Bristol Commercial Real Estate Lawyers

Find the right Commercial Real Estate attorney in Bristol, CT

Commercial Real Estate Law in Connecticut

In Bristol, Connecticut, "commercial real estate" is any type of land or building which is used for a business, as opposed to residential, purpose.

The laws covering commercial real estate in Bristol, Connecticut are quite different from those applying to residential real estate.

When renting or buying residential real estate, renters and buyers have considerable legal protections which often don't apply to commercial real estate.

For instance, residential real estate is governed by laws concerning rent control, living conditions, and other things relevant to buildings where people will be living. Most of these protections don't apply to commercial real estate, because the law assumes that the average business person is a bit more sophisticated in such dealings than the general population, and because a place to do business is typically less important than a place to live. However, the most basic protections, such as protection from fraud and deliberate concealment of defects, still apply.

Common Commercial Real Estate Law Issues in Bristol, Connecticut

Financing: Most small business owners in Bristol, Connecticut don't have the money to buy real estate with the cash on hand. However, there is a solution to this problem, allowing people without massive sums of money (but with a steady income) to buy real estate: the mortgage. A mortgage is a loan used to buy real estate, and the real estate being purchased is used as collateral for the loan.

Concealment of Defects: if the seller or lessor of commercial real estate actively conceals a material defect in the real estate, they can be accountable to the buyer or renter for any damages caused by this concealment.

Duty to Inspect: While buyers of real estate have some considerable protections with respect to defects, they also have some obligations. Before finalizing a purchase, buyers are expected to undertake a reasonable inspection of the property, usually by using a licensed building inspector. If the buyer fails to conduct an inspection, they normally won't be able to successfully sue, if defects are discovered after the purchase.

Encumbrances: Encumbrances are defects of a different type: rather than physical defects, they are defects of title. In Bristol, Connecticut, an encumbrance is an interest in a piece of real estate held by a third party, such as covenants or easements. An easement is a right held by someone to use the property of someone else for a particular purpose. For example, a person might have an easement on the land of another person, allowing them to cross the land to access a public road.

Can a Bristol, Connecticut Attorney Help?

These issues can be very complicated, and most people consider such financially-weighty decisions to be very crucial. If you are one of those people, it's a smart move to contact a Bristol, Connecticut real estate attorney if you are facing any of the issues discussed above.

Talk to a Real Estate Law Attorney now!

Life in Bristol

You're probably familiar with Bristol because it is the headquarters to ESPN. This Hartford County city is 20 miles Southwest of the City of Hartford making it very popular among professionals seeking a more suburban environment. Many of those professionals are lawyers. Lawyers in Bristol take all kinds of cases and advise their clients on the best courses of action for their cases in Connecticut. Bristol has earned a number of different nicknames over the years. It was known as Clock City in the 1800s because it primarily manufactured timepieces; today you may visit the American Clock and Watch Museum in Bristol. Other more recent nicknames include Bell City and Mum City as a result of the bustling doorbell and chrysanthemum production. Bristol still holds an annual Mum Festival each September.  

Today, Bristol is undergoing a period of downtown revitalization attracting more business to interesting historical museums like the New England Carousel Museum, Imagine Nation Children's Museum, Witches Dungeon Classic Movie Museum, and the Bristol Historical Society Museum which recounts Bristol's rich past. Bristol is notably home to the largest elevator test tower in the United States that is owned by the Otis Elevator Company. 

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