News: Owners Developers & Managers

The nervous housewife clause

I got my training in reviewing commercial loan documents for developer clients in the late sixties and most of the decade of the seventies. My then boss and law partner was the late Howard Rubin. Howard often referred to a common clause in loan documents, which allowed a lender to call a loan if the lender felt uncomfortable about the loan, as "the nervous housewife clause." Lenders rarely agree to delete this clause. The best I have gotten a lender to do is to modify the clause to read as follows: "There shall have occurred any significant and material adverse change in the business, operations, properties or condition (financial or otherwise) of mortgagor or any guarantor, which, in the reasonable opinion of the lender acting in good faith, impairs its security or increases its risk." Fast forward to the present. I practice real estate law with my daughter, Hettie Feldman. Hettie, for obvious reasons, says I can not use the expression "nervous housewife clause." Out of deference to Hettie, I try to not to use this expression but I have never found a better one to describe this egregious clause in loan documents. If any of you can think of a better expression, I will buy you lunch. Just have your girl call my girl. Saul Feldman is an attorney with Feldman & Feldman, PC, Boston, Mass.
MORE FROM Owners Developers & Managers

Colwen Hotels celebrates opening of the first hotel in Portland’s Thompson’s Point - Residence Inn by Marriott and Moxy Hotel

Portland, ME Colwen Hotels celebrated the opening of Residence Inn by Marriott and Moxy Hotel Portland Thompson’s Point, the first hotel in the city’s Thompson’s Point district. Developed by XSS Hotels and managed by Colwen Hotels, the five-story, dual-branded property introduces 148 guestrooms to one of southern Maine’s fastest-growing waterfront destinations.
READ ON THE GO
DIGITAL EDITIONS
Subscribe
Columns and Thought Leadership
Revitalized Town Centers:  Retail??? - by Carol Todreas

Revitalized Town Centers: Retail??? - by Carol Todreas

It is now widely accepted that customers want to shop in person at physical stores. Brands know that they do better business in a physical store than just on line so they want to open stores. Demand for retail space by digital merchants, local entrepreneurs, and newly developed national chains
Retail infill strategy to activate Pawtucket’s Conant Thread District - by Gaetan Kashala

Retail infill strategy to activate Pawtucket’s Conant Thread District - by Gaetan Kashala

Until recently, the Conant Thread District consisted of approximately 150 acres of underutilized industrial land spanning Pawtucket and Central Falls. Today, the area is one of the most significant
The legislature has spoken:  New Hampshire doubles down on housing in commercial zones - by John Sokul

The legislature has spoken: New Hampshire doubles down on housing in commercial zones - by John Sokul

Last year, the New Hampshire Legislature enacted HB 631, a landmark housing measure requiring municipalities to permit multifamily housing in commercially zoned districts. The law generated
IREM president’s message:  Our new reality - Staying ahead of supply chain delays - by Yoany Vargas

IREM president’s message: Our new reality - Staying ahead of supply chain delays - by Yoany Vargas

Supply chain delays are slowing construction, ratcheting up operating costs, and extending turnover timelines across Greater Boston, directly reducing revenue and increasing the workload for multifamily and