what type of lawyer reviews lease agreements?

When should you hire a lawyer for apartment lease issues?

You may want to hire a lawyer for apartment lease issues if they concern a breach of your residential lease agreement, the landlord has infringed upon your legal rights as a tenant, and/or if the problem needs to be resolved in court.

Do I need a commercial real estate attorney for a lease?

A commercial lease is complicated, and there are many issues that need to be addressed. To make sure you are legally protected, you should have a commercial real estate attorney assist you with the negotiations and review of your commercial lease.

How can a landlord/tenant lawyer help with a lease?

The attorney's expertise in landlord/tenant disputes and leases can help avoid potential problems that may arise by recommending additional clauses that should be added to the lease and clarifying ambiguous language.

How long does a commercial lease agreement last?

Oftentimes, the contracting parties will enter into a commercial lease agreement for as long as several years. This is in direct contrast to the standards of a residential lease, which are normally for one year or less.

What can a lawyer do for you?

Here are some of the important things a good lawyer can do for you: Spot subtle (or even not so subtle) variations on a lease clause you are familiar with, and explain its meaning to you. Warn you of hidden problems (or windfalls) in the lease that aren't-obvious to the unprofessional eye.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a lease?

While it's true that hiring a lawyer will add expense and perhaps time to your lease negotiations, in the long run it can be worth it.

Do lawyers specialize in real estate?

Most lawyers who don't specialize in real estate have only limited experience in landlord-tenant legal issues—and even those with some experience may know only about residential tenancies. So if you just pick a name out of the phone book or go to the lawyer who prepared your will, you may wind up with someone who's less than ideal for handling commercial lease issues.

Should I Have a Lawyer Review My Apartment Lease?

Getting a residential or commercial lease might be common now., but there are still a lot of aspects we might not know about them. If your lease for any rental property, like an apartment, has enough value, a legal review is in order.

1. Making Sure of an Accurate Lease

A lease for commercial real estate could be a large document with loads of information. A residential lease will probably be much simpler, but it might still have a lot of problematic ideas hidden inside all that jargon.

2. Catching Out Bias

There are certain times or chances when a landlord can increase your rent. Your lease agreement should not be making you pay rent at higher rates than is reasonable.

3. Getting the Best Terms Possible

Lawyers are known for their negotiating skills. So, your attorney should be able to get some better terms for your lease agreement.

4. Double-Checking Every Term

Even if you’ve been to law school yourself, the terms and clauses for real estate might not be perfectly clear.

5. Determining the Length of a Lease

A residential agreement is a legal contract between the landlord and tenant. Lease agreements like these are applicable when you rent a place for living purposes.

6. Understanding Landlord Duties

While most lease agreements do benefit the landlord more, a real estate attorney knows the benefits you are entitled to.

Will you personally represent me throughout the entire lease review and lease signing process?

Lawyers love to delegate their work. If you are comfortable with that, then confirm which other associates will be handling your case. If your attorney will not be delegating your case to anyone else, then no further concern is needed on your part in reference to this question.

How will you charge me for your legal services?

Lawyer’s typically charge their client two ways: hourly and flat fee. The attorney sometimes changes up their fee requirements depending on the case. As an example, suppose an attorney always does a flat fee but you come in with a 75-page commercial lease for them to review.

How accessible will you be during this entire process?

The legal profession is a highly competitive field. It does happen that a lawyer cannot simply get back to your phone calls, texts, and emails immediately. A reasonable response time from your attorney on your questions or comments should be within 6-8 hours.

What does it mean to hire a lawyer for a contract review?

Hiring a lawyer for contract review can mean a few different things depending on your specific situation. You can protect your financial interests by understanding what a lawyer will do when reviewing a contract in various circumstances.

What is the least expensive contract review?

This type of contract review is generally the least expensive kind of review. You can work with a lawyer to review a contract for one specific issue about which you have questions. Issue-specific contract review offers a good way to gain confidence before signing an agreement, even if you are on a smaller budget.

What is contract review with edits?

A basic contract review with edits gets more comprehensive than the previous two kinds of contract reviews. A lawyer will review your contract, making notes about any problem areas. The lawyer will also edit your contract to correct the issues they find. Known as redlining a contract, this editing process can help speed up your agreement process overall by ensuring the contract you want to use fulfills legal requirements.

