Article
02.12.24
A group of Pillsbury attorneys recently contributed to the 4th edition of The AFIRE Guide to U.S. Real Estate Investing by authoring three chapters covering bankruptcy, beneficial ownership and farmland. AFIRE is the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate, a trade organization bringing together international investors focused on commercial real property in the United States.
The guide offers insight on commercial real estate acquisition, management and disposition for global investors.
The first Pillsbury-authored chapter, Understanding Bankruptcy: Issues for Non-U.S.-Based Investors, was co-written by Real Estate senior counsel David Miller and Insolvency & Restructuring partner Patrick Potter. The article explores the U.S. bankruptcy framework, discloses unique characteristics of U.S. bankruptcies, provides insight on the real estate industry’s dominant use of bankruptcy for the last several years and the reasons why some non-U.S. investors may lack interest in pursuing the U.S.’s bankruptcy process.
Real Estate partner Andrew Weiner and Financial Industry Group senior counsel Brian Montgomery follow Congress’ adoption of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and how domestic and foreign entities in the U.S. should take action in their chapter Beneficial Ownership: The Corporate Transparency Act. In a government effort to combat the financing of terrorism, money laundering, financial fraud and tax evasion, beneficial owners will be forced to file information with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, for the first time. Weiner and Montgomery offer a step-by-step process for companies subject to disclosure.
Farmland: The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA)—the firm’s third chapter contribution—examines Congress’ passing of the AFIDA in 1978, which required all foreign person who acquire, dispose of or hold an interest in U.S. agricultural land to disclose those transactions and holdings to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. Co-written by Weiner and Real Estate senior associate Samantha Sharma, the chapter offers the AFIDA’s disclosure requirements, details regarding the filing of the FSA-153 form, violation penalties for those who do not comply and how states’ actions and regulations point to future federal regulation.