Earth, Wind and Fire: The Interplay of Mineral, Wind and Solar Leases by Ron Holmes If you own, or dream of owning, a farm or ranch, then you might find this article interesting. The article addresses two questions: can a landowner legally convey rights to the Sun and the Wind; and do mineral rights trump …
by Ron Holmes (From our October 2016 newsletter) As we move into the fourth quarter of 2016, we have not noticed any slowdown in the Texas real estate market. There still appears to be more capital than there are deals, and, yet, the signs of overbuilding have not shown their ugly heads. Set forth below …
by Ron Holmes You probably have heard of a Gun Trust, but may not know what that really is or why anyone would need one. Anyone who owns Title 2 firearms might consider a Gun Trust in order to “legally” transfer title to his Title 2 firearms upon his death, but there are serious pitfalls …
Ron Holmes wrote an article last winter about High-Volatility Commercial Real Estate (“HVCRE”) loans, which gave an introduction and background to the concept. As a refresher, BASEL III regulatory capital rules went into effect on January 1, 2015, introducing the concept of HVCRE. These regulations require all loans meeting the HVCRE definition to be reported …
by Ron Holmes Effective December 1, 2016, the “Salary Level Test” for overtime exempt employees is increasing. For an employee to be exempt from the requirement of overtime pay, three tests have to be met: The employee must be paid a predetermined and fixed salary (a “Salary Basis Test”); The amount of salary paid must …
For several decades, estate planners have recommended the use of family limited partnerships (“Family Limited Partnership”) as a beneficial means of transferring wealth. Many of you have employed this planning device, and others have considered, but not acted upon, this opportunity. Just as an example, father and mother contribute $1 million of assets into a …
Holmes Firm PC hosted a table at the August 17, 2016 Capital Markets Summit sponsored by The Real Estate Council and Real Estate Deal Sheet, held at the Dallas Country Club. Ron Holmes, Jan Holmes, Brian Fisher and Clifton Beech represented the Firm, and were joined by Rob Stone (Duke, Inc.), Gordon Ip and Nathan …
by Ron Holmes Construction across all sectors is booming. Cranes are everywhere. But, as we all know from history, the music will stop and the lawsuits will follow. The Plaintiff’s attorneys in California have elevated to an art form the filing of construction defect lawsuits immediately prior to expiration to the statute of repose in …
By Ron Holmes Fortunately or unfortunately, I was a commercial real estate attorney during the last, great real estate bust (1987-1994). I had many successful clients, and knew of many more, who had amassed enormous wealth by hard work, ingenuity and adept risk taking in the real estate, only to see those fortunes disappear almost …
By D. Blake Wilson Restrictive covenants. To all those developers out there, these are probably all too familiar. They can be a great thing or a source of frustration and even litigation. A restrictive covenant may not say what you think it says. In a case recently litigated here in Texas, two property owners found …