Commercial Real Estate
Our lawyers handle a wide variety of commercial real estate transactions within the real estate world and have earned a reputation as a firm that achieves results. SWF combines a practical approach in the structure, negotiation and documentation of a transaction with specific expertise born from years of experience in the trenches. While primarily focused in Georgia and the Southeast, we have expanded our practice to a national scale to meet the needs of our clients.

SWF has represented developers; operators; lessor and lessees; buyers and sellers; lenders and borrowers; syndicators; credit enhancers; property managers; brokers; assemblers; and managers. This experience has enabled us to see many ways in which real estate offers a promising return to our clients and helps us structure transactions that skillfully accommodate differing interests among the parties.

• Development — Representation of local, regional and multi-national companies, as well as individual builder-developers in land assembly, subdivision, construction, debt and equity financing and ultimate operation and sale of numerous types of developments, including residential subdivisions, condominiums, office, shopping centers, apartments, hotels and mixed-use developments.
• Lending — Representation of numerous lenders and developers in securing construction and permanent loans throughout all states in the Southeast and many others. The real estate collateral has included residential and office condominium developments, shopping centers, hotels, restaurants, apartments, mobile home parks, warehouses, and pledged residential mortgages. Lender clients have ranged from national banks, insurance companies, and multinational credit corporations to local community banks.
• Equity Finance — Representation of real estate syndicators in acquiring existing properties and properties under development, registration-exempt securities offerings, tax structuring, and resolution of investor disputes.
• Zoning and Governmental Relations — Representation of developers and lenders in a variety of matters pertaining to governmental regulation of real estate development. Activities have included such matters as litigation to remove all zoning from an Atlanta parcel to permit construction of a shopping center, rezoning, obtaining exemptions from mortgage taxation, transfers of privately licensed sewer systems, state regulation of condominiums and timeshare sales, and obtaining special purpose permits for elderly housing.
• Timberlands — Representation of a timber investment management organization in connection with the acquisition, operation and disposition of portfolios of timberlands throughout the United States.
• Government Assisted Housing — Representation of various clients in connection with Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments, Section 11(b) tax exempt financing, FHA insured and co-insured loans, revenue bond financed housing, and FmHA Section 515 housing.
• Tax Exempt Financing — Representation of lenders, developers, and public authorities in connection with both publicly and privately placed financing exempted from taxation under various provisions of federal law for housing, downtown development, and industrial development. Our activities have included credit enhancement for bond purchasers, issuer representation, and restructuring defaulted issues to preserve tax exempt treatment.
• Retail Centers — Representation of lenders, developers, and owner-operators in construction and permanent financing; anchor and local tenant leasing; litigation with tenants; and sales. The properties have ranged from rural and urban strip and specialty centers to regional malls.
• Multifamily Housing — Representation of lenders, developers, syndicators, sellers and buyers for planned unit communities, family and elderly apartments, conventional and HUD- and FMHA-assisted rental housing, resort and conventional residential condominium developments and personal care facilities for the elderly, and properties utilizing lower income housing tax credits.
• Resorts/Marinas — Representation of developers and operators of vacation ownership resorts, private residence clubs, condominium hotels and marinas in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and the Caribbean. We have handled the structuring and formation of ownership entities; acquisition of property; negotiation of construction loans and construction contracts; drafting the ownership declarations, disclosure documents, purchase contracts, closing documents, rules and regulations and owners association documents; filing of appropriate state registrations in more than 20 states; negotiating the hypothecation and the sale of end-paper financing; negotiating working capital loans; and master affiliation agreements with exchange companies.
• Distressed Properties — Representation of debtors and creditors in debt reorganization by bankruptcy, litigation and negotiation.  Much of our real estate practice has derived from lenders and developers who initially sought our assistance to solve the problems of inadequately collateralized loans or underperforming properties.  On behalf of a Texas thrift operating under a regulatory consent order at the time our representation commenced, our lawyers appeared in bankruptcy and other courts throughout the Sunbelt and many other parts of the United States to restructure debt, seize collateral, defend against lender liability claims, and enforce debt instruments. We recognize the difficulties that a lender may have in trying to enforce even properly documented debt and the difficulties that overly aggressive loan officers may create for lenders, and we have been able to employ that knowledge for the benefit of both lender and borrower clients.

This practice area is led by Cliff Barshay. For any questions or additional information about our commercial real estate practice, please contact Cliff at 404-954-9851 or at cbarshay@swfllp.com.