Rudman Winchell’s attorneys are recognized as real estate law leaders in the State of Maine. Fundamental to our real estate law practice are the acquisition, disposition, and leasing of many types of real estate including raw land, working forestland, waterfront, residential, commercial, industrial, retail, office, condominiums, industrial, multifamily, mixed-use, health-care, and hotel properties. Our real estate legal counseling services include:  

Document Negotiation

Our attorneys counsel our clients during the negotiation process drafting letters of intent, option agreements, purchase and sale agreements, deeds, assignments, affidavits, other documents required in connection with real estate closings, and any other contracts required in connection with (or unique to) the transaction. These include loan documents, leaseback agreements, employment contracts, and 1031 exchange documents including reverse exchange documentation.

Due Diligence Review

We offer advice with site selection analysis; physical, environmental, and land use due diligence; title and survey review; lien and litigation searches; and corporate authority concerns. Rudman Winchell’s real estate attorneys work closely with surveyors, and land use and environmental consultants during the review process.

Financing

Our real estate attorneys negotiate and draft commercial loan documentation associated with real estate property acquisitions. We also coordinate the payoff, assignment, and assumption of existing loans.

Lease and Contract Review

Our attorneys have considerable experience in drafting commercial and residential leases. We also review and analyze existing leases and contracts, identify and obtain requisite third-party consents to transactions, and ascertain, among other things, the rights and costs to assign or terminate applicable leases and contracts.

Retail Leasing

We offer extensive experience in the negotiation and documentation of retail leases. Our legal counsel experience includes the representation of developers for premises within malls, shopping centers, and mixed-use projects in a variety of different lease transactions, including build-to-suit leases, and shop leases. In addition, our attorneys are able to represent both developers and retailers in ground leasing transactions as well as preparing purchase and sale agreements, reciprocal easement agreements, development agreements, and other agreements common to such transactions.

Office Leasing

Our real estate attorneys represent landowners and tenants in acquiring, developing, constructing, leasing, financing, and disposing of office projects. Our real estate legal counsel experience includes negotiating and documenting office leases for landlords and tenants alike.

Industrial Leasing

Our attorneys have experience representing industrial developers and industrial tenants. We have negotiated and drafted leases on behalf of landlords and tenants for industrial space in multitenant and single-tenant industrial projects, and our attorneys are experienced in dealing with issues of particular importance to industrial leasing transactions, including issues involving hazardous materials and deferred maintenance.

Title Insurance

Our attorneys review and certify the title status of real estate, issuing title insurance as agents of nationally recognized title insurance companies such as Chicago Title Insurance Corporation and First American Title Insurance Company. Our real estate attorneys act as claims counsel for title companies in negotiating and litigating title disputes. We also serve as local or title counsel for multi-state transactions serviced by the title company’s national business units.

Rudman Winchell’s real estate lawyers recognize the unique nature of each deal and the need to be flexible in approach and creative when solving complex problems. Each transaction presents unique issues and challenges that our lawyers face and resolve every day. In negotiating and preparing transaction documents and navigating the complexities of each transaction, we proactively address potential problems, including those that are likely to arise well after the closing.

Our real estate acquisition and disposition specialists also draw from the expertise of other Rudman Winchell lawyers who specialize in the diverse fields of land use, finance, litigation, creditors’ rights, environmental law, employment law, regulatory compliance, and risk management. This allows us to assist our clients in the elements of the purchase and sale process that extend beyond the initial acquisition or sale of the real estate.

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