Real Estate Law

March 16, 2021

Firm’s Real Estate Practice Group Represents Sellers in Two Major Transactions

by Siegfried Rivera

Siegfried Rivera

Firm shareholders Oscar R. Rivera and John Catalano represented our clients, PM Edgartown, LLC and PM Vineyard Haven, LLC in two separate sale transactions. The first transaction involved Prime Marina Vineyard Haven’s sale, a property located on Martha’s Vineyard. Prime Vineyard Haven has the largest set of seasonal private docks and slips available on the vineyard. It also houses a large on-site indoor and outdoor storage facility, as well as other amenities that are made available to its members.

Additionally, our team represented their sister company, PM Edgartown, LLC, on the sale of Edgartown Marine. Edgartown Marine is also located on Martha’s Vineyard and offers a full set of storage, launch, and haul services. The transactions involved the sale of all of the assets and dockage agreements of both operating marinas.

February 16, 2021

Reports in New York Times, Other Major News Outlets Document Miami’s Post-Pandemic Surge in Business Relocations

by Oscar R. Rivera

Oscar R. Rivera

“America’s business leaders, freed from the office, looked around the country, taking note of its coronavirus lockdowns, taxes and rabble rousers. And many said as if in unison: Miami!”

That’s how a major article on the cover of the Technology section of the Jan. 29 edition of The New York Times begins. It goes on to note that several finance and technology titans as well as Silicon Valley venture capitalists are relocating to Miami, where Mayor Francis X. Suarez has rolled out the red carpet.

The article reads:

“Dozens of big names have arrived. There was a tech contingent: Keith Rabois, a PayPal co-founder and investor, and his husband. Then their friend Peter Thiel, the tech investor and prominent conservative. Jon Oringer, founder of the stock-photography provider Shutterstock, and the media mogul Bryan Goldberg. Steven Galanis, the head of the celebrity-video product Cameo, is here. Elon Musk is talking about building car tunnels under Miami.

“There are also hedge funds and private equity funds. Paul Singer’s Elliott Management is moving its headquarters to the Miami area, as is Carl Icahn’s firm, Icahn Enterprises. Others are opening major Miami offices: Kenneth Griffin’s Citadel as well as Blackstone Group. Goldman Sachs is weighing moving parts of its operation to Miami.”

February 11, 2021

Firm’s Real Estate Practice Group Represents Seller in Sale of Monty’s Coconut Grove

by Siegfried Rivera

Siegfried Rivera

Firm shareholders Oscar R. Rivera and John Catalano represented the sellers, Aligned Bayshore Marina and Aligned Bayshore Raw Bar, in the sale of Monty’s Bayshore located in Coconut Grove. This fully leased mixed-use property features offices, retail and restaurants, including the iconic Tiki Style waterfront restaurant Monty’s Raw Bar. The enormous property, which is pictured along the waterfront below, boasts over 30,000 square feet of retail and office space, a 111-slip marina, and a 750-seat restaurant that has been at the same location for 50 years. The notable transaction has been covered by publications such as the Miami Herald and CityBizList.

We are proud to have represented our clients in this transaction, and our firm would like to commend Oscar, John and the supporting real estate staff on all their hard work!

November 10, 2020

Oscar Rivera Co-Authors Article for ABA Probate & Property Magazine: “Navigating Early Termination Clauses in Commercial Leases”

by Siegfried Rivera

Siegfried Rivera

Firm co-managing partner Oscar R. Rivera co-authored the lead front cover article for the November-December issue of the American Bar Association’s Probate & Property magazine together with Travis D. Hughes of Atlanta-based Hughes Investment Partners. The article, which is titled “Navigating Early Termination Clauses in Commercial Leases,” focuses on the tolls that the COVID-19 pandemic and the Spring 2020 protests have taken on many businesses and commercial landlords. It discusses important early termination provisions and the need to anticipate likely and unlikely future calamities in commercial leases.

Our firm salutes Oscar for sharing his insights into these timely issues impacting commercial leases with the readers of the ABA’s Probate & Property. Click below to read the complete article.

Probate & Property article

September 9, 2020

Effects of CDC’s Evictions Ban on Residential Tenants, Landlords

by Oscar R. Rivera

Oscar R. Rivera

The recent order to halt residential evictions through Dec. 31, 2020, by the Centers for Disease Control is aimed at preventing the further spread of COVID-19 and protecting tenants impacted by the virus. Under the order, renters of single family, multifamily and mobile home residences who earn less than $99,000 a year ($198,000 for joint filers) may submit a declaration to their landlord asserting their eligibly to be protected from eviction.

For eligibility, renters must provide a declaration form to their landlord asserting their qualifications and inability to pay, and they will not be relieved of their obligations to pay rent nor any fees or interest due to nonpayment. In addition, residents can still be evicted for other reasons, like engaging in criminal activity, posing a health or safety risk, or damaging rental property.

The order also specifically excludes foreclosures of home mortgages from the moratorium, but it is unclear whether a foreclosed homeowner could seek protection from being removed from the property post-foreclosure sale.

Our firm’s real estate attorneys are helping our clients navigate through these challenging times and contend with the issues surrounding the current state of evictions, foreclosures and property transactions. We encourage those with questions to contact us, and we also recommend submitting your email address in the subscription box on the right to automatically receive all our future blog articles.

June 30, 2020

House Bill 469 Becomes Effective on July 1, 2020

by Oscar R. Rivera

Oscar R. Rivera

The Governor signed House Bill 469 on June 27, 2020, dealing with real estate conveyances. The bill removes the requirement under Section 689.01, Florida Statutes requiring a landlord to have two witnesses when signing a lease for a term of more than one year.

The requirement for witnesses was limited to a landlord’s signature only and was designed to protect the grantor of the estate in the land. House bill 469 provides that no subscribing witnesses are required for a lease of real property or any instrument pertaining to a lease of real property, eliminating the requirement that two subscribing witnesses be present when the lessor signs a lease with a term of more than one year.

The bill becomes effective on July 1, 2020.

June 10, 2020

Oscar Rivera Quoted in Miami Herald Article: “The Pandemic Gave Franchisees Shopping South Florida Real Estate a Leg Up”

by Siegfried Rivera

Siegfried Rivera

The firm’s Oscar R. Rivera was quoted in an article that appeared in the Miami Herald‘s website today and is expected to appear in the print edition in the coming days. The article, which is titled “The Pandemic Gave Franchisees Shopping South Florida Real Estate a Leg Up,” focuses on opportunities that are now opening up for commercial real estate buyers and franchises catering to middle-market shoppers and diners. It reads:

. . . A variety of national and local franchisees want to buy: Dunkin’ Donuts, 7-Eleven and Mr. Gomas Tires. Categories include beauty, experiential retail, cloud kitchens — think: co-working facilities for individual professional chefs — and, yes, gyms. . .

. . . But buyers aren’t necessarily finding bargains. While some pre-COVID contracts have been re-negotiated, most prices remain steady, said Oscar Rivera, lawyer and partner at the Coral Gables-based firm Siegfried Rivera, a retail specialist.

Still, franchise owners are jumping into the market “There’s pent up demand to eat out. There will be a drop off in people’s buying power [due to the economy and job losses]. That will be felt across the board,” Rivera said. “But since the price point in these restaurants are not significantly high compared to other restaurants, it will be felt less so.”. . .

Our firm salutes Oscar for sharing his insights into one of the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on commercial real estate in South Florida with the readers of the Miami Herald. Click here to read the complete article in the newspaper’s website.

June 2, 2020

Oscar Rivera Shares Insight on Residential and Commercial Evictions in Today’s Sun Sentinel

by Siegfried Rivera

Siegfried Rivera

The firm’s Oscar R. Rivera was quoted in today’s South Florida Sun Sentinel in the newspaper’s article on the status of the residential evictions moratorium headlined “Gov. Ron DeSantis Extends Florida’s Evictions Ban for One More Month to July 1.” The article reads:

. . . The moratorium pertains only to residential properties and not to commercial real estate such as office buildings, warehouses, free-standing retail shops and shopping malls.

Oscar Rivera, an attorney at the South Florida law firm of Siegfried Rivera, said Monday that clients who operate apartment buildings have not seen an outpouring of delinquencies since the coronavirus pandemic upended the economy. He surmised that is probably a result of loans and grant money flowing from the public sector to help keep businesses afloat.

“On the residential side, a lot of our clients who are owners of residential properties have been collecting a large percentage of rents,” he said. Commercial landlords, Rivera added, have been working out delays in rent payments for those tenants who need them.

“We represent all sorts of landlords and across the board; we have not seen a significant uptick in any kinds of defaults,” he said. “People are trying to look through this situation in the most favorable way possible.” . . .

April 20, 2020

Article by John Catalano in Today’s Miami Herald: “Owners of Retail Properties, As Well As Tenants, Will Feel Pandemic’s Bite”

by Siegfried Rivera

Siegfried Rivera

An article authored by firm shareholder John Catalano is featured in the Business Monday section of today’s Miami Herald. The article, which is titled “Owners of Retail Properties, As Well As Tenants, Will Feel Pandemic’s Bite,” focuses on the prospects for rent deferrals and insurance claims for the owners of closed stores and the spaces they occupy. It reads:

. . . It has quickly become apparent that the outbreak of COVID-19 will take a massive toll not only on retail tenants, but also on the owners of retail properties. One of the first places that retailers will look for potential relief will be their lease agreements, which may include force majeure clauses and other provisions that are designed to cover business disruptions caused by catastrophes and acts of God.

These provisions will often list events such as floods, earthquakes, war, strikes, government regulations, civil disorder, etc., as triggers that would delay parties’ obligations under the contract. The applicability of the spread of COVID-19 as a force majeure triggering event may depend on the exact wording used in the lease. Some may generally stipulate “conditions beyond the parties’ control, including but not limited to Acts of God” as qualifying conditions, while others may specify circumstances such as “war, terrorist act, government regulation, disaster or strikes.” While leases widely differ in their form, modern leases for most major retail centers include a carve-out that the occurrence of a force majeure event does not permit late payment or nonpayment of rent by a tenant. Continue reading

March 31, 2020

Commercial Real Estate Lenders, Owners and Tenants Must Compromise to Avoid Collapse

by Siegfried Rivera

Siegfried Rivera

By Oscar R. Rivera and John Catalano

Real estate billionaire Tom Barrack, the chairman and chief executive officer of Colony Capