Real Estate Law

If you are considering buying, selling or leasing commercial or residential property, you want an experienced and knowledgeable lawyer to protect your interests. Real estate matters frequently involve a significant amount of often complex documentation. Seemingly simple mistakes can cost you time and money. You want an attorney with experience, someone who knows what to look for, who will know how to make certain your interests are protected.

We handle all matters related to the sale or purchase of commercial and residential real estate, from the negotiation of terms to the closing. Once you have come to basic agreement on the terms of a real estate transaction, we will prepare, review and execute all the documents required to complete the deal, including buy-sell agreements, deeds, mortgages, notes and other financing instruments, easements and restrictive covenants. We will also conduct a thorough review of title issues to ensure there are no unknown liens or encumbrances.

We work extensively with landlords (and occasionally tenants) in commercial and residential landlord-tenant matters. We will negotiate, review and prepare rental lease agreements, and we will represent parties in disputes related to leaseholds, including unlawful detainer actions.

We also provide counsel to homeowners' associations and parties involved in HOA disputes.

Our team of professionals is at the ready to help clients maximize real estate opportunities, whether portfolio transactions or deals involving a single property. Our attorneys are well versed in key areas, such as acquisitions, sales, leasing, financing, zoning, land use, construction, tax appeals and condemnation. We bring a multifaceted perspective to each real estate opportunity and help to identify and address risks and develop practical strategies to meet clients’ needs.

With years of experience navigating the real estate market in both upswings and downturns, we are skilled at considering a client’s motivation and objectives to advise on the best course of action for each real estate opportunity and challenge. We assist owners, developers, investors, lenders, real estate professionals, design firms, landlords, tenants, financial institutions, syndicators, insurance companies and many other clients. Additionally, throughout our network of offices

Services

We provide representation in connection with:

Acquisitions

We assist clients in the acquisition of property, directly and through the purchase of distressed debt, for the development, construction, leasing and sale of office buildings, shopping centers, retail properties, hotels and casinos, hospitals and medical centers, commercial and industrial facilities, residential/multifamily properties, mixed-use projects and more. We handle a wide range of complex acquisitions for real estate owners, REITs, lenders and other corporate clients, as well as for municipalities and other public entities, with the goal of structuring the transactions to the benefit of our clients. We manage all aspects of the site acquisition, including title, purchase agreements, joint development agreements, reciprocal easement agreements, access agreements, municipal agreements and approvals and developer agreements.

Sales

We also represent clients seeking to dispose of property and distressed debt secured by real estate. We help structure the deal to be advantageous to our clients and address all related issues, including closing requirements, tax-free exchanges, ground lease matters, title and survey concerns and other due diligence issues. We have handled the sale of both occupied and vacant commercial, retail and industrial facilities; residential properties; office buildings; land; mixed-use projects; and more. Because our firm handles both acquisitions and dispositions, we are well-versed in the issues of greatest importance to both sides and focus our efforts accordingly on closing the transaction to the greatest satisfaction of our client in the particular deal at hand.

Leasing

A well-negotiated lease can save a client time and money. With that in mind, we structure and negotiate leases for both landlords and tenants to reduce business and legal risks, so that the final lease document achieves maximum, practical protection of our client's interests. We handle a variety of leasing transactions for various properties, including office, retail, industrial and manufacturing facilities. We have experience negotiating build-to-suit leases, ground leases, subleases, bond type leases, sale-leaseback transactions and leases for franchisors and franchisees.

Financing

We represent financial institutions, borrowers, owners and users in structuring and documenting loans, capital transactions and credit facilities involving REITS, developers and owners and operators of real estate. We also assist developers with loans (including construction, permanent and mezzanine loans) and refinancing for a range of property uses, including land acquisition and residential, historical, hotel, office, retail and mixed-use space. We have assisted clients with mortgages, synthetic leasing, sale leasebacks, structured debt and REIT financings.