Commercial Real Estate Law in Minnesota

In Princeton, Minnesota, commercial real estate is any form of real property (land or permanent structures) being utilized for business purposes.

The Princeton, Minnesota laws regulating commercial real estate differ significantly from the laws that cover residential and other types of real estate.

People who buy and rent residential unites have a larger deal of legal protections not available to buyers of commercial property.

These include implied warranties of habitability, rent control, and covenants of use and quiet enjoyment, among various others. Of course, the most general protections, such as prohibiting the seller from actively concealing defects, apply to both.

Common Commercial Real Estate Law Issues in Princeton, Minnesota

Financing: Some small businesses in Princeton, Minnesota find it necessary, at some point, to purchase a piece of real estate, for various reasons. Nonetheless, most owners of small to medium-sized businesses can't afford to make a real estate purchase up front, with the cash they have on hand. Simply put, very few individuals have hundreds of thousands of dollars just sitting in the bank. One solution to this is a mortgage, which is similar to most other forms of secured loans: a bank lends you money, and you put up some piece of property as collateral, so the bank has some security in the event of default. With a mortgage, however, the property being purchased with the loan also secures the loan, permitting the bank to foreclose on it in case the buyer defaults.

Concealment of Defects: if the seller of commercial property acts to conceal a significant defect in the property, and then sells the property, he will be accountable for any harm this defect cause, as well as the reduced value of the property, or the cost of repair.

Buyer's Duty to Inspect: typically, buyers of commercial real estate are expected to inspect the property before buying it. A failure to do so might prevent the buyer from prevailing in a lawsuit if he is hurt by physical defects that an inspection would have revealed, and that the seller didn't know about.

Encumbrances: An encumbrance is any interest held in a piece of property by a party other than the seller and the buyer. These property interests might make it very hard for the buyer to use the land as they intended when they bought it. A frequent type of encumbrance in Princeton, Minnesota is the easement. An easement is some right that a third party has in a piece of property. For example, suppose that, many years ago, a neighbor adjacent to the land you want to buy, paid a previous owner for the right to cross his land to reach a public road. Unless the agreement states otherwise, this right will usually apply to subsequent owners, and has to be honored. Therefore, it might interfere with the intended use of the new owner.

Can a Princeton, Minnesota Attorney Help?

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