Real Estate Attorney

Real estate transactions can be complicated and messy. These are not negotiations you want to head into alone. Instead, you need an experienced real estate lawyer who can use their expertise and knowledge from previous cases to help you close your transaction successfully, help you with zoning issues, deal with environmental problems, transfer properties, and more.

Trust our team of real estate attorneys at Johnstone Adams to represent you and your interests.

Benefits of Hiring a Real Estate Attorney

If you are debating whether you need to hire a real estate attorney to represent your interests in a transaction – the answer is yes, you need an attorney.

There are many advantages to hiring a real estate attorney, including:

• Peace of mind knowing the transaction is being handled by a professional who knows the ins and outs of the legal system. A lawyer will help review the contract and all other paperwork to ensure everything is in order.
• Help with negotiations. You can lose money in a real estate transaction if you do not correctly negotiate the terms of the contract. A lawyer knows what to look for and how to ensure you are getting the best outcome.
• Get professional advice from a lawyer who has “been there, done that.” When you hire a real estate lawyer, you are hiring all of the experience that person – and their firm – has gained from previous cases. This is extremely helpful when sorting through complex issues and disputes.
• Save time completing paperwork and getting your transaction to close. A lawyer is experienced with the necessary paperwork and knows what to look for and what needs to be completed. This helps get your forms completed correctly and quickly. If handling the paperwork alone, you could make an error that could delay the closing of the transaction.
• Having someone on your side who is there to ensure your best interests are being met. You need someone who understands the ins and outs of the legal process and applicable real estate laws. This will help with negotiations – if needed.

 

Why You Should Hire Our Real Estate Attorney

At Johnstone Adams, we represent buyers and sellers of real property in all manner of transactions with valuations that range from the thousands to millions of dollars. We handle all phases of zoning changes and regularly appear in front of the zoning commission and the city council.

In addition to providing a full spectrum of real estate legal services to developers, buyers, and sellers, we also represent lenders in both permanent and interim financing. Our taxation attorneys regularly assist our real estate clients with finding the best tax answers in their transactions.

Johnstone Adams attorneys routinely assist in the development, construction, purchase and sale of regional shopping malls, regional shopping centers, office complexes and apartments. We render extensive services to landlords and tenants in negotiating commercial and residential leases in all types of properties.

Strengths Of Our Real Estate Lawyers

At Johnstone Adams, our team of real estate lawyers is experienced, professional, and well-versed in the skills it takes to fight your real estate legal issues, help you close deals, and get the outcome you desire.

Some areas where a real estate attorney excels are:

• Title examination
• Property sales and acquisitions
• Zoning changes
• Environmental protection
• Indemnities
• Remediation
• Permanent and Interim financing
• Lender representation
• Property tax answers
• Regional shopping malls, regional shopping centers, office complexes, and apartments
• Landlord and tenant representation in negotiating commercial leases
• Landlord and tenant law

Case Studies

With a full portfolio of real estate cases, our lawyers have a plethora of examples that show how we’ve helped our clients win.

Overcoming Challenging Closing Obstacles

Our corporate client was selling a large commercial office building located in downtown Mobile, Ala. After months of ongoing negotiations, we were finally scheduled to close when outstanding mortgages were discovered on the building. Tracking the current holder of these dated mortgages posed a challenge as the mortgages were assigned to different entities over time.

Johnstone Adams’s approach and solution

Through extensive research, we discovered that the mortgages were currently held by a related party mortgagee, creating various potential tax issues at this late stage in the transaction. Our real estate lawyers were able to tackle these complex tax issues, and acting quickly, successfully negotiated a resolution between our client and the mortgagee, with the client ultimately compensating the mortgagee for a release of the lien.

Outcome

This agreement still required shareholder approval, however, so we worked tirelessly to draft and circulate the necessary documents for shareholder approval and to stay on schedule for closing. Shareholders from both corporations were scattered throughout the United States, making obtaining signatures incredibly challenging under time constraints, but our real estate lawyers worked diligently to secure the necessary signatures to get the release and close the transaction on time.

Multiple Tenants, Corporate Dissolution

We were engaged to represent two entities who desired to sell their collective 50% interest in a major outlet mall development to a national outlet mall owner and developer for approximately $60 million. Due to the size of the transaction, the due diligence requirements were considerable, but they were magnified considerably because of the type of property.

Johnstone Adams’s approach and solution

With numerous tenants, we had to review each tenant’s rent roll, lease, common area maintenance charges, and title work. The transaction negotiations were further complicated by the fact that the selling entities were to be dissolved immediately after the transaction, limiting indemnity obligations and options.

Outcome

As a result, the parties negotiated the use of multiple escrow accounts that terminated after different periods. We recommended the dissolutions to avoid the double-taxation of certain gains. By dissolving the selling entities before year-end, the shareholders were able to take advantage of S Corporation tax reporting principles to offset some of the gains with each shareholder’s increase in the tax basis of his, her, or its stock.

Our Practice Group Attorneys

Rick A. La Trace

Mark E. Harris

Wade Perry Jr.

E. Watson Smith

Jessica Welch

Contact a Real Estate Attorney In Mobile

Our real estate lawyers have extensive experience in all types of real estate law, from handling transactions to reviewing contracts, working on zoning and environmental issues, and more. We have successfully helped many clients pursue their real estate goals and get the outcome they need. Contact our Mobile, Ala., office today at (844) 682-7682 or fill out our online contact form.