COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE ATTORNEY IN COLLIN COUNTY, TEXAS

I provide commercial tenants with detailed reviews and recommendations on a proposed lease.  For landlords, I draft unique leases when the standard lease form won't work.  For tenants and landlords, I work on issues arising from tenant improvements and permitting problems.  

Fixed-Fee Lease Review

This service is for commercial tenants in offices, retail locations and flex space. Email your lease and related documents. I will prepare a scope of engagement for your review and approval. The scope will outline the documents to be reviewed, the number of days required and the total fee. When the scope is approved, I will review and prepare comments on the documents. You will receive specific recommendations. The fee does not include my participation in negotiations or drafting new documents. I will be with you every step of the way to make the best deal possible. My service includes all phone and email consultations. There is no additional fee to review revisions to the original documents. We work together to make the most of your opportunity while minimizing uncertainty and unfair terms.

A good commercial lease is one which works for both the landlord and the tenant. I undertake a lease review from the perspective of the tenant's planned use of the space. Lease provisions which may work well for one tenant may prevent another tenant from using the space as planned. Some tenants are not impacted by their location on the property, another tenant might face financial ruin if relocated from a placement which provides visibility to passing traffic. Is the tenant being provided an improvement allowance? Is the improvement allowance adequate for the planned use? What are the criteria for payment of the agreed upon allowance? Making sure the tenant receives the best deal possible and making the stated incentives obtainable is set out in my lease recommendations. I review the expense provisions to make sure they are properly disclosed and the tenant will be charged a reasonable amount for items properly designated for common expenses.

Series Limited Liability Companies

While I regularly form LLC's LLP's LTD's and other entities, the Series LLC option is a great choice for many real estate investment and management opportunities. Essentially a portfolio of subsidiaries within the same entity, you can have your portfolio in one company. Investors, managers and allocations can vary between buildings or other groupings with separate accounting, varying ownership interests and liability protection. I charter the Series LLC and prepare a company agreement which provides the required structure. The company agreement can be drafted in a way to allow expansion or contraction of the portfolio without additional legal work.

Convert Your LLC to a Series LLC

Converting an existing LLC into a series LLC is a fixed fee service enabling commercial real estate owners and managers to easily create new entities dedicated to designated owners and specific properties all within a single company.

Net Lease Expense Audit & Review with Opinion Letter

Tenant clients forward their lease with amendments along with the expense documentation. As review work may end up spanning several years and require extensive pursuit and review of documentation, this is not a fixed fee service. Clients will be provided a checklist of needed documents relating to the reconciliation of net operating expenses and the lease lease documentation for the time period. The information will be compared against the common area maintenance (CAM) definition in the lease and the true up of expenses will be reviewed as against the actual expenses. The lease language for tenant obligations such as franchise tax claims will be carefully studied. The review of expenses will be compared against the lease language in an opinion letter issued to client. In some situations, the client may want to retain these services along with a request to negotiate the matter to a final settlement with the landlord.

Drafting Tenant-Oriented Leases & Purchase Options

Many tenants will ultimately want to have the tax advantaged position of being their own landlord. The process starts with a lease which will lead to the tenant closing on the purchase of the building. Having a lease which is balanced and will ultimately place the tenant as the landlord is the plan. This is a fixed fee service. After the plan details are put together, a fee to prepare the lease and purchase option will be provided client for approval.

Drafting Leases for Unique Office Buildings & Retail Centers

There are times when the standard lease forms from your broker just won't do. I work with landlords to prepare leases for special tenants and unique spaces. We can work together to craft a lease which will address GSA requirements or meet the unique requirements of the financing of the project. Tell me about the situation and allow me to propose a solution.

What is an Estoppel Letter?

Most commercial leases have a provision requiring tenants to execute an estoppel letter within certain days following delivery and return to the landlord. The lease places the tenant in default for failing to timely provide the requested estoppel letter.

The estoppel letter is an affirmation that you are not in a dispute with your landlord and have no imminent plan to engage in litigation with your landlord. You will be affirming that everything is fine, just fine with your tenancy. The landlord is doing this at the request of a lender when the landlord is refinancing the mortgage on the building or for a prospective buyer of the building who does not want to by buying into a tenant lawsuit. Landlords have a less than favorable attitude toward tenants who use the estoppel letter request as leverage to secure some benefit. What leases frequently fail to provide is a Nondisturbance Clause which is the flip of the estoppel letter. A nondisturbance provision states that as long as the tenant is current in performance under the lease, the Landlord defaulting on the property mortgage will not be a basis for tenant's eviction by the mortgage holder after foreclosure. It is important to note that a landlord providing this provision without the mortgage company agreeing is not real protection. The mortgage company should either sign the lease accepting the nondisturbance provisions or provide the tenant with a letter setting out the protections.