Category Archives: Real Estate

Free Legal Form of the Month

PLI PLUS offers unlimited electronic access to more than 4,500 downloadable, searchable, and editable legal forms ready for use in your practice. In an effort to highlight this unique content type, we’ve selected one form per month and made it available for anyone to download for free – no subscription required.

December’s free form:

Purchase and Sale Agreement

More information about Legal Forms & Checklists:

  • Forms & Checklists Flyer – This flyer provides an overview of the forms & checklists on PLI PLUS and highlights a handful of popular examples.
  •  Popular PLUS Forms – This flyer provides a list of the top five most downloaded forms in prominent practice areas on PLI PLUS.

Send us an email at plus@pli.edu to learn more.

New Edition! Net Leases and Sale-Leasebacks: A Guide to Legal, Tax and Accounting Strategies (2023 Edition)

PLI Press is proud to announce the publication of the new edition of Net Leases and Sale-Leasebacks: A Guide to Legal, Tax and Accounting Strategies.

This pragmatic guide offers invaluable strategies on how to best approach the most common ownership, financing, documentation, taxation, and accounting issues associated with net leases and sale-leaseback transactions.  It provides example lease documents and in-depth coverage around net leases — along with the legal and structuring issues that impact how they are taxed. Author Ken Miller packs the pages with practical guidance and insight gleaned from his storied career helping clients close more than $7 billion of U.S. commercial real estate transactions, primarily involving net-leased properties.

Some of the highlights from the new edition include:

  • Chapter 2: New sections on legal doctrines relevant to net leases, including landlord liability for injuries on the premises (see §2:2.1), tenant estoppel certificates (see §2:2.2), implied covenants to provide tenant with possession (see §2:2.3), and liability of successor landlord for breaches by former landlord (see §2:2.4).
  • Chapter 5:  
    • New discussion of section 467 rental agreement accrual, including assignment of a tenant’s interest in a section 467 rental agreement (see §5:3.8) and early termination of such an agreement (see §5:3.9).
    • New sections on self-employment taxes (see §5:12) and state taxes (§5:13), with a focus on franchise, excise, and similar taxes in Tennessee, Texas, and California.
  • Chapter 6:  New discussion of I.R.C. section 4975 and the “look through” rule as it applies to investments made by benefit plan investors (see §6:1).
  • NEW Appendix F: Section 467 Rental Agreement Accrual Table.
  • Appendix D and Appendix E have also been updated.

Order a print copy today.

PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.

Treatise Update – Commercial Ground Leases (Fourth Edition)

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.

Order a print copy today. PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.

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.

Treatise Update – Holtzschue on Real Estate Contracts and Closings:  A Step-by-Step Guide to Buying and Selling Real Estate (3rd Edition)

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:

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.

Treatise Update – Holtzschue on Real Estate Contracts and Closings:  A Step-by-Step Guide to Buying and Selling Real Estate (3rd Edition)

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:

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.

Treatise Update – Commercial Ground Leases (Fourth Edition)

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 covers the landowner’s and the tenant/lender’s differing views on the basis for a percentage rent formula (see section 1:4.5).
  • Chapter 4: Updated discussion reviews the Lever House in the context of unused development rights (see section 4:5.3).
  • Chapter 10: Updated discussion reviews setting the duration of term when there is a second or third use of a building (or the underlying land) (see section 10:7.1).
  • Chapter 13: Provides a new typical maintenance clause (see section 13:5).
  • New Appendix Y: A provision creating a replacement reserve for the replacement of furniture, fixtures, equipment, and operating systems during the last twenty years of the lease term, or upon the exercise of the last tenant option to extend the term, or a number of years to be specified after completion of construction of the project.
  • New Appendix Z: A form of completion guaranty that covers completion of shell and core construction, exclusive of tenant improvements, and including ground lease rental that arises under the lease due to delays in completion of construction.
  • Chapters 3, 5, 6, 8, 12, 16, 19, and 20 have also been updated with the latest developments.

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

Order a print copy today.

PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.

New Edition! Legal Guide to the Business of Marijuana: Cannabis, Hemp and CBD Regulation (2022 Edition)

PLI Press is proud to announce the publication of the new edition of Legal Guide to the Business of Marijuana.

Updated annually, the book is a unique resource offering critical guidance on a wide range of interrelated topics for lawyers who represent clients in the fast-growing legal cannabis industry.  It sorts through the complex and varying state regulation of medical and non-medical marijuana with an appendix providing the latest key state legislation (see Chapter 3 and Appendix C). 

It also looks into the various aspects of establishing and managing a marijuana enterprise, including the growing, licensing, labeling, transporting, and distribution of marijuana and related products (see Chapters 7, 10, 11, 13, and 15).  In addition, the guide addresses federal law, enforcement, and preemption and their implications for employment, taxes, and banking (see Chapters 8 and 9). 

For lawyers new to representing cannabis clients, the authors provide an understanding of the definitions of marijuana and other cannabis products, as well as a review of the policy and political issues that have led to the controversy and uncertainty of the current environment (see the Table of Contents).

Order a print copy today.

PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.

New Edition! Net Leases and Sale-Leasebacks: A Guide to Legal, Tax and Accounting Strategies (2022 Edition)

Book Cover Image

PLI Press is proud to announce the publication of the new edition of Net Leases and Sale-Leasebacks: A Guide to Legal, Tax and Accounting Strategies.

The treatise covers all aspects of the ownership, financing, documentation, taxation, and accounting for net leases with a focus on those areas where the treatment of net leases differs from the treatment of other forms of real estate investment. It includes in-depth guidance on sophisticated and complex structuring issues, particularly with respect to the latest tax and financial accounting rules, and provides readers with several appendices to assist with the nuts and bolts of net leasing practice, including a sample Net Lease and a sample Ground Lease.

Highlights of the 2022 Edition include:

  • Tenant Purchase Options. Chapter 2 (The Lease) has been updated with an expanded discussion of the risks to the landlord arising from a tenant purchase option.
  • Tax Considerations. Chapter 5 (Tax Considerations) has been updated with new material on section 1031(f) and related party exchanges, allocating interest payments between deductible and non-deductible uses, transfer tax liability, series LLCs, promoted interests, and more.
  • Sample Net Lease: Appendix E (Sample Net Lease) has been updated with new Force Majeure and Right to Go Dark provisions.

Order a print copy today.

PLI PLUS subscribers can access this title through their subscription.

Treatise Update – Holtzschue on Real Estate Contracts and Closings:  A Step-by-Step Guide to Buying and Selling Real Estate (3rd Edition)

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 2, Drafting and Negotiating the Contract. New Tips on who is favored in decisions dealing with “as is” and caveat emptor (see section 2:2.11[A][1]), and mortgage commitment contingency (see section 2:3.1).
  • Chapter 4, The Closing. Coverage of the New York Electronic Notarization Bill, effective June 20, 2022, which will allow notarial acts through a completely electronic format, referred to as Remote Online Notarization (RON) (see section 4:1); and the December 7, 2021 FinCEN Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which implements the federal Corporate Transparency Act’s beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting provisions as to corporations, limited liability companies, or other entities (see section 4:2.4).
  • New and updated cases and other authority throughout the text, including in the following important areas: Ethics and Professional Responsibility, [8] Attorney Escrow Accounts; easement for historic preservation (see section 2:2.7[D][7]); failed suits against title insurance companies (see section 2:2.7[E]); caveat emptor (see section 2:2.11[A]); and attorney approval clauses (see section 2:3.26[B]).

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.

Treatise Update – Holtzschue on Real Estate Contracts and Closings (3rd Edition)

Holtzschue on Real Estate Contracts and Closings:A Step-by-Step Guide to Buying and Selling Real Estate 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:

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.