Lawyer Monthly Magazine - March 2020 Edition

Here we take a moment to speak to François-Régis Fabre-Falret about his journey into real estate law. He shares some tips on how to ensure purchase agreements follow through commercial real estate transactions, and how competitive Paris is currently in the real estate market. François-Régis Fabre-Falret hat steps must you take to ensure that the purchase agreement in commercial real estate transactions is ideal for both parties? There are no standards and it is always a question of our ability to adapt rapidly to the constraints of each transaction which are all different and have their own legal specificities. We are organised as if we were legal project managers with a clear goal: assessing rapidly the legal risks and working with agility to facilitate the deal to the maximum extent possible, in line with best practices and in the best interests of all the parties. And when this is not possible, our responsibility is to advise accordingly our client. What encumbrances can affect the buyer’s ability to take ownership of the property with a clear title? A property can be affected by many encumbrances but there are actually two main types of encumbrances: - Public encumbrances relating to public land regulations; - Private encumbrances either dealing with rights in relation to neighbouring private properties or affecting the property itself, such as mortgages. It is very rare that such encumbrances will actually affect the buyer’s ability to take ownership of the property with a clear title. But when it is the case, this will usually be a deal-breaker. How can you overcome such encumbrances? It really depends on the type of encumbrance. The release of a mortgage is usually easy to obtain as long as the vendor’s bank can be reimbursed in full with the sale price. Other types of encumbrances affecting the operating of the property are usually more difficult to overcome. This requires a case by case analysis and sometimes, these issues cannot even be solved. 26 WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM | MAR 2020 My Legal Life By François-Régis Fabre-Falret, LPA-CGR avocats w About LPA-CGR avocats The Real Estate department of LPA- CGR avocats represents 15 partners, more than 40 associates and covers all real estate aspects of law. As a firm, we provide a broad range of advisory services to Asset Managers, major Real Estate companies, pension funds, insurance companies etc… (both domestic and International based clients) for their investments in France (asset deals, shares deals, partnerships) but also in the context of cross border transactions, and for their construction/development/ refurbishment operations such as the redevelopment of office blocks in La Défense Paris. We also provide legal services to major US sports companies within the context of heavy refurbishments of retail areas in Paris. www.lpalaw.com