CALIFORNIA REAL ESTATE LAWYERS FOR REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS & DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Attorneys for Real Estate Purchase and Sale Agreements

In any high-stakes purchase or sale of real estate, you should consider involving the right real estate lawyer in California from beginning to end.

Commercial transactions often involve two steps. The letter of intent followed by a detailed purchase and sale agreement.

Although a letter of intent is typically non-binding, once it is put in writing, it plays a key role in the negotiation and documentation of the formal purchase agreement. Any mistakes or oversights at the letter of intent stage can create problems during the underlying transaction.

“The single biggest mistake most investors make in buying real estate is getting the lawyer involved after they negotiate the letter of intent,” says California real estate Attorney Jeff Lerman, Of Counsel, CunninghamLegal. “This is too late.”

Even a seasoned investor, or an investor with a sharp broker negotiating on the investor’s behalf, needs to involve a savvy real estate investment lawyer from the first serious communication of an offer, whether written or verbal.

Every negotiation for the purchase of residential and commercial real estate includes numerous economic opportunities and hidden costs. Savvy investors take advantage of every opportunity to avoid unnecessary costs by putting an experienced real estate investor lawyer team to work from the start.

Property owners may not realize that selling their investment requires just as much diligence as the original acquisition. Most sellers want to walk away from the property with no further obligations or liabilities. However, there may be negotiating points that can tie up the investor’s property for years, resulting in costly litigation without any ability to sell or leaving the investor on the hook long after the sale.

A seller must be vigilant in negotiating everything including:

• Legal description of the property
• Purchase price
• Deposit
• Contingency period
• Conditions to close
• Representations and warranties
• Damage and destruction consequences
• Prorations
• Indemnification clause

When it is time to liquidate your real estate investment, count on CunninghamLegal to get it right from beginning to end. Schedule a call with CunninghamLegal today.

California Real Estate Lawyers Help with Real Estate Joint Ventures and Syndication

We work with investors all around the country to increase their portfolios—and achieve their real estate investing goals faster than they ever thought possible—through joint ventures, syndication, and sometimes both at the same time in the same deal.

At some point in every investor’s career, they will most likely run out of their own money to buy more investment property. At that point, an investor may consider working with “other people’s money” to expand their real estate investment portfolio.

While this can be an excellent strategy to take your investment portfolio to the next level, this “pooled investment” or joint venture/syndication approach must be undertaken with competent counsel. We can guide you through this process, help you understand the relevant securities laws and what exemption(s) may allow you to avoid registering your joint venture/syndication with the SEC completely.

However, it is crucial to consult a lawyer before you communicate your “offer” to even one investor or else you risk tainting the entire offering. We can help. Schedule a call with CunninghamLegal today.

Financing: Involve an Experienced Real Estate Attorney at this Crucial Step

The terms and conditions an investor negotiates in order to finance the acquisition or development of real estate are just as critical to get correct as is the purchase contract.

Too frequently, an investor will negotiate and execute the commitment for the loan prior to bringing an attorney on board. Although an investor may feel that the negotiation of the loan commitment is exclusively of a business nature, this is not the case.

It is best to involve an attorney from the very inception of the transaction in order to maximize protection and effective loan negotiation. This point cannot be overemphasized.

The loan often establishes most of the important terms. Once finalized, rights and obligations have been substantially fixed and the options an attorney has to act on his client’s behalf are severely limited.

Rights that are of paramount importance to an investor may be completely omitted from the loan if competent counsel is not involved. Enter into a loan negotiation with a lawyer accomplished in real estate investor law—one who knows potential pitfalls and can help set a course for the entire deal to flow smoothly.

Key issues in loan negotiations that a real estate investment attorney can help with include:

• Avoidance of personal guarantee
• Total loan amount
• Interest rate
• Amortization
• Maturity date
• Personal liability
• Due-on-sale clauses
• Prepayment privileges
• Loan fees
• Standby fees
• Insurance and impound requirements
• Subordination

Schedule a call with CunninghamLegal today.

