Commercial Real Estate

Brown & Brown PC proudly assists new and continuing business owners with the ownership and management of their commercial properties. While many of the steps in a commercial real estate transaction mirror those in a residential transaction, they are invariably more complex and time consuming.  Furthermore, commercial real estate transactions usually involve significant up-front legal work, especially during the negotiation to purchase the property and in the application for a commercial mortgage and line of credit.  Commercial landlords often have to create an ownership structure for their properties, many times from scratch, and once the business is up and running, that corporate structure will require maintenance and updating as the years go by.  The experienced attorneys at Brown & Brown assist commercial property owners with these issues all of the time – give us a call to discuss how Brown & Brown can help you structure your commercial real estate transaction to maximize profit and minimize hassle. 

Pre-Purchase Negotiations and Planning

Today’s commercial real estate market is a tightly run, highly competitive place, where even the smallest decisions can have significant effects for many years.  What this means, in practice, is that the offer to purchase is not just the beginning of the commercial transaction, but also the end of a long process of evaluation and planning.  Brown & Brown has been involved in the Bedford and Middlesex County business community for close to eighty years, and we understand the ins and outs of the local commercial real estate market like few other local law firms.  We work with our commercial clients well before they are ready to purchase a piece of property, to evaluate the risks, discuss the planning and permitting required, and to explore financing opportunities for their projects.  Once we have worked through these steps, we assist our clients with drafting an offer to purchase and  with negotiating the terms with the current owners. 

On the other side of the coin, we also work with commercial property owners who are looking to sell their properties.  We help these clients review current leases, evaluate the current market, and structure a potential sale to obtain the best results.  Once again, we encourage potential sellers to contact us well before placing their property on the market, so that we have the opportunity to put our generations of transactional experience to work for you.

Corporate Structuring and Permitting

Because Brown & Brown is a collaborative law firm made up of attorneys who specialize in various areas of the law, we are not only able to help you with the transactional portion of your commercial real estate purchase, but we can also assist you with structuring a corporation or other entity to hold the real estate, and, if the property requires permitting, our expert land-use and zoning department can get your project on track from the get-go.  We emphasize that these processes should begin well before an offer is even generated, to give our staff the time to work out the best corporate structure for your transaction and to ensure that the proper permits are obtained.  But if you are in a pinch, and the closing is fast approaching, we can usually help move the project along, and we take pride in being able to help our clients arrive at the closing with the proper permits in hand and an entity that will protect their interests. 

Purchase and Sale Agreement

Once an offer to purchase a commercial property has been accepted, Brown & Brown can review, or draft, a Purchase and Sale Agreement that addresses the needs of either a buyer or a seller.  Since commercial transactions are significantly more complicated than residential purchases, and because the risks from missteps are magnified, it is more than worth it to have experienced legal counsel put together this agreement, which protects both parties, especially in case of a breach.  In either case, our firm will make sure that the contingencies are in your favor and, should the transaction fail, that risks are minimized.

Closing

A commercial closing typically involves more levels of financing than a standard residential transaction, making the closing that much more complicated.  As with any other element of a commercial real estate transaction, the success or failure of the closing depends, in large part, on the diligent work of an experienced attorney and staff beforehand.  Brown & Brown has the experience and knowledge to make the deal happen in a time-sensitive manner.  Over the years, we have worked with many banks, both local and farther afield, and we understand what it takes to coordinate the various loan documents involved in a commercial transaction.  Should any last minute snags come up, our professionals are well versed in managing the problems and arriving at the solutions that are best for our clients.