Acquisitions & Dispositions

Overview

Whether buying or selling property, Blank Rome’s real estate practice can help you minimize risks and carry your transaction across the finish line.

Every year, we handle real estate deals ranging from five million dollars to several billions of dollars. Our large, diverse team of real estate attorneys are supported by a deep bench of legal professionals with experience in public and private financing, environmental law, tax law, and corporate transactions.

Our team can diligence, negotiate, and document a broad range of acquisitions and dispositions. We are well-equipped to review issues involving title, land use, zoning, leasing, and the environmental and physical condition of the property and any improvements. Our attorneys can also advise you on the sale and acquisition of entities, such as private or publicly traded REITs and have handled several of the largest REIT acquisition and privatization transactions in recent years.

Our clients include:

  • Developers (including homebuilders)
  • Entrepreneurial real estate companies and individuals
  • Financial institutions
  • Government entities
  • Hotel, hospitality, and leisure companies
  • Office building owners
  • Private equity funds
  • Public, private, and nonprofit companies
  • REITs
  • Retail and shopping center owners

We understand the market, and we understand the laws involved in real estate transactions. Whether you are finalizing a multibillion-dollar portfolio acquisition or closing a single-property sale, we can help you identify the pitfalls, develop a strategy, evaluate financing and capital sources, and seize the (right) opportunity.

How We Can Help

  • Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating letters of intent and purchase and sale agreements, conveyance documents, financing documents, tax-deferred and multiple-party exchange agreements, and escrow instructions
  • Conducting due diligence with regard to property title, easements, compliance and permitting requirements, and physical property evaluations
  • Reviewing environmental and property surveys
  • Structuring and securing financing
  • Analyzing tax issues and structuring transactions to minimize taxes (state, local, and federal), including, without limitation, 1031 exchange

What Sets Us Apart

  • National and regional Tier 1 rankings in U.S. News & World Report–Best Lawyers® 2022 “Best Law Firms” for Real Estate Law.
  • Chambers USA 2023 recognized our practice for Real Estate Law in Pennsylvania. Chambers researchers have stated Blank Rome:
    • “Acts for an impressive list of leading financial institutions, as well as owners, developers and REITs.”
    • “Possesses strong capabilities in zoning and land use issues and is also regularly called upon for its expertise in restructuring work and tax assessment matters”
    • Is “…regularly called upon for its expertise in restructuring work…”
    • “...is ‘very, very strong in representing real estate developers.’”
  • Recognized as a “Top Issuer Counsel” for U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”) by Commercial Mortgage Alert in February 2013.

Experience

  • Represented real estate investment and management services company in the acquisition of 110 industrial facilities located in California, Indian and Missouri for a purchase price in excess of $600 million.
  • Represented real estate investment and management services company in the acquisition of 14 multifamily communities located in Arizona, Florida, Texas and Virginia for a purchase price of $477 million. Simultaneous with the acquisition, the client sold the Texas properties to a third party buyer for $76 million and entered into individual loans encumbering the remaining 13 properties in an aggregate loan amount of $287.8 million.
  • Represented real estate investment and management services company in the sale of a portfolio of multifamily apartment properties for a purchase price of $115 million.
  • Represented owner and operator of senior living facilities in the sale of a portfolio of assisted living communities located in Maryland, Michigan and Pennsylvania for a purchase price in excess of $85 million.
  • Represented a large regional owner of multifamily properties in its acquisition and financing of 8,600 units with a value of approximately $1.2 billion in 2017.
  • Represented real estate investment and management services company in the $103.7 million sale of Westbury Plaza. This deal was recognized by Real Estate Alert as the fourth largest single-property retail deal in the U.S. in 2009.
  • Represented leading real estate firm in a $53 million sale of 215,000 square foot Class-A office building in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
  • Advised on development and subsequent $34 million sale of a regional shopping center in South Brunswick, New Jersey, including a sale to Target of a “shadow” anchor pad.
  • Advised on bulk acquisition on behalf of a national petroleum company of 195 service stations and convenience stores in four states for more than $140 million, including coordination of zoning/permitting issues, 1031 exchanges, negotiations with landlords and other third parties, and complex due diligence matters.
  • Represented residential developer in connection with the acquisition of an ongoing residential development business from a real estate investment trust involving approximately 1,000 lots in 15 communities in several states, as well as houses under construction, materials, equipment, vehicles, and other intangible assets.

Team