Commercial Real Estate and Leasing

Experienced counsel is an invaluable asset to any party involved in a real estate transaction, including financing.

Whether the client is the seller, the buyer, the developer, or the lender, our attorneys are able to bring years of experience to bear on the issues presented in each situation.

A team approach often is needed to solve a commercial real estate problem or complete a complex real estate transaction. Our talents are supplemented by our long-standing relationships with title companies, appraisers, surveyors, engineers, real estate brokers, agents, and local and state government officials. We work with our clients and those related to the transaction to do our best to achieve results effectively and efficiently.

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Our commercial real estate clients are diverse. We have represented commercial landlords, real estate investment trusts, land owners, lender "REO" departments, large and small developers of commercial and residential projects, private and institutional lenders, and owners of all types of properties, including historical sites, churches, volunteer fire departments, and private schools. In representing these clients we often draw upon other areas of expertise within the firm, particularly Creditors Rights and Business and Civil Litigation.

For our lender clients’ commercial loans, we prepare and negotiate loan documents and resolve title and survey issues.  We then manage the closings including working closely with title companies.

We represent both landlords and tenants in leasing matters for a variety of commercial real properties including office buildings, warehouses, and shopping centers.  We are experienced negotiating new leases and subleases, renewing existing leases, and subordination agreements.

When leases go into default, we are experienced in filing unlawful detainer actions for both possession and money damages.

David Gogal, with over 25 years in practice, has been retained by several title insurance companies, local governmental authorities, non-profits, private companies and individual homeowners to resolve numerous title issues, including actions to quiet title, boundary determination, ejectment, partition, adverse possession, and reformation.

Jeremy Root represents buyers and sellers of commercial properties, represents landlords and tenants in commercial leases, represents institutional lenders in large loan closings, loan modifications and workouts, and conducts commercial foreclosures.

Gifford Hampshire, with over 25 years practice split between the public and private sectors, represents local governments, school boards, utilities and private entities and individuals in matters pertaining to the purchase, leasing, permitting, and development of real estate.

Experience

Representative Transactions In Our Commercial Real Estate Practice:

  • representing sellers and buyers in contract negotiation and drafting, due diligence reviews, and closings
  • representing lenders in the loan documentation and closings of large commercial loans secured by commercial real estate
  • negotiating and drafting commercial leases, modifications and extensions, subleases, and assignments
  • representing landlords in evictions including claims for delinquent rent
  • representing landlords in tenant bankruptcies
  • resolving complicated title issues
  • drafting subordination agreements
  • assisted a local bank's trust department in transferring assets held by two independent trusts and located in several Virginia jurisdictions into a limited liability company to improve the management of the trust property
  • represented a multi-national corporation in negotiating and completing the sale of real property for price in excess of $7,000,000
  • represented a developer in refinancing its Northern Virginia holdings, including an office building and two shopping centers
  • represented businesses in negotiating leases for office space, retail space, warehouse space, parking lots, and industrial space
  • represented numerous businesses in refinancings secured by real estate for loans in excess of $1,000,000 each
  • drafted form leases for the owners of shopping centers
  • negotiated monopole leases with cellular telephone companies
  • retained by several title insurance companies to resolve numerous title disputes