Friedman and Smith on Contracts and Conveyances of Real Property (Eighth Edition) delivers essential information and guidance to practitioners in the field of real estate conveyancing by helping readers to carefully consider all of the issues and options before finalizing a contract, handle unexpected problems and contingencies, factor in a relevant case law when structuring sound agreements, and avoid drafting ambiguous or incomplete contracts. This book explains common law principles, and thousands of statutes and court decisions, creating a road map for readers on what course of action to take and what to avoid at every stage of real estate conveyancing.

Providing more than 140 sample forms, sample clauses, and checklists that simplify and accelerate transactions, Friedman and Smith on Contracts is a comprehensive guide to every aspect of real estate contracts and conveyances.

The new release includes updates on the following topics:

• Chapter 1, Contracts of Sale, provides updated discussion on whether attorney review clauses are illusory.
• Chapter 2, Parties to Contracts, includes updated discussion on whether an entity’s change of name on the enforceability of a contract.
• Chapter 8, Misrepresentations by Sellers and Buyers, defines seller conduct that amounts to active concealment of defects.
• Chapter 9, Mortgage Financing, includes discussion of “points,” which are upfront payments made at closing, sometimes referred to as a premium or discount or origination fees.
• Chapter 10, Existing Mortgages—Continuation After Sale, provides discussion of N.Y. Real Prop. Law § 274-A, a New York statute that requires a mortgage holder to provide a payoff statement to a mortgagor who has signed a contract to sell or has received a written mortgage commitment from another lender.
• Chapter 23, Contract Remedies for Buyer Default, includes updated discussion of seller’s damages after buyer’s breach, specifically determining the time of breach.
• Chapter 24, Contract Remedies for Seller Default, covers the English Good Faith Rule and the American Rile with respect to damages resulting from the seller’s inability to convey proper title.
• Chapter 26, Deed Elements, covers updated discussion of conveyances where grantee exercises undue influence over the grantor.
• Chapter 33, Land Descriptions, reviews the “being the same” clause.
• Chapter 34, Surveys, provides new discussion on when boundary lines touch or pass through buildings.

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Holtzschue on Real Estate Contracts and Closings provides thorough legal, technical, and strategic guidance to help implement dispute-free residential deals more quickly and easily. This practice guide clearly explains the governing law and customary industry practices to ensure that readers can successfully prepare for a sale or purchase of real estate, including knowing how to deal with the appropriate documents, tax issues, and brokers, drafting and negotiating the contract. Readers also receive a comprehensive dive and real-life examples of negotiation tactics, lease modifications, proactive planning of troublesome developments, drafting errors, liability mitigation measures, eviction considerations, on-premises conditions and repairs, and considerations relevant to different lease types.

The new release includes the following updates:

• Chapter 1, Preparing for the Sale or Purchase, provides an updated discussion on financing.
• Chapter 2, Drafting and Negotiating the Contract, includes the N.Y.S. Association of Realtors guidance effective August 17, 2024, for compliance with the National Association of Realtors’ antitrust brokerage commissions settlement.
• Chapter 3, Preparing for the Closing, provides an updated discussion of deed descriptions.
• Chapter 4, The Closing,includes the latest case developments.

The Tables of Authorities and Index have also been updated.

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Commercial Ground Leases is a definitive guide to drafting, negotiating, and finalizing equitable, error-free leasing documents that address the needs of both landlord and tenant. It features adaptable, time-saving agreement language and contains numerous appendices, including forms of letter of intent, leasehold mortgagee protection clauses, intercreditor agreements, fee and leasehold deed of trust provisions, estoppel certificate and guaranty, and a complete ground lease with many alternative clauses.

Highlights of the new release include:

• Chapter 1: Updated discussion reviews ground lease terms and situations that necessitate their review (see section 1:4.2).
• Chapter 3: Updated discussion closely examines inflation indexing as provided in Appendix X (see section 3:4.3).
• Chapter 8: New discussion of Freddie Mac’s Multifamily Seller/Servicer Guide, specifically chapter 30, which sets requirements of ground lease mortgages (see section 8:14).
• Chapter 16: Updated discussion of exceptions to nonrecourse liability (see section 16:6).
• Appendix X: Chart 1 attempts to show how several elements of common indexing formulae would have fared over the fifty-year period from 1972 through 2021 using actual CPI data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Chart 2 uses the same historical CPI data, but starts the hypothetical lease term ten years later, in 1982.
• Chapter 2, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, and Chapter 10 have also been updated with the latest developments.

In addition, the Tables of Authorities and the Index have been updated.

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For more by this treatise’s author, Jerome D. Whalen, check out the article Ground Lease Reappraisals Reconsidered published in the April 2022 issue of the PLI Chronicle.

Holtzschue on Real Estate Contracts and Closings is an invaluable resource for attorneys and general practitioners who handle real estate deals as well as an important reference for brokers, title insurers, and inspectors.  It distills more than thirty years of transactional experience into one plain-English treatise that clearly explains governing law and customary industry practices.  The book provides useful legal, technical, and strategic guidance and checklists for sellers’ and purchasers’ attorneys preparing them to execute dispute-free residential deals quickly and easily.

This new release offers the latest information crucial to your practice.  Highlights include:

• Chapter 1, Preparing for the Sale or Purchase. The latest guidance about where New York City purchasers should search for filings (see section 1:2.2).
• Chapter 2, Drafting and Negotiating the Contract. New and updated cases and other authority throughout, including in the following areas: finding statute of frauds not satisfied (see section 2:1.1); easements and licenses to improve adjoining property (see section 2:2.7[D][7]); time of the essence (see section 2:2.9[A]); caveat emptor (see section 2:2.11[A]); and allowing seller to recover proceeds of purchaser’s dishonored down payment check (see section 2:2.17[B][1]).

In addition, the Table of Authorities and Index have been updated to reflect the latest revisions.

Order a print copy today.

PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.