What can a lawyer do for you?

A lawyer can not only deal with the reviewing, editing, and redlining of a contract, but can also negotiate the contract on your behalf. Serious contract negotiations can get difficult and heated, creating tension between the parties before the parties ever reach an agreement. A lawyer can act as an uninvolved third party to allow for progress with negotiations.

Why do you need an attorney to check your lease?

It makes sense to have an attorney check your lease to protect your investment. The attorney understands your business goals and can make recommendations to correct any matters that may jeopardize your business interests.

What are the provisions of a lease?

There are certain lease provisions that are problematic and cancreate disputes between landlords and tenants. They shouldbe carefully reviewed by your attorney before you enter into a lease or renegotiate your lease. These provisions include the following: 1 Common area charges (CAM) 2 Signage 3 Use restrictions and zoning regarding the use of the space 4 Rent increases and methods used to calculate them 5 Tenant improvements. Who is responsible? 6 Options to renew 7 Insurance requirements 8 Assignments

Consider Their Proximity

Several lawyers specialize in contract leases but you don’t need to include everyone in your list. When rounding up potential lease review lawyers, choose several names from a local directory or ask your contacts for suggestions.

Weigh If They Are Accessible

Aside from proximity, you should also consider how you can contact them. Ask them if they prefer in-person meetings, or if a quick phone call or email will suffice.

Check Their Expertise

It’s not enough to find a leasing lawyer that’s near you. In addition, you also need to ensure that they’re experts in reading lease contracts and reviewing them for inconsistencies. Ask about their background in business, commercial real estate, and landlord-tenant law.

Inquire About The Services They Offer

While you may be looking for an attorney to merely review your lease contract, it won’t hurt if you inquire what additional services they offer as you might need more than an initial consultation.

Assess Their Professional Fee

Lawyers not only vary in the services they offer but also in their fees. Some provide an initial consultation for free while others charge upfront. Most charge their clients for succeeding appointments either with an hourly or a flat fee.

Hire Away

Commercial lease contracts are complex and may contain phrases or conditions that may become pitfalls, especially for first-time tenants. A lease review lawyer can enlighten you with these intricacies. They could also help you gain a solid understanding before you commit to a legally-binding agreement.

Why do commercial leases run longer than residential leases?

The reason that commercial leases run so much longer than residential leases is so that a business does not have to keep interrupting its daily operations to move to a new commercial property every year.

What is a duty not to breach a lease?

A duty not to breach the lease; A duty to keep all units in habitable condition; A duty to respect the privacy of a tenant (with limited exceptions); A duty to return the security deposit within a specified period after a lease expires; and.

What happens if a landlord raises rent too high?

This is so that if the landlord raises the rent too high, then the tenant will still have time to look for a new apartment before their lease expires. The landlord must also approve a tenant’s request to renew their lease.

What is residential lease?

A residential lease is a specific type of legal agreement that is entered into when a tenant rents property from a landlord to use for residential purposes (i.e., living). Similar to other lease agreements, a residential lease will contain the terms and conditions of the lease, such as the date that the lease expires and how often ...

What are the requirements for a residential lease?

There are certain items that every residential lease must contain, such as the name of the parties, the length of the tenancy, the amount of rent that is due each month, and so forth. However, there are some important provisions that the parties should include like the following: 1 Rules about having pets; 2 Restrictions on illegal activities; 3 Whether the landlord or the tenant will be responsible for repairs and maintenance; 4 Whether a tenant needs to obtain a renters insurance policy; 5 Whether the tenant is allowed to operate a business on the property; 6 Rules concerning smoking policies and other potentially disruptive activities like noise; 7 Clear terms regarding when a landlord is permitted to enter the premises; 8 Instructions concerning what a tenant must do to sublet their apartment and whether or not the landlord even permits sublets; and/or 9 Notice requirements and if there is an option to renew the lease.

How long does it take to renew a lease?

However, the tenant will usually know one to three months in advance of the lease’s end date if they will have to move or not.

Can a landlord terminate a lease before it expires?

A tenant who breaks a residential lease before it is set to expire may face a number of legal consequences. For one, the landlord will be allowed to terminate the lease and can rent out the apartment to a new tenant. The landlord can also sue the previous tenant for any outstanding rent payments and can keep the tenant’s security deposit ...