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Real Estate
Real estate law deals with the purchase, sale, rental, financing and management of commercial property, in accordance with a host of federal and state property regulations. For smaller-size start-up firms that typically lack the funds to purchase their office space, the focus of real estate law is primarily on commercial landlord/tenant lease agreements.
Real estate law is a practice that requires an expertise in negotiation, litigation, contracts, dispute resolution and a keen understanding of local real property laws.
A Client Success Story
How our negotiating skills and attention to detail helped one client avoid a precarious sublease agreement.
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Why Real Estate is important
Office space is a major portion of company overhead and should be selected to meet both the financial and physical needs of the business. For example, companies with frequent client visitors may focus on "location, location, location," whereas those with little public contact may just want an affordable rent.
In addition, lease agreements require careful scrutiny, as landlord "boilerplate" leases can contain unfavorable terms regarding rent escalations, taxes, maintenance and repair requirements, subleasing or assignment, termination and occupancy dates.
Without proper real estate legal advice, a business can select an unsuitable office space or sign a potentially harmful rental agreement–mistakes that could result in costly litigation and can be avoided by consulting legal counsel.
How Nina L. Kaufman, Esq. can help
We understand from our own experience the importance of securing the right office space for the most favorable terms. We work closely with our clients to review and negotiate commercial leases, advise them on selecting space that fits their business plan and budget, and represent them in various real estate litigation and arbitration matters.
Nina L. Kaufman, Esq. provides sound legal advice and assistance for a wide range of real estate matters, including:
- Purchase and sale transactions for office and retail property
- Tenant leasing of office, retail and theater space
- Subleasing arrangements
- Contract negotiations
- Sales/leasebacks and exchanges
- Leasing agreements for professional practices
- Financing and mortgage transactions
A Cautionary Client Success Story
A small PR client found a great office space at a reasonable rate, but had to sublease it from the current tenant in the premises. The client asked us to examine both their sublease and the tenant lease–a 70-page, singled-spaced document with very small type! We uncovered a provision that would have permitted the landlord to eject both the tenant and our client if the tenant did not pay its rent on time–regardless if our client had paid its rent on a timely basis.
The landlord was a major real estate company represented by one of New York City's largest law firms. Applying our negotiating expertise, we worked out a favorable agreement that the landlord would notify our client of any problems with the tenant and provide them the option of a direct lease arrangement should the tenant default on the rent.