Fairfield Commercial Real Estate Lawyers

Find the right Commercial Real Estate attorney in Fairfield, CT

Commercial Real Estate Law in Connecticut

In Fairfield, 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 Fairfield, Connecticut are quite different from those applying to residential real estate.

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

For instance, residential real estate is controlled 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 usually 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 Fairfield, Connecticut

Financing: Most small business owners in Fairfield, 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.

Disclosure of Defects: Sellers of real estate have an requirement to inform prospective buyers of any defects present in the property, such as water damage and other structural problems. Essentially, if the defect is significant enough that it might affect a reasonable buyer's decision on whether or not to purchase the property, and the seller knows about it, it must be disclosed. Failure to disclose such defects would give a buyer the right to sue the seller, and recover substantial damages, including the cost of repairing the defect, compensation for any injuries or illness caused by it, and the reduction in the property's value caused by the defect.

Duty to Inspect: Buyers of commercial real estate are expected to be diligent, and a court will not reward a lack of diligence. Consequently, 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 Fairfield, 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 specific 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 Fairfield, Connecticut Attorney Help?

Because of the importance and potential complexity of the issues surrounding commercial real estate, it's almost always judicious that, before engaging in any real estate deal, you pursue the counsel of a good Fairfield, Connecticut real estate attorney.

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Life in Fairfield

Fairfield, Connecticut is a city located in Fairfield County. It has a population of approximately 57,000 people. Fairfield has been ranked by Money Magazine as one of the top 10 places to live in the U.S. It was ranked by the same publication as the best place to live in the Northeast, owing to its high median household income, relatively low home prices, extremely low crime rates, and quality of schools, among many other factors. Fairfield was originally established in the 1630s by a breakaway Puritan sect from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. During the American Revolutionary War, Fairfield was the site of significant fighting, and was particularly hard-hit by the ruthless, scorched-earth tactics of some British commanders, with many residents having their homes and businesses burned. Modernly, Fairfield, Connecticut is home to a large number (for a city its size) of major multinational corporations, including General Electric. It shouldn't be a surprise, then, that Fairfield, Connecticut is home to quite a few competent attorneys, who have to be ready to serve an extremely diverse and sophisticated client base. It's very likely that, whatever Fairfield, Connecticut lawyer you choose, they'll be able to help you with your legal problem.

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