Real Estate

Real estate professionals learn to choose their partners carefully. Few areas of business can put as much money at risk, or mean as much to the future of the business, as major real estate and finance transactions.

Frost Brown Todd counsels institutional lenders, developers, owners, equity investors, and real estate professionals in every aspect of even the most complex transactions, whether acquisition, development, financing, leasing or sale and syndication of income producing real estate and operational facilities. We can provide the in-depth experience and services to assure that property and capital are available on time to make any real estate project succeed.

Several of our Real Estate lawyers are recognized by Best Lawyers® in America as well as Chambers USA^® Client's Guide.

Real Experience

• Acquisition and financing of $152 million Class A office in major Midwestern city central business district.
• Acquisition, re-zoning (including appeals), development and bond financing for 900,000 square foot manufacturing facility for automotive industry client.
• Over $1 billion in commercial mortgage loan closings for construction and permanent lenders in last 12 months.
• Acquisition, financing and subsequent TIC syndication of multiple Class A office properties and multi-family residential properties for Tenant in Common syndicators.
• Acquisition and development of call centers throughout the United States and overseas for the largest call center operation in the United States.
• Leasing and Lease enforcement for national regional mall and shopping center owners.
• Acquisition, zoning, financing and land use documentation for single family, condominiums and apartment developments.
• Acquisition and leasing for office and warehouse facilities, including acquisition, construction and leasing of over 1.5 million square feet of warehouse space for world's largest package delivery company

Real connections

Frost Brown Todd offers value through synergy. With offices located strategically across the Midwest, we can provide a broad range of legal help for both institutional and entrepreneurial clients for their real estate and real estate finance needs.

Our team of 49 real estate lawyers regularly works in tandem with skilled, knowledgeable lawyers from other disciplines, providing comprehensive legal services, including:

• Business/Corporate matters
• Construction
• Environmental
• Financial Restructuring

With this kind of connectivity, we can provide real estate advice or assistance for corporate transactions, or help clients with solutions to more complex business challenges.

Developers/Owners

Local, regional and national real estate developers and owners have long been an important part of Frost Brown Todd's client base. Our developer and owner clients are involved in a variety of transactions, including office, retail centers ranging from strip centers to regional malls, research and industrial facilities, multi-family and single-family residential communities, mixed use projects and golf course developments.

Real Estate Finance

Frost Brown Todd closes over a billion dollars a year in commercial real estate financings for insurance companies, banks, capital markets lenders, private lenders, developers and owners. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing institutional lenders in commercial mortgage transactions all over the United States. We have also assisted developers and owners with construction financing for a wide array of real estate projects throughout the country.

Retail/Shopping Center Development

Frost Brown Todd has a large group of lawyers who concentrate in the shopping center/retail practice area and represent national and local real estate developers, publicly held REITs, lenders, building owners and retailers in all aspects of the shopping center and retail business. We provide extensive experience and knowledge as to all aspects of the shopping center industry from enclosed regional malls to free standing stores. Our lawyers understand the issues that developers and retailers face in shopping center development, construction and operation, including reciprocal easement agreements, leasing and bankruptcy issues and enforcement of restrictive covenants and other types of agreements applicable to the shopping center industry.

Leasing

Frost Brown Todd has extensive experience in complex as well as routine real estate leasing transactions. Our broad and diverse leasing practice offers a variety of services that include:

• Single tenant and multi-tenant developments
• Ground leasing
• Shopping center leasing
• Office leasing (both high rise and low rise facilities)
• Warehouse and industrial leasing
• Other forms of retail and commercial leasing

From a developer's perspective, we are particularly attuned to the needs of our clients to be certain that a lease is a "financeable" lease, satisfying the varied requirements of lenders.

Housing Development

For many years, Frost Brown Todd has counseled homebuilders and homebuilder associations, including serving as general counsel to the fourth largest homebuilders' association in the United States. We also serve as general counsel to an Association of Realtors. Our representation has given us experience in areas such as land and lot acquisition, condominium and homeowner association documentation, multiple listing services, brokers' ethics matters and preparation and revision of standard form documents.

Natural Resources

The coal industry historically has been important to Kentucky's economy. Frost Brown Todd represents a number of energy producers in the acquisition and leasing of mineral reserves and equipment.

Zoning and Regulation

Frost Brown Todd has an active land use practice representing developers and owners in connection with rezonings, conditional use permits, and approvals of subdivision and development plans. The work is broad and diverse, including developments for regional shopping malls, neighborhood shopping centers, industrial parks, hotels, motels, single and multiple industrial, commercial and office buildings, underground pipelines, recreational facilities, mixed use developments, office campus and multi-family and single-family residential developments.

1031 Exchanges and Tenant in Common Acquisitions and Syndications

Frost Brown Todd's Commercial Transactions and Real Estate Department assists clients in Like Kind Exchange transactions involving real estate and other assets. Since 2004 Frost Brown Todd has assisted clients in the acquisition, marketing and syndication of over $500 million in commercial properties acquired and sold to Tenant in Common investors.

Multi-State Title Insurance, Ltd.

Multi-State is a full-service title agency with closing personnel, paralegals and title examiners who are supervised by and work in conjunction with designated commercial real estate lawyers of Frost Brown Todd. It handles a full spectrum of transactions from small commercial real estate loans to multi-state, multi-site real estate transactions. Since the agency is not affiliated with any single underwriter, Multi-State can competitively bid title services and premiums from national title underwriters to maximize cost efficiencies, service and quality of title insurance coverage for its clients.

An ancillary real estate business, wholly owned and operated by Frost Brown Todd, Multi-State is authorized to issue title insurance directly in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Florida and Tennessee. They are a local and regional agent for:

• Chicago Title Insurance Company
• Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company
• First American Title Insurance Company
• The Guarantee Title and Trust Company
• Lawyer's Title Insurance Corporation
• Ohio Bar Title Insurance Company 
• Old Republic National Title Insurance Company
• Stewart Title Guaranty Company 
  

A national agency contract with First American Title Insurance Company enables Multi-State to provide title insurance policies and services through the United States.

Commercial Loan Transactions

Multi-State will conduct title examinations, issue title insurance commitments and assist buyers and lenders in handling title defects and other title issues. It can arrange for and review the corresponding survey work to be completed as part of a transaction. They can act as the closing agent to receive and disburse funds and to record security and other transaction documents. Multi-State has assisted clients by providing title insurance services for structured financing arrangement such as synthetic leases and sale-leasebacks.

For loan transactions outside of agency-licensed territory, Multi-State has extensive experience in arranging for and participating in the issuance of title policies, survey preparation and the supervision of escrow and closing activities through most all national underwriters. They will directly place an order with a local agent and supervise all phases of the transaction through the national title insurance underwriters. This level of involvement insures that title orders are processed efficiently, cost-effectively and consistently with the lender's title insurance and closing requirements.

Commercial Real Estate Transactions

Parallel to its commercial loan activities, Multi-State has extensive experience in the representation of owners, developers, sellers and purchasers in commercial real estate transactions locally, regionally and nationally. When representing a seller, the agency will complete its title examination and title commitment in anticipation of the needs of the purchaser and its lender. It may be called upon to provide title audits for one or more properties to determine whether title problems may exist or the need for affirmative or extended coverages and will work with Frost Brown Todd lawyers to resolve any title problems, if necessary. Similarly, they are sensitive to the needs of the purchasers and lenders in order to ensure protective title insurance coverage.

Multi-State has particularly strong experience in working with developers, coordinating the closing of complex assemblages of land, and accommodating the needs of the developer's lender by supervising, reviewing and disbursing interim construction draws, and other related real estate due diligence requirements.

Additional Services

• Judicial reports
• Owners policies, in connection with foreclosure or similar litigation activities
• Real estate title searches for creditors as part of asset searches of borrowers and guarantors and conduct UCC searches
• Handle, arrange or supervise multiple site transactions on a local, regional or national basis. These transactions involve the services provided above, such as a commercial loan, acquisition or disposition
• Provide title services and information management in connection with environmental related searches
• Escrow services to clients for various transactions, such as traditional loan transactions and real estate sales