Commercial Real Estate Investment/Commercial lease with option

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Expert: - 8/22/2008


Question
I have a commercial lease with the option to buy.  It is a 5 year lease renewable for one additional term.  The owners have a right to inspection with notice.  The lease is for open land adjacent to ours and is used as a primitive campground.  The owners now say they do not remember signing the lease.  I have hired an expert analyst who states it was clearly and undoubtedly signed by the owners.  The owners have filed an action for eviction.  They have received and accepted all monies for the lease.  The lease was paid for the entire ten years in advance.  ISSUE:  Owners claim they do not have to follow the lease becasue they don't remember signing it.  They continue to trespass and force people out of the camp sites, causing financial loss to us.  The police are called and they state that since it is a lease and the owners are now disputing the lease there is nothing they can do to help.  My family members as well as others have ended up in the hospital due to the owners attacking them causing injury.  Again the police say that the lease is not enforceable because there is no court order saying it is a lease.  They cite the owners with harrassment, a summary offense in PA and move on.  If I abandon the leased property the lease says it reverts to owners without repayment of prepaid rent.  How do I protect my interests AND money without any protection?  The court refuses to hear an injunction brought by us, to keep owners out.  The court also has yet to hear the ejection case brought by the owners.  The owners move freely about the property and chase people out.  I am at a loss.  No legal help from the courts or police.  Now what??????

Answer
Tina-

You live in an area that - like the old West - lacks civility.

This is not really a real estate matter as much as it is a legal matter that an attorney should have under control very quickly.  Hire an attorney right away that can handle this matter. If you cannot find an attorney locally, get one through your state Bar association.  

Good luck,

-Jim

Commercial Real Estate Investment

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Jim Avancena, CPM

Expertise

Best qualified to answer questions that involve commercial leases, that is, basic issues as well as the often unexpected effects of the complexities and inter-relationships of the provisions a lease may contain, explain how seemingly innocuous text in your lease can have a major impact on a Tenant or Landlord and their business operations, and the common practices utilized in the industry. I can untangle most matters that may come up from the time a tenant begins searching for a office or store space and the lease acquisition process, concerns related to remodeling/improving the leased premises, moving-in, subletting or assigning the leased space, and a long list of problems that may come up during the lease term and even after a tenant moves out. I have practical experience with most property management issues and resolving landlord and tenant disputes - especially those involving what may appear to be overcharges assessed for additional lease charges like CAM costs, operating expense reimbursement, real estate taxes, utilities, construction improvements etc. Note that I am not an attorney and cannot provide legal advice.

Experience

Thirty years active experience in the commercial real estate industry as a licensed real estate broker in the Washington DC Metro area (DC, Northern Virginia & Maryland). I have been admitted (approved) by the Maryland and DC courts to testify as an expert witness on the subjects of Commercial Leasing and Property Management in the area of standard industry practices. I have had a business for the last 14 years advising virtually every form of business entity from large national corporations to the smallest ma & pa new businesses regarding a wide range of commercial real estate matters in addition to property management and commercial leasing.

Organizations
Currently my three children keep me so busy that it is difficult to participate in organizations with continuing and specific time requirements.

Publications
I publish a local commercial real estate newsletter titled: "Tenants First". My firm was the subject of a high profile Washington Post business section cover page (2.25 full pages) feature story on January 13, 1993; titled "Overcharging Overhead".

Education/Credentials
BA in Political Science from Memphis University, and five years of study in the real estate development summer program at MIT. I was certified as a commercial property manager (CPM-IREM), and currently hold a brokers license in Maryland and the District of Columbia.

Awards and Honors
The same plaques and honors that most others in my industry have earned. I have none that I consider especially meaningful.

Past/Present Clients
Past clients include: The World Bank, George Washington University, National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, US Department of Commerce, The American Benefits Council, K-Mart Development, many law firms, a national union, other major organizations, and many, many small business firms and retail operators that I am most honored to serve. I estimate more than 1,500 firms/organizations.

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