Getting Results For Developers, Owners, Investors & Lenders

The Real Estate attorneys at Bailey Law Firm routinely advise clients regarding the buying, selling, exchanging and financing of commercial and high end residential property.

We represent borrowers and lenders in structuring financing and refinancing loans for real estate acquisition, construction and development.

We are proficient in guiding clients through the complexities of real property transfer, including the negotiation and drafting of purchase, sale and financing agreements for office buildings, retail centers, storage facilities, industrial facilities, and apartment buildings. It is our responsibility to highlight all the difficult terms within your commercial lease and explain them to you in simple terms so you can quickly and easily understand your obligations.

Ground Leases

Our Real Estate lawyers are skilled in the creation, negotiation and operation of ground leases for office buildings, hotels and development sites.

We are skilled attorneys when it comes to negotiating ground lease transactions and their complex provisions involving, among other items, subordination, non-disturbance provisions, maintenance obligations and ground rent reset provisions. We are able to leverage our experience and that of our expert consultants to negotiate effective rent re-valuation clauses and obtain cost-efficient settlement agreements of existing provisions, thereby avoiding protracted and costly arbitration.

We also regularly represent national landlords in storage and other specialty lease industries.

Joint Ventures

The Real Estate attorneys at Bailey Law Firm have experience in the formation of joint ventures for the purpose of commercial and residential real estate acquisition and development.

We are accomplished in bringing together parties with diverse strengths and common goals, including real estate developers, property owners, public and private, and institutional and individual investors. Our attorneys:

  • Assist clients in structuring the ownership entity
  • Advise on the relevant tax implications with outside advisors
  • Negotiate contracts and agreements
  • Draft all related documents, including pre-formation, LLC, partnership and tenant in common agreements

We have experience serving real estate law clients in the areas of major office buildings, including purchases, sales, space leasing and ground leasing of office buildings, development sites, retail leasing, commercial condominiums.

Real Estate Finance

Bailey Law Firm closes loans secured by a variety of properties including retail, office, health care, shopping centers, multifamily and industrial.

Many of our loans involve issues dealing with TICs, leasehold interests, cash management agreements, cross-collateralization and properties with complex zoning issues and environmental issues. Because of our loan servicing experience, we are able to provide our clients with a complete perspective of post-securitzation issues when originating conduit loans.

We are successful in maintaining our clients’ relationships with lenders and brokers by our responsiveness and speedy loan closing loans, while at the same time never compromising the integrity and quality of our work.

With Tax advisors, we assist sellers and purchasers in Section 1031 exchange transactions.

Joint Ownership

Our real estate attorneys also handle joint ownership arrangements, including condominiums, cooperatives and tenancies-in-common, negotiate like-kind 1031 exchanges, arrange workouts of distressed properties and counsel owners and investment bankers in offering real estate investment trust (REIT) shares. 

Securitization – Commercial Loans

Bailey Law Firm represents borrowers and lenders in connection with all aspects of CMBS and non-CMBS loan issues.

We have closed origination and loan assumptions for CMBS borrowers. Our assumption practice regularly involves working with lender counsel, special and master servicer counsel and obtaining cash management or reserve agreements, property management changes, lease review or terminations, loan transfers in lieu of releases, and easement reviews.

Mortgage Origination

The current low interest rate environment has resulted in many borrowers going all out to refinance their properties. Borrowers who have CMBS loans that will not mature for a year or two are willing to contemplate the often significant costs of defeasance so that they can lock in the low current rates. With significant volume of mortgages maturing over the next few years new issuance will likely to continue to rise.

The real estate markets have clearly not returned to their highs of the 2006-2007 periods. In the new environment lenders are cautious and thorough in new origination. LTVs are lower than the 80% level back in boom times.

Even small CMBS loans now have more intensive documentation. In the past, you would only have seen a Mortgage or Deed of Trust for a typical conduit loan (say $5 MM to $15MM); today a Loan Agreement is common.

Application /Commitment

We can assist the borrower in negotiating the best loan App that fits the needs of the project. Sometimes this requires dealing upfront with lender or industry “standard provisions” before the borrower makes a non-refundable payment to the lender.

Loan Documents

Because we concentrate in CRE finance we become aware over time of key program documents from many leading lenders.  This knowledge can be quite valuable when negotiating with lender’s counsel. We add significant value to Borrower representation by assertive negotiation of those loan document provisions that really matter – without getting overly focused on what can sometimes be purely theoretical concerns.

Opinions

We provide the borrower with legal opinions that lenders require. These include Opinions relating to Texas law and federal law regarding the authority of borrower, legality of loan documents, defenses, usury, and enforceability.

Our real estate clients face increasingly complex issues in their development and construction projects. Our in-depth knowledge and experience helps clients navigate these issues. Our practice is focused on representing owners, developers and tenants ranging from investors, corporate owners and private developers to retailers and other businesses in identifying and resolving the multifaceted challenges involved in their construction projects.

Additional Services 

  • Assisting in the selection of appropriate development and construction project delivery methods;
  • Counseling on development, design and construction team selection (including RFP preparation and response evaluation);
  • Reviewing deal and loan terms relating to design and construction requirements;
  • Framing, drafting and negotiating development, design, consulting and construction contracts and ancillary agreements;
  • Review of and counseling on project requirements (special work rules; integration with lease, lender requirements; integration of insurance requirements; LEED; tax credits; bonding; etc.);
  • Project monitoring and counseling (for interim dispute and change order resolution);
  • Framing, drafting and negotiating project close-out agreements (under amicable or adversarial conditions); and
  • Framing, drafting and negotiating adjoining property license and access agreements.

Across the nation and especially in and around Texas, our skilled handling of real estate transactions has helped our real estate lawyers achieve an outstanding reputation in the industry. Leveraging our in-depth knowledge, creative deal-making, and diligent and cost-efficient service, we negotiate and close sophisticated and significant real estate transactions on behalf of our clients.

Contact Us

When it comes to the purchase, sale, leasing or development of real property in Texas and beyond, Bailey Law Firm has the experience and skill to close the deal to our clients’ best advantage. Contact us today for more information from an experienced real estate lawyer.