Every day, individuals, small companies, and major corporations buy, sell, lease or finance commercial real estate. The Cooper Law Firm, LLC provides them with quality, sophisticated, and cost-effective legal representation.
We use creative approaches to help our clients negotiate and achieve their goals. For the sophisticated client, we offer the “quick study” needed to rapidly get up to speed on complicated transactions. For the less sophisticated client, we offer our knowledge and experience to lead the client through what is, sometimes, the most important transaction of the client’s life.
We are familiar not only with contract, leasing and conveyancing law, but with environmental law, land use law, brokerage law, mortgage foreclosure law and the Uniform Commercial Code. Our ongoing interest in the ever changing real estate market, make us invaluable business and legal counselors to the firm’s real estate clients. With the assistance of other practice groups, the real estate team forms the essential entities, structures the deal, suggests means of financing, and uses its extensive experience to implement the desired transaction.
Key Areas of Counsel and Service
· Joint ventures, partnerships and equity investments
· Real estate finance and capital investments
· Commercial leasing and retail
· Land development and planning
· Hospitality development, resorts and clubs
· Community Development and Homeowner’s Associations
· Condominiums
Key Property Sectors
· Apartments, planned communities and residential subdivisions
· Condominiums, cooperatives and conversions: residential, commercial, mixed-use
· Hotels, resorts, golf and vacation clubs
· Offices: urban and suburban
· Industrial: distribution facilities, factories and warehouses
· Retail and shopping centers
· Recreational amenities: country club, golf course, marina and ski facilities
· Undeveloped land
Joint Ventures, Partnerships and Equity Investments
We counsel institutional investors, private investors, REITs, and owners on most aspects of real estate investment. In addition to advising on the outright purchase and sale of property assets, we structure multifaceted relationships between parties for the ownership or development of real estate, including joint ventures, limited liability companies and subsidiary entities.
We have experience with most types of property assets in the commercial, residential, industrial and hospitality sectors and regularly perform the due diligence and negotiation of asset transfer. We provide expertise in tax-deferred like-kind property exchanges.
Real Estate Finance and Capital Markets
We have a thorough understanding of the capital markets, underwriting, and financing vehicles. We have broad experience in secured lending for major financial institutions as well as opportunistic investors and have advised on first-mortgage term loans, mezzanine and permanent financings, SBA loans, and construction loans. We have the capacity to perform significant due diligence review and document production with transactional speed and efficiency.
Commercial Leasing and Retail
We advise on commercial, industrial and retail leasing matters for both landlords and tenants. Among the clients we represent are urban office and retail developers, retailers, and property managers. Our experience includes negotiating most types of operating leases, build-to-suit leases, ground leases and subleases for free-standing and pad sites, as well as related easement agreements.
Land Development and Planning
Our experience with land development and subdivision matters includes representation on planned unit developments, recreational communities, retirement communities, and resort infrastructure developments. We serve as General Counsel to homebuilders and have business experience within the homebuilding industry. Several members of our team have years of municipal and government experience and bring hands-on working knowledge of state and local ordinances, regulations and statutes.
Community Development
We have broad experience with residential subdivision matters and mixed-use development, including planned unit developments, planned recreational communities, large and small mixed-use projects, and the relationship of such projects to related amenities such as schools, retail, golf courses, marinas, water features, environmental preserves, sports arenas and related attractions.
Key Capabilities
· Design and documentation of various types of common interests such as fee and leasehold undivided interests and multi-tiered use rights
· Private agreements, including covenants, conditions and restrictions, reciprocal easements, sharing of recreational amenities among related and unrelated subdivided projects, and planning, zoning and land use regulations
· Creation, operation and control, and turnover of owners associations
Property Owners’ Associations and Association Clubs
We regularly help clients develop governance structures that work well with the community plan, as well as the long-range planning and operational needs of the developer and the residents, including considerations for environmental stewardship and self-sustainability. We assist clients in creating master and neighborhood associations in planned residential and mixed-use projects, in order to provide for the efficient and productive development of the project. In some cases, developers may benefit from the use of an association club membership program, in which the association owns and operates amenities such as golf courses, clubhouses and tennis and swim facilities. Our attorneys have broad experience in advising developers whether an association club structure would be beneficial for their residential communities, and in designing association clubs for those that would benefit.
Our services with respect to community associations include:
· Design and structuring of property owners’ associations
· Determination as to whether sub-associations are necessary or desirable
· Advice with respect to the ownership and operation of amenities in the community
· Planning of operational aspects of the property owners’ association
· Counsel regarding turnover of control of the association, including strategic planning
Hospitality Development, Resorts and Clubs
We advise clients on virtually every aspect of hospitality acquisition, development and conversion including investment structuring, financing, and construction, as well as the negotiation and documentation of management and services agreements between the owner and operator for hotel properties.
We help structure flexible, well-considered management arrangements and advise on appropriate relationships between various project components. Our team has led industry initiatives in agreements related to traditional hospitality properties. We also provide counsel on the structure of rental programs and advise on regulatory compliance for matters related to sales, licensing and advertising.