Real estate deals often boil down to experience and perseverance. Clients have come to depend on the attorneys of Foster Swift for both of these qualities.
The real estate attorneys of Foster Swift have a broad range of experience successfully handling sophisticated transactions and difficult litigation. Our transactional services include drafting and negotiating purchase agreements, construction contracts, financing and lending documents, as well as resolving title, zoning, utilities, environmental and real estate tax issues.
Our attorneys regularly appear before municipal and state administrative agencies concerning real estate matters. We have been trying cases for over 100 years in state and federal, trial and appellate courts.
Regardless of the type of service, we use a team approach. Matters routinely handled include:
- Land division and subdivision approvals secured under the Michigan Land Division Act
- Construction contract negotiation, including AIA and AGC documents
- PUD and development agreements, and condominium documents
- Environmental due diligence and Brownfield funding agreements
- Industrial exemption certificates
- Rezoning, including conditional rezoning, and easements and restrictive covenants
- Variances, site plan approvals, and special use permits
- Conservation easements and required open space preservation documents
- Troubled real estate, loan sales and purchases
- Representation of developers on projects having significant impact on roads, traffic, flood plains, wetlands, and other protected areas
- Utility and technology agreements
- Construction liens
- Title disputes, title examinations, and title insurance claims
- Appeals of Property Tax and Special Assessments, and State tax cases (MBT, sales and use tax) before the Michigan Tax Tribunal, State courts and the Michigan Department of Treasury
- Defense of builders in occupational licensing actions, building code violations, and workmanship issues, and
- Representation of property owners in detachment, annexation, and Act 425 agreements
- Representation of subdivision and condominium associations in restriction and lien enforcement
Our wide range of services, coupled with a passion for personal attention to our clients’ needs, have earned the Foster Swift real estate group a reputation for practical, results-oriented value to clients.
Foster Swift has been named a Tier 1 firm in Real Estate Law in Lansing by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" in 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Recent Blog Posts
Publications & Alerts
- Frequently Asked Real Estate Questions, Foster Swift Finance Real Estate & Bankruptcy Law News, November 15, 2019
- What Buyers Need to Know About Purchasing Property in a Judicial Foreclosure in Michigan, Foster Swift Finance Real Estate & Bankruptcy Law News, November 13, 2019
- Why Auctions Work for Maximizing the Value of Assets, Foster Swift Agricultural Law News, October 31, 2019
- Beyond the Basics: Drafting Effective Option Provisions in Commercial Lease Agreements, Foster Swift Finance Real Estate & Bankruptcy Law News, August 21, 2019
- A Transfer Tax Exemption for the Sale of Certain Principal Residences, Foster Swift Finance, Real Estate & Bankruptcy Law News, August 20, 2019
- Michigan Supreme Court Rules that Building Inspection Fees Must Reasonably Relate to the Costs of Services Provided by a Municipality’s Building Department, Inside 208 Blog, Michigan Municipal League, August 6, 2019
News
- Eight Foster Swift Attorneys Included in GR Magazine Top Lawyers 2019, Grand Rapids Magazine, December 2, 2019
- Foster Swift Listed in Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms" 2020, November 1, 2019
- Collins and Smith Named to SBM Ag Law Council, Foster Swift Agricultural Law News, October 4, 2019
- Schlender Provides Perspective on Divorce Cases, April 25, 2019
- Firm Elects Executive Committee Members for 2019, Michigan Lawyers Weekly, March 7, 2019
- Foster Swift Rated Tier 1 in 27 Practice Areas in Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms", November 1, 2018
- Lakeshore Habitat for Humanity Elects Schlender as President, October 1, 2018
