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, 2020 and 2021.
Recent Blog Posts
Publications & Alerts
- What are the Different Types of Easements?, Finance Real Estate & Bankruptcy News, June 28, 2023
- Evicting a Tenant in Michigan: Tips for First-Time Commercial Landlords, Foster Swift Finance Real Estate & Bankruptcy Law News, April 25, 2022
- Tips for First-Time Commercial Real Estate Landlords, Foster Swift Finance Real Estate & Bankruptcy Law News, April 1, 2022
- When it Comes to Land Contracts, One is the Loneliest Number, Foster Swift Agricultural Law News, October 27, 2020
- Commercial Real Estate: Dealing with the Ongoing Impact of COVID-19, Foster Swift Finance Real Estate & Bankruptcy Law News, October 5, 2020
- Amendment to Michigan Marketable Record Title Act Requires Land Owners to Take Action to Preserve Certain Rights, Foster Swift Finance Real Estate & Bankruptcy Law News, May 25, 2020
Events
- Commercial Real Estate Concerns in the new COVID Environment, Foster Swift, September 9, 2020
News
- Foster Swift Attorneys Named 2024 Best Lawyers in America, Best Lawyers in America, August 17, 2023
- Four Lansing Attorneys Named Best Lawyers® 2024 "Lawyer of the Year", Best Lawyers in America, August 17, 2023
- Real Estate Attorney Roragen Joins Lansing Firm, Ingham County Legal News, July 10, 2023
- Titus Announced as "Go-To Lawyer" in Commercial Real Estate, Michigan Lawyers Weekly, June 20, 2023
- Fortune 500 Defense Litigator Joins Foster Swift, Detroit Legal News, June 1, 2023
- Hamor Named an “Up and Coming Lawyer” by Michigan Lawyers Weekly, Michigan Lawyers Weekly, February 15, 2023
- Foster Swift Elects Three New Shareholders, Ingham County Legal News, January 30, 2023