A good friend recently approached my wife and I about making a real estate investment in a business. They touted the benefits and minimized the risk. Since I knew the person I really wanted to believe what they were telling me and felt reluctant to ask hard questions and request due diligence documents. Luckily I [...]
About Justin Daniels
Justin S. Daniels is the trusted legal quarterback providing corporate and commercial real estate advice to fast growing privately held entrepreneurial businesses. He practices law as a shareholder with the firm Wagner Johnston & Rosenthal, P.C. Justin's corporate practice consists of representing businesses and business owners in all aspects of their operations from structuring new ventures, advising on acquisitions and divestitures and reviewing and negotiating key vendor, franchise, employment and customer contracts. He has represented a variety of clients in the manufacturing, retail, professional services, consulting and technology industries.
Get Emotional Over Litigation at Your Peril – guest post by Justin Daniels
Clients often get upset with the behavior of a real estate vendor and wish to sue them back to the stone age. The story often includes something like they promised high quality or responsiveness and they did not deliver. Calling your litigation attorney ready to fight should probably not be your first phone call. Instead [...]
Hiring The Right Real Estate Professional Pays Off Over Time – guest post by Justin Daniels, Atlanta Real Estate Attorney
I have certain clients who pass through my office who are thinking about hiring a real estate lawyer for the first time or switching lawyers for the all too familiar reasons. They, however, make it clear all they really care about is getting the cheapest price for the services. How often do you hire the [...]
Don’t Wait to Last Minute to Negotiate Critical Lease Provisions – guest post by Justin Daniels, Atlanta Real Estate Attorney
There are three critical lease provisions that tenants should negotiate at the outset rather than negotiating them as part of a lease review. These provisions are the following: 1) Identifying the buildout completion date and the penalties for landlord’s failure to timely deliver. These are typically 2 days free rent for each day’s delay and [...]
Do Your Due Diligence or Be Sorry – guest post by Justin Daniels, Atlanta Real Estate Attorney
I have many clients who call me at the 11th hour to request a real estate contract and tell me not to worry about any due diligence that may get in the way of their sweet deal. That is a sour response. Due diligence may seem trite and monotonous but it is essential to making [...]
Your Contract is Your Bond – guest post by Justin Daniels, Atlanta Real Estate Attorney
I have fielded several phones calls lately with the same lament: “The lease I signed is not what the landlord promised.” I am sure you have heard the phrase “My word is my bond”, today that really means “Your contract is your bond”. Most lease boilerplate contains a clause that says the lease supersedes any [...]
Landlord’s Forgetfulness is No Excuse: Tenant Obligated to Pay Lease Expenses – guest post by Justin Daniels, Atlanta Real Estate Attorney
I recently had this issue come across my desk: A landlord sent a Tenant a bill for two year’s worth of tax expenses does the tenant have to pay them. Unfortunately, the general answer is yes. Despite the landlord being asleep at the switch, if the tenant agreed to pay such expenses in the lease [...]
Carefully Scrutinize Your Lease Operating Expenses – guest post by Justin Daniels, Atlanta Real Estate Attorney
I want to remind our readers that you or your clients who lease space may soon be receiving a statement from your landlord regarding operating expenses for the 2009 calendar year. You should carefully scrutinize this statement as landlord’s are passing along all kinds of impermissible expenses onto tenants due to the current market. Arnall [...]
Georgia Bank Failures: Discount Debt Refinance Opportunity?, guest post by Justin Daniels, Atlanta Real Estate Attorney
Georgia bank failures lead the nation and this trend will continue into 2010. These bank failures can present an opportunity for commercial real estate owners to refinance their debt at a discount. This will likely occur with the3rd party who purchased the loan pool from the FDIC. I thought I would share some insights from [...]
Freeze your Real Property Tax Assessment, guest post by Justin Daniels, Atlanta Real Estate Attorney
The fall in real estate prices across Georgia means you should review the assessment of the value your county assessor has placed on of your real estate. If you appeal your real estate taxes to the board of equalization the property assessment is frozen for the tax year in question as well as the following [...]