The lawyers that comprise our Real Estate Group provide services to a broad range of clients, including national, regional and local retail, industrial and residential developers, home builders, brokers, investors, and other types of industrial and commercial ventures throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New York. Archer also has a strong real estate lending practice, representing both borrowers and lenders, including national and local banks, savings associations, credit unions, mortgage companies, insurance companies, REITs and other public and private lenders, in connection with all types of financing and joint development transactions.
Transactional Real Estate
Archer has decades of experience helping clients buy, sell, lease, and finance all types of real estate. Our attorneys are highly experienced in negotiating the transaction, protecting our clients’ rights, and closing the deal. Since the inception of Archer, real estate transactions have been a strong complement to the basic business orientation of our firm. Over the years, the Real Estate Group has evolved in response to various changes in laws regulating development, environmental compliance, banking, title insurance and other related legal areas. We handle very complex acquisitions and financing. This group operates efficiently by coordinating closely with other parts of the firm, particularly those involved in land use, environmental permitting, environmental litigation, and corporate and tax matters. We work closely with regional and local professionals, including lenders, environmental consultants, surveyors and title insurance companies, to reach effective and efficient results for our clients.
Archer has decades of experience advising and representing clients in the acquisition and sale of real estate, including condemnation and eminent domain matters. The firm’s attorneys have negotiated, drafted and reviewed hundreds of agreements related to property transfer, escrows, right-of-entry and construction easements, loans, grants, leases, and operations, as well as deed preparation and execution.
Real Estate Development
Archer attorneys assist with the structuring, negotiation and financing of development projects across all asset classes, including residential, retail, office and mixed-use projects, resort and recreational properties, and sports complexes and arenas. Our attorneys offer broad-based experience with all types of projects and all phases of development—from acquisition, through planning, conversion (as applicable), development, construction and use. We handle contract negotiation and documentation, due diligence review, construction-related work and land use entitlements, and acquisition, development and construction financing. We have extensive experience in counseling developers as they interact with public and private agencies, architects and engineers, professional managers, and general contractors.
Our depth of knowledge and experience regarding all aspects of mixed-use, residential, planned communities, and condominium real estate development ensures that our attorneys structure such communities to be efficiently developed, marketed and operated. We are experienced in preparing covenants to govern the highest density, mixed-use, lifestyle centers, as well as office parks, retail centers, single-family communities and condominiums. We structure master associations, condominium associations and sub-associations as necessary and appropriate to ensure the effective operation, governance and fiscal management of the community. With our extensive knowledge and experience regarding land use, acquisitions, public and private finance, condominium law, eminent domain and condemnation, environmental law, wetlands regulations, and construction law, Archer attorneys counsel developers through all stages of the development and successful marketing of new communities.
We also assist clients in completing and managing affordable housing projects through a variety of financing tools, including low-income housing tax credits, new markets tax credits, historic rehabilitation tax credits, energy tax credits, facade easements and other tax incentive programs. Archer attorneys represent developers in obtaining federal grants, US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) loan guaranties, HOPE VI funds, tax increment financing, enterprise zone funds, redevelopment agreements and tax abatements.
We represent developers on the full transaction, including the real estate purchase, rezoning, application for tax credits, construction and permanent loan financing, compliance with tax credit regulations, delivery of the required opinions and negotiating and structuring the partnership or limited liability company documents involved with the investment by national funds to acquire the benefit of the tax credits.
Real Estate Lending
Archer has a strong real estate lending practice, representing both borrowers and lenders, including banks, insurance companies, REITs, and other public and private lenders in connection with all types of real estate financing and joint venture transactions.
The collective experience of our real estate finance team in banking and finance, CMBS loans, insurance, workouts and restructurings, insolvency, and tax allows us to provide strategic counsel at each phase of the deal and in every kind of loan arrangement, including:
- Conventional commercial loans
- Mezzanine financing
- Middle-market & large corporate loans
- Subordinated & convertible debt
- Construction loans
- Credit-enhancement instruments
- Sale-leaseback transactions
- Bond & tax-exempt financing
- Ground leases
- Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac loans
- Capital markets
- Housing & Urban Development (HUD) multifamily loans
- Commercial mortgage-backed securities
In structuring those transactions, we have handled a variety of properties, including, among others:
- Industrial sites
- Hospitality, entertainment, & gaming properties
- Residential developments & multifamily housing
- Landfills & waste treatment facilities
- Condominiums & apartment buildings
- Assisted & independent living facilities
- Manufactured housing communities
- Hospitals, medical complexes, & nursing homes
- Retail shopping centers & regional malls
- Solar & wind farms
- Mixed-use facilities
Real Estate Tax Appeal
Property taxes are a considerable business operating expense. Elevated or unfair property valuations increase tax liabilities. Often, commercial properties can be over-assessed resulting in excessive and unlawful taxes. Archer’s Real Estate Tax Appeal Group assists clients in monitoring and controlling their tax obligations through sophisticated and strategic representation to achieve tax savings. Our attorneys have achieved substantial tax savings for thousands of our corporate, business and residential clients, handling the litigation for all types of commercial, residential, industrial, and special property.
Attorneys in Archer’s Real Estate Tax Appeal Group are well-versed in the complexities of property tax laws. We review individual strategies and issues in order to pursue tax reductions. We ensure that our clients pay only the amount in property taxes required by law through challenging assessments and pinpointing other tax-savings opportunities. We help non-profit clients obtain and retain their tax-exempt status and provide solutions that reduce liabilities to local taxing jurisdictions. We also have extensive experience in negotiating tax exemptions, abatements, and payments in lieu of taxes for qualifying projects.
Construction and Real Estate Litigation
Archer’s Construction and Real Estate Litigation Group is comprised of attorneys experienced in effectively handling disputes arising out of and related to construction projects and real estate transactions. We offer a wide range of legal services to clients engaged in all aspects of the construction industry, including:
- Claims Prevention and Avoidance
- Construction Defect Claims
- Architect and Engineer Professional Negligence Claims
- Payment Disputes and Lien Claims
- Insurance Coverage-Related Issues
- Changed or Unforeseen Conditions
- Product Defect Claims
- Delays, Acceleration and Loss of Productivity Claims
Our lawyers have experience in handling the legal issues relating to the design, development, financing, performance and management of construction projects. Our group includes attorneys who regularly represent national homebuilders, general contractors, prime contractors, subcontractors, public and private owners and developers, equipment suppliers, architects/engineers and other design professionals, and sureties. This broad range of experience enables us to handle issues and disputes arising before, during and after project completion.