California Real Estate Lawyers for Structuring Deals with Contractors

All too often, construction projects result in some kind of litigation—and if that happens, the party with the strongest position within the contract at the beginning of the project will have a distinct advantage in disputes later on.

California real estate investors work with contractors on everything from initial development to repair, remodeling or add-on work, to tenant improvements. Regardless of the project, the earlier you get your lawyer involved, the better.

“Over the years, I have found that real estate investors don’t realize that most contractor forms are one-sided and protect the contractor, not the owner,” says Jeffrey H. Lerman, now Of Counsel at CunninghamLegal. “Getting a lawyer involved right away can avoid litigation later on.”

From the moment you put a project out to bid, important decisions need to be made including:

• Scope of work
• Contract form to be used
• Method of pricing the project (lump-sum, cost-plus or cost-plus with a guaranteed maximum)
• Extent of the drawings and specifications (contracts with complete drawings and specifications, design-build contracts or combinations)

Once these initial decisions are made, there are many important issues that must be addressed, including a detailed description of the work, progress payments, retention, substantial completion, delay damages, change orders, allowances, insurance, guaranty, indemnity and the right to stop work. Contract negotiations should mirror the scope of the project, and a lawyer with experience in real estate investment law can help create a strong contract.

Schedule a call with CunninghamLegal today.

Lawyers for Landlords Negotiating Commercial Leases

The right commercial lease is crucial to maximizing investment profits. When negotiating commercial leases, an investor and his or her attorney must focus on:

• Preserving your net economic returns
• Eliminating unforeseeable, unquantifiable, or uninsurable risks that could reduce an investor’s returns
• Maintaining the value of your building and the status of your tenant mix

The lease is frequently prefaced with some kind of letter of intent or offer/counter-offer negotiation. Key negotiating points in a lease include:

• The lease commencement date
• Payment of tax and operating expenses
• Assignment and subleasing
• Damage and destruction provisions
• Tenant work letter

Today there’s a proliferation of brokers specializing in “tenant representation”. The property owner needs to be proactive from the beginning in guarding their rights and avoiding unnecessary costs.

Make litigation your last resort. Consider alternatives, but litigation may be unavoidable if:

• Tenant threatens to abandon or has abandoned
• Tenant negotiates in “bad faith”
• No compromise is reached after 30 days of mutual good-faith negotiations

Let our expert attorneys help. Schedule a call with CunninghamLegal today.

California Real Estate Lawyers Help Dispute Resolution in Real Estate

Real estate litigation is a risk at every stage of real estate ownership.

Involving an experienced real estate investor lawyer from the inception of a project is crucial to minimize that risk—from forming an ownership entity to dealing with contractors, tenants, and the government. We help investors move forward on their projects with all the necessary documentation, which must be carefully constructed, ever aware that a simple contract dispute can put the brakes on a project and lead to litigation.

We know it is much easier to start a dispute—or a lawsuit—than to end one. That’s why it’s the goal of our property dispute lawyers to help you stop problems before they begin.

Nevertheless, we know that despite all parties’ best intentions and well-drafted documents, disputes can still happen. When they do, you need strong representation and skilled mediation. As issues arise, our California real estate lawyers help our clients:

1) Evaluate the merits and weaknesses of the respective claims and defenses in your real estate dispute

2) Discuss the many alternative dispute resolution options available today (including mediation, arbitration and the many hybrids)

3) Provide a clear understanding of the potential economic upsides and downsides of these various forms of dispute resolution vs. litigation

4) Formulate and proactively pursue an action plan based on our client’s goals

As mentioned, our team includes the highly-respected and skilled mediator and arbitrator, Phil Diamond—and we will use every legal tool reasonably available to protect and defend our client’s interests.

Schedule a call with CunninghamLegal today.