Real Estate, Zoning and Land Development Departments
The attorneys in the firm’s Real Estate, Zoning and Land Development Departments possess the experience necessary to guide you through all aspects of your real estate transaction. We regularly advise real estate developers, financial institutions, commercial landlords and tenants, local governments, business entities, contractors, design professionals and private individuals on all of their real estate related needs. Working closely with attorneys in our Corporate, Tax and Banking Departments, we attempt to identify every issue which may arise during the course of a transaction and propose creative, practical and cost-effective solutions to ensure successful completion. Small transaction or large, we are ready to help.
What we do:
Acquisitions and Sales of Property ranging from Residential through Office Parks and Shopping Centers
Office, Industrial and Retail Lease Negotiations for Landlords and Tenants
Public and Private Financing and Refinancing for Real Estate Projects
Investigation and Resolution of Title Issues
All aspects of Single Family, Multi-Family, Commercial and Retail Land Development
Rezoning (both map changes and text amendments)
Variances, Special Exceptions and Conditional Uses
Condemnations
Sale and Leaseback Arrangements
Tax-Free Exchanges
Real Estate Tax Assessment Appeals
Zoning and Land Use Disputes
Real Estate Litigation
Act 2 Prospective Purchaser Releases and other Environmental Remediation
Why Real Estate Clients Choose Wisler Pearlstine
Because our attorneys have decades of experience on all sides of real estate transactions, we truly “get it”. We represent banks and understand both sides of real estate financing. We also understand the risks inherently involved in real estate development and the need for cost-effective, prompt solutions for the problems that frequently arise, so that a project can get to building permit and the marketplace as quickly as possible. We routinely represent developers who need zoning relief, as well as the complex approvals which almost always need to be obtained from the State, the County and the local municipality. Many of our attorneys also represent municipalities, zoning boards and utility authorities, so we know how to effectively approach the approval process from both sides.
Our real estate and land development attorneys also work hand-in-hand with engineers and environmental consultants to address the extremely complex regulatory environment which is an inherent part of today’s development and construction industries. On a daily basis, we deal with floodplain, wetlands, sanitary sewer, public water and even “brownfield” issues to assist our clients in expeditiously moving their projects through the approval process. Our attorneys obviously understand traffic impact statements, stormwater management reports and financial feasibility analyses and we are called upon work with consultants in those fields on virtually every large project we undertake. We are frequently called upon to act as the “quarterback” for the numerous consultants who must become involved on bigger projects, so that the effort of the project team is coordinated and focused on the developer’s need to obtain all necessary approvals on a timely basis.
We also provide extensive assistance for our real estate clients in their efforts to obtain financing for their projects. In today’s difficult real estate climate, the traditional rules for financing no longer exist and creativity is required in order to have a project considered seriously and funded effectively. In this lending environment, our firm’s 50 years of experience representing banks becomes invaluable. Our attorneys serve on bank boards and loan committees, so we can efficiently represent our real estate clients through today’s challenging financing process.
In today’s real estate and land development industries, tax issues and “choice of entity” questions are also critically important. We have formed and represent innumerable real estate joint ventures, LLC’s, holding companies, family limited partnerships and corporations on small to very large projects. We have also been recognized for the formation and representation of commercial, industrial and residential condominiums and homeowner associations and currently represent over 40 of these entities.
On occasion, our zoning and land development attorneys have been called upon to protect the legitimate interests and expectations of our developer clients who have faced strong local and municipal opposition because of a project’s size or perceived unpopularity. Although we work hard to keep our real estate clients out of court through negotiation and on-going communication with opponents, sometimes litigation provides the only means to protect legitimate property rights. When such a course has proven unavoidable, our attorneys have successfully litigated through the municipal approval process and zoning boards to all the courts of this Commonwealth and Federal Court. In fact, because of that real estate litigation experience, our attorneys our frequently called upon to lecture in the area of zoning and land development litigation. Our experienced litigators have also handled most other issues which can result from land disputes, such as breached sales agreements, commission disputes, partition actions, constructive trusts and boundary disputes.
Real Estate Clients Benefit From the Diversity of our Experience
Like many of the departments in our firm, we practice real estate, zoning and land development law utilizing a “team” approach where one attorney always has primary responsibility for a real estate client, but other partners and associates are available in their areas of expertise to assist with complex zoning issues, tax and financing problems, and even litigation support when necessary. The availability of these other areas of expertise, frequently on a moment’s notice, is a significant benefit to our clients. In today’s challenging real estate environment, being able to provide true expertise in a wide variety of legal disciplines is more than just beneficial—it has become a necessity. We believe that providing that expertise in a cost effective and timely manner is the type of legal representation our real estate clients are entitled to expect.
