At Brennans Solicitors, we pride ourselves on delivering sound, practical advice with an understanding of every client’s personal needs. Call +61 7 5438 8199 today!
We act for clients in property related matters, large or small.
Buying or selling commercial property
There are legal pitfalls to be avoided when buying commercial property. Legal issues can be expensive and may remain dormant only to arise at the worst possible time for you. There should be a Due Diligence period inserted in the special conditions to allow you to have a close look at your intended investment before you commit. Searches should be conducted and reviewed to identify legal problems.. The best protection is instructing a lawyer with experience.
Understandably, as a seller of commercial property, you are mainly concerned with receiving the sale price at completion. If the buyer’s lawyer finds a legal issue, then you can lose the sale and in some cases be sued for damages and costs. Should the buyer of your commercial property have a change of heart prior to completion the buyer’s lawyer will look that much harder to identify loopholes to get out of the contract. This can leave you facing litigation to enforce the contract or the prospect of losing the sale.
In short, being stepped through the transaction is not enough. You need a lawyer who will anticipate legal problems and avoid them. We have the experience gained in many commercial transactions.
Leasing commercial property
We act for landlords and tenants of commercial property including retail shop leases.
If you are a landlord (lessor) leasing your commercial property you should have a lawyer draw up and negotiate the lease with the prospective tenant (lessee). A lease drafted by a solicitor is a lengthy document and is intended to anticipate and resolve issues that may arise between you and your tenant in a manner satisfactory to you. The original term of the lease is usually extended by granting options to renew and therefore if care is not taken in drafting and negotiating the lease (particularly the fine print) you may need to live with a lease with terms that prove unsatisfactory to you for many years. We have considerable experience in drafting commercial leases.
If you are the prospective tenant of commercial property, you will be faced with a draft lease prepared by the landlord’s solicitor. It is tempting to ignore the fine print. However, in business, this can be a costly mistake. You need a lawyer with experience to review the draft lease and negotiate the terms of the lease on your behalf to minimise the risk to your business.
Property Development
If you have decided to join with others to develop residential or commercial property, it is essential that the joint venture be documented by a solicitor so that you all know where you stand should issues arise with the development. If not, you may end up fighting each other as well as dealing with other issues. Failing to properly document the venture is a basic but potentially costly mistake.
You will need contractual documents to ensure that the seller is committed to selling the property to you so that you can confidently put in the time and money that is required to bring the development to a successful conclusion. There may be several sellers each with a separate contract that must operate together to facilitate the development. The contracts must be conditional on the development proceeding so that you can cancel the contract if the development proves to be uneconomical.
At the same time, the contract terms must be reasonably acceptable to the seller and the seller’s lawyer to achieve a commercial arrangement without compromising your interests. This can require a delicate approach. We have gained the required experience by acting for developers in numerous developments.
If a property developer offers to buy your residential or commercial property you may be asked to enter into a conditional contract that would allow the developer to tie up your property for a considerable period of time with no guarantee that the deal will proceed and you will be paid. You need an experienced lawyer to review the contract to protect your interests while assisting you to take a commercial approach to allow the developer reasonable access and time to put the deal in place so that you get paid. Our expertise can help you.
Buying or selling residential property
Buying a residential property is likely to be one of your most important financial transactions. You should exercise caution as you will need to live, quite literally, with any legal issues that are not identified and resolved before settlement. We will guide you through the transaction which can be daunting especially for a first-time buyer. However, it is not enough to be steered through the process without some thought being given to the legal issues in your matter which can be buried in the paperwork. While guiding you through the transaction we will keep a careful eye out for legal issues so that at settlement you can be confident in your decision especially when it comes time to sell the property to someone else.
When selling a residential property in Queensland it is “time of the essence” in all respects. This means that the sale must proceed strictly to the timetable agreed in the contract. The good news is that the buyer feels compelled to hand over the purchase price on time. However, this strict timetable can become a nightmare for the seller especially if the buyer’s lawyer discovers a legal issue and it cannot be fixed on or before settlement. As well as the legal implications the seller may lose the sale or be forced to reduce the sale price. The search for a convenient legal issue can be prompted by the buyer changing his or her mind before settlement. An experienced lawyer can anticipate problems and deal with legal issues.
For property related matters, speak to Brennans Solicitors on +61 7 5438 8199 today!