Commercial Real Estate Law in Connecticut

In Burlington, Connecticut, "commercial real estate" is any form of land or building which is utilized for a business, as opposed to residential, purpose.

The laws governing commercial real estate in Burlington, 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 Burlington, Connecticut

Financing: Most small business owners in Burlington, Connecticut don't have the money to buy real estate with the cash on hand. Nonetheless, there is a solution to this problem, permitting 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 bought 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: Buyers of commercial real estate are expected to be diligent, and a court will not reward a lack of diligence. Thus, if the buyer fails to conduct a thorough inspection of the property before buying it, and thereby fails to discover defects which such an inspection could have easily revealed, he will not be able to sue the seller over these defects later on.

Encumbrances: Encumbrances are defects of a different type: rather than physical defects, they are defects of title. In Burlington, 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 instance, 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 Burlington, Connecticut Attorney Help?

These issues are sometimes intricate, and almost always very important. Therefore, it's necessary to seek the assistance of a Burlington, Connecticut real estate attorney if you have any dealings in this area.