Commercial Real Estate Investments

Commercial real estate is a powerful tool for building wealth, but only when the legal groundwork is handled correctly. Whether you’re acquiring a retail strip center, industrial warehouse, mixed-use development, or multi-unit residential property, commercial real estate all come with legal complexities, risk, and greater regulatory oversight. Our firm works alongside investors, developers, and business owners to make sure every deal is structured smart, with legal security, and built for long-term return.

Commercial property transactions require a deeper level of legal analysis in contrast to those residential purchases. There are lease agreements, zoning ordinances, title encumbrances, financing structures, entity formations, and sometimes even environmental concerns. At our firm, we help investors navigate through these complexities. We don’t just help in the closing process, we help protect assets, increase value, and avoid litigation. If you’re putting serious capital into a commercial investment, you need more than a closing agent. You need experienced legal counsel who understands the risks and opportunities involved in commercial real estate.

Due Diligence for Commercial Property Acquisitions

In commercial transactions, due diligence is the foundation of a secure investment. Our team helps clients uncover every material fact about a property before committing capital. We examine zoning designations, land use restrictions, environmental reports, rent rolls, financial statements, service contracts, title history, lien exposure, and any pending code enforcement issues. The goal is to identify risks, liabilities, or legal barriers that could affect the property’s current and future marketable value.

Investors should not assume that due diligence is completed with a mere title search or an inspection report. That’s only part of the picture. In commercial real estate, due diligence includes reviewing existing leases, tenant estoppel certificates, loan payoff statements, surveys, tax records, and more. These different aspects of a commercial property can cause a multitude of legal complexities. If a property is part of an association or managed by a third party, we dig into those agreements as well. We look for issues that could affect your rights as an owner, such as restrictive covenants, hidden easements, or unrecorded access agreements.

We also work with appraisers, environmental engineers, surveyors, and zoning professionals to verify that the physical and legal condition of the property is fully disclosed so that our clients make the ultimate informed decisions. This kind of thorough investigation ensures our clients don’t get stuck with unexpected costs or regulatory problems after closing. Whether you’re buying a property with active tenants or planning a redevelopment, we make sure the deal structure aligns with your intended use and long-term plans.

Commercial real estate deals move fast, but we don’t rush due diligence. We get in early, ask the right questions, and make sure everything checks out before the deal goes hard. That’s how we help protect your investment from day one.

Contract Structuring and Risk Allocation

Commercial contracts are rarely boilerplate. Every deal is unique and should be governed by a custom agreement that reflects the size, use, and risk level of the property involved. Our firm drafts and negotiates commercial purchase and sale agreements that are built around your goals and designed to limit your exposure.

Key terms to a commercial real estate contract often include extended due diligence periods, access rights, tenant obligations, escrow arrangements, closing timelines, and post-closing adjustments. We make sure all of these are clearly defined and legally enforceable. If you’re buying an income-producing asset, we ensure the contract accurately reflects lease assignments, security deposit transfers, acquire tenant estoppel(s), and pro-rata rent distributions.

We also negotiate important protections like indemnity clauses, limitation of liability provisions, and specific remedies for default. If the property involves new construction, development rights, or planned tenant improvements, we include milestone-based performance terms and detailed deliverables to protect against delays or cost overruns.

Our goal is to draft contracts that encourage the completion of the deal, but that hold up in court if a dispute arises later. We don’t just copy and paste language. We evaluate each term through the lens of your business interests, regulatory exposure, and operational plans. That’s how you keep your leverage, limit surprises, and control your outcome if things don’t go as expected.

When you’re putting seven or eight figures into a deal, there’s no room for assumptions. Our contracts speak clearly, protect thoroughly, and are designed to help your investment succeed.

Entity Formation and Ownership Structuring

Owing commercial or investment property may have tax implications and possibly expose your assets. That’s why one of our first steps with investors is evaluating the right ownership structure for each deal. Whether you’re acquiring property through an LLC, partnership, trust, or corporate entity, we handle the formation, compliance, and operational documents necessary to manage the asset effectively and reduce personal liability.

For joint ventures or syndicated investments, we prepare operating agreements that define management roles, capital contributions, profit distributions, exit rights, and dispute resolution methods. Our entity structures are built to support real-world business relationships, not just satisfy regulatory requirements. We help partners protect their interests, avoid deadlocks, and plan for succession or sale.

We also coordinate with CPAs and financial advisors to ensure the structure aligns with your tax strategy. That may include forming separate entities for each property and creating holding companies. In Florida, structuring entities correctly can also protect you from liability tied to construction claims, tenant disputes, or lender actions.

Ownership planning is a vital part of closing commercial transactions. We make sure the paperwork matches your goals and shields your interests for the long haul.

Leases, Tenancies, and Occupancy Agreements

Commercial buildings often come with existing tenants or the need to bring in new ones quickly. Both scenarios involve significant legal documentation that can impact cash flow, property value, and your ability to finance or sell the assets later. Our firm helps investors and landlords review, draft, and negotiate leases that are clear, enforceable, and designed to protect property and revenue.

We review lease agreements to confirm compliance with Florida law, verify tenant obligations, and identify red flags that may affect future rent collection or property value and security. This includes use restrictions, CAM charges, rent escalation clauses, option terms, and assignment rights. We also make sure all necessary estoppel certificates and subordination agreements are obtained before closing on tenant-occupied buildings.

For investors acquiring vacant properties, we assist in preparing lease templates, broker commission agreements, and negotiation strategies to quickly stabilize the asset with quality tenants. We work with landlords to ensure lease terms are tailored to landlord’s investment needs, whether property classification is retail, office, industrial, or medical, and that these terms are fully enforceable.

And in the worst case scenarios, if the landlord and tenant relationship evolves into a dispute, whether for nonpayment, or unlawful tenant activity, our lease agreements provide security and protection, and our office can provide enforcement strategies that comply with Florida’s commercial eviction laws and minimize downtime. The way a lease is structured can affect your long-term ability to manage and monetize the property. We help you get it right from the start.