four percent of Americans said no when asked “if they could confidently and correctly explain the term ‘high-performance home’ to a friend.” Goodman and Shelton also discussed the best way to market green features. Shelton pointed out that in surveys “energy-efficient home… clobbered ‘green home’ year over year.” Furthermore, she found that “80 percent of prospective home buyers tell us…all other things being equal, energy efficiency would impact their home selection.” Read the court decision
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California Ballot Initiative Seeks to Repeal Infrastructure Funding Bill

September 25, 2018 — Garret Murai - California Construction Law Blog
California voters will get to vote on November 6, 2018 on a ballot initiative to repeal an infrastructure funding bill signed by Governor Brown this past year that is estimated to raise more than $5 billion annually during the next ten years for road repairs and mass transit improvements in California. In 2017, Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, which increased the excise tax on gasoline in the state by 12 cents per gallon, to 30 cents per gallon, and increasing vehicle registration fees from $25 to $175 dollars depending on the value of the vehicle. The last time the state’s gas tax was increased was in 1994 and the last time the federal gas tax was increased was in 1993. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Garret Murai, Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP
Mr. Murai may be contacted at gmurai@wendel.com

Documentation Important for Defending Construction Defect Claims

November 27, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
When insurers are faced with a construction defect claim, they want information. Unfortunately, insurers “typically struggle to find the documents we need to understand what exactly happened and why it happened,” according to Robert Kreuzer, second vice president of construction risk control for Travelers. “The documents are either not there, or they’re inaccurate, or we can’t find them.” Not only does it make determining what happened more difficult, it also slows downs the litigation process. Mr. Kreuzer also noted that by properly documenting and maintaining documents, “you have a better chance of getting yourself out of the dispute, and avoiding that 11-year headache.” Read the court decision
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CISA Guidance 3.1: Not Much Change for Construction

June 22, 2020 — Laura Bourgeois LoBue - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
This week, the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued Version 3.1 of its Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce. For the most part, CISA’s Guidance 3.1 did not change from Version 3.0 as it relates to construction. However, CISA added a few construction-related services to “Essential Critical Infrastructure”:

“Workers who support the construction and maintenance of electric vehicle charging stations.”
“Engineers performing or supporting safety inspections.”

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Reprinted courtesy of Laura Bourgeois LoBue, Pillsbury
Ms. LoBue may be contacted at laura.lobue@pillsburylaw.com

Construction Employment Rose in 38 States from 2013 to 2014

March 19, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) reported that 38 states experienced construction job growth from January 2013 to January 2014, and 27 states showed gains from December 2013 to January 2014. AGC stated that “the fact so many states added construction jobs for the year and month despite harsh winter conditions in many parts of the country is a sign that demand appears to be recovering.” Kansas ranked first in the “12-month gain or loss” category with a 10.7% gain. Wyoming came in last with a -5.9% over a 12-month period. However, if examining a one-month period (between December 2013 and January 2014), Idaho showed the highest growth with a 5.8% gain, while Vermont was ranked 51 at -5.5%. Read the full story, Article... Read the full story, Rankings... Read the court decision
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Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up (10/27/21)

November 19, 2021 — Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
Commercial real-estate sales surge in the third quarter, blockchain-integrated real estate is poised to span into new sectors, a major home builder is teaming with a Texas startup to create a community of 100 3-D printed homes, and more.

In the not-too-distant future, it is predicted blockchain-integrated real estate will be implemented in sectors beyond payments via digital currency, spanning to automated transactions, smart contracts, and more. (Adam Redolfi, Forbes)
Despite warnings that the COVID-19 pandemic would erode property values, purchases of apartment buildings, life-science labs and industrial properties resulted in commercial sales of more than $193 billion in the quarter, up 19% compared with the same three months in 2019. (Peter Grant, The Wall Street Journal)

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Reprinted courtesy of Pillsbury's Construction & Real Estate Law Team

Public Adjuster Cannot Serve As Disinterested Appraiser

April 18, 2023 — Tred R. Eyerly - Insurance Law Hawaii
The Florida Supreme Court found that the president of a public adjusting firm, which was to be compensated on a contingency basis for its adjusting services, could not subsequently serve as a "disinterested" appraiser pursuant to the policy language. Parrish v. State Farm Fla. Ins. Co., 2023 Fl. LEXIS 261 (Feb. 9, 2023). Jon Parrish was insured under a policy issued by State Farm Florida Insurance Company. When his home was damaged by Hurricane Irma in September 2017, he filed a claim and hired Keys Claims Consultants, Inc. (KCC) to provide public adjusting services. Mr. Parrish agreed to pay KCC a contingency fee equal to ten percent of whatever amount he eventually recovered from State Farm. There was disagreement between State Farm's estimate of the loss and that of KCC. Mr. Parrish demanded that the appraisal process set forth in the policy be implemented. Mr. Parrish informed State Farm that George Keys, the president of KCC, would serve as Mr. Parrish's appraiser. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Tred R. Eyerly, Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
Mr. Eyerly may be contacted at te@hawaiilawyer.com

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