Brown McCarroll Attorneys at Law

Here are some of the likely effects on landowners of the new Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Day decision by the Texas Supreme Court…

On February 17, 2012, the Texas Supreme Court held in Edwards Aquifer Authority v. Day that land ownership in Texas includes ownership of groundwater in place that cannot be taken without adequate compensation.  Here is what this means to Texas landowners…

With development picking up, this seems like a good time to remind my developer and general contractor friends to take this simple step to help protect yourself if you get into a fuss over mechanic’s liens in Texas...

Here’s a way to speed up your deals that I think more sellers should consider…

Want to save on a significant portion of your title insurance cost in Florida?  Try this…

Here’s an idea that could save you some time and money on your ALTA surveys…

I thought this article from themultifamilyexecutive.com dealing with a potential up tick in hiring at multifamily developers was interesting…

In Part 1, I discussed a title company’s common roles in a real estate deal.  In Part 2, I covered some of the normal risks that a title company assumes in the base title policy.  Now, lets see what a title company will do for a little extra money…

In Part 1, I responded to a reader question about the basic roles that a title company plays in a commercial real estate deal.  Now, I’ll discuss the risks that a title company typically assumes for the land owner and its lender with a basic title policy.

You've probably noticed that I haven't posted anything for a few weeks.  Things have been a little hectic around here and I didn't break free long enough to share my random ramblings wisdom with you.  (I know, with as little wisdom as I have it shouldn't take long to come up with a post.) 

A reader recently asked me what role a title company plays in real estate deals, what liability they assume and what fees are negotiable.  Here goes…

Here are some thoughts and numbers which you may find interesting from a panel discussion on REO opportunities that I recently attended…

On Tuesday, March 22, I plan on attending a panel discussion here in Dallasat the Tower Club (ThanksgivingTower, 1601 Elm Street, Suite 4800).  This is a part of the Blackacre 48 Commercial Real Estate Breakfast series sponsored in part by my friend Carl Pankratz with Capital Title of Texas.  The subject is …

We’ve been discussing title insurance in Texas in Parts I and II in this series.  Here are some steps to take if the title commitment shows you a potential problem.

In Part I in this series, I explained the basics of title insurance.  Here are the first steps to getting title insurance in Texas:  

I was reminded recently of an insurance pitfall that I see in many commercial agreements that could cause you to be in a technical default.

You may consider title insurance worse than boring – it’s confusing too, and what does it really do for you?!    

A reader recently asked for a basic outline of the commercial real estate foreclosure process in Texas. Hope this helps. Also, in light of the President’s Day holiday, I would like to share some advice from President Lincoln that still rings true today. 

I received this interesting foreclosure question from a reader: Tyler, what are your thoughts on a 1st lien foreclosure wiping out subordinate liens with a subsequent sale of the property from the senior lender to the original owner?  Would this be subject to challenge?

In parts one  and two I answered a reader’s question about what attorneys mean by “specific performance”.  Below is an example of when this may come into play when buying a home.

One of the trickier things about buying an apartment project is accounting for all of the existing service contracts.  For that matter it’s also pretty tricky as a seller to get a list of all the service contracts from your property manager.  Here is an easy way to see if you’ve uncovered all of the service contracts for a property.

The days of handshakes and verbal agreements may be a thing of the past, but surprisingly some folks still conduct business this way only to be disappointed when they realize that they and their consultant disagree on the details of a project.  With that in mind, here is a list of some basics I think you should focus on as an owner when you negotiate an architectural, engineering or other professional services contract:

In light of the recent WikiLeak fiasco and under the category of "Don't let this happen to you...", I felt it would be a good idea to address proper protocol and a couple of good "rules of thumb" to follow with regard to transmission of business emails containing sensitive information.
 

Recently I received a request for a list of basic due diligence items that a buyer should consider when purchasing a real estate loan.  Here is a short list to help you get started:

 

In part one, I gave you a basic definition of specific performance.  In this post, I’ll give you an example of when this becomes important in commercial deals.  In part three I’ll go over an example of when you should care about specific performance when buying a home. 

Why does my lawyer use the term “specific performance” so much?  Does he charge me extra every time he says that?  I’ve had several requests to demystify what we’re talking about when we say “specific performance”.  (As a warning, I’m charging you extra for this post.) 

In this economy you may be willing to lease to an industrial tenant who you wouldn’t have considered otherwise.  I attended an excellent presentation the other day by Mark McPherson about environmental issues with commercial leasing. Here are a few points from the presentation and random thoughts that I had, which will hopefully be useful.

Let’s continue with our discussion from my last post, and now focus on the seller’s perspective.  If I were the seller and my attorney sent me a multifamily disposition contract, the following are key provisions I would focus on.    

What do you do when you receive a multifamily acquisition contract from your attorney and you don’t have much time before the broker needs to send it to the seller? 

An LOI is a great tool to commit the parties to a deal psychologically.  In its most basic form, an LOI sets out the key business points to begin negotiating a contract. In this post, I’ll address the items you should consider in your LOIs for acquisitions, dispositions and development deals.  I plan to discuss leasing LOIs in a future post.

The world of real estate is constantly evolving.  As a commercial real estate professional, you may find yourself entering new areas of real estate outside your normal expertise.  While challenging, these new opportunities may very well serve as a catalyst to keep you on the cutting edge of real estate trends while also increasing your community exposure and knowledge base. My goal is to help you in this transition.