Because of the large scope of legal services that are included in the term "real estate" or "real property", it is important to focus on matching your particular needs to the lawyer used. These terms can include legal services relating to sale transactions, commercial leasing, property development, environmental conditions, land use issues, landlord/tenant, easements & other property restrictions, condo development & management and others. Most attorneys work only in a few of the different real estate areas. Our focus is on the purchase and sale of real property, commercial leases and interrelated areas such as brokering, escrows, title insurance and others. Consider these areas of service when you encounter a real estate transaction, commercial lease or even a land use issue such as an easement.
Clear Title. Read your preliminary real property title policy well in advance of closing. Contact the title company if they are slow in providing it, so you will have the time to clear up any problems. Some of the problems might, for example, be old releases not recorded, old easements or incorrect legal descriptions.
American with Disability Act. This law and other similar statutes affect the physical arrangement of your facilities and also how disabled persons are treated regarding employment. The former area is the real estate related one and the latter the employment one. Although there are provisions in the law that allow deferral of many of the required building changes until new construction is done, there are still many requirements that must be complied with now. Parking, counter heights and access requirements are examples.
This is an area where you should consider hiring a specialized consulting firm, who should at least do a survey of the facility for compliance issues.
Various Topics. The following are some of the miscellaneous items that should be addressed in a real estate purchase agreement:
· Seller disclosure of property conditions
· Check for conditional use permits for the business or practice which operated at the facility
· Hazardous waste search (then progressing to a Phase I and II test if needed)
· Check for any likely government "taking" of your street or yards
· Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements
· Indemnity provisions
· Prevailing party legal fee recovery provisions
· Contingencies on key issues such as appraisal, loan approval, condition inspections, etc.
· Buyer's thorough Inspections
· Of course there are many others.