The Wendel Report: Real Estate & Environmental, Spring 2009

Articles
 

• "Buying Leases Out of Bankruptcy: An Opportunity for Strong Tenants" by Dan Myers
  With retail bankruptcies skyrocketing, real estate opportunities exist for retailers with solid balance sheets and the willingness to take risk. A well-positioned tenant may be able to acquire a below-market rate lease or a favorable retail location by purchasing a lease out of a bankrupt retailer's bankruptcy estate. >>read more
   
• "Contaminated Property: Who is Left Holding the Bag in a Down Economy?"
  As the economic landscape changes, responsibilities for environmental cleanups are also threatening to shift. Many parties are unable to make payments on promissory notes, mortgages, indemnity agreements and other contractual obligations to remediate contaminated property, leaving lenders, property owners, and others to sort out how the remediation will be funded and who will be responsible for the costs. Some parties elect to renegotiate the terms of their indemnity or cost sharing agreements. In some cases, however, debtors may file bankruptcy or creditors may assume ownership of contaminated property. >>read more
   
• "Recent Cases Involving the Enforceability of Purchase and Sale Agreements" by Michael A. Dean
  In the Spring 2007 edition of The Wendel Report, we previously commented on the decision in Black Hills Investments, Inc. v. Albertson's Inc., 146 Cal. 4th 883 (2007), which held a purchase and sale agreement void in violation of the California Subdivision Map Act [Government Code §66499.30(e)] where the agreement provided that the seller could waive the requirement to subdivide the property as a condition to the close of escrow. >>read more
   
• "When a Tentative Map Falls In Your Lap" by Robert D. Shantz
  The downturn in the real estate market, particularly in residential real estate, has led to the unraveling of a number of purchase and sale transactions. Where a landowner has contracted with a developer to sell a piece of property and the developer is processing subdivision approvals for the property prior to the close of escrow, the failure of the transaction to close could leave the landowner with a variety of issues with which to grapple. Ideally, the purchase agreement addresses these issues, but sometimes that is not the case. In this article, we will highlight a few of the typical issues associated with unwinding a failed residential development transaction. >>read more
   

Client Update
 

• "Stimulus Plan Update" by Pamela Schock Mintzer
  California will benefit from the $787.2 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, since state residents and businesses will receive approximately10% of the bill signed into law on February 17, 2009. >>read more