Defined by the Federal Reserve Board as institutions with $10 billion or less in total assets, community banks can be a potent source of financing because of their local roots and knowledge, flexibility and commitment to their communities.

As part of a bankruptcy, a city can assume or reject “executory contracts” — contracts under which material performance obligations remain such that a breach by a party would entitle the other party to terminate. However, if an executory contract is rejected by a city, the developer has no ability to enforce its terms and conditions.

Could much of the pain experienced in the aftermath of the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression in the United States have been avoided by following the tenets of Canada’s foremost real estate professionals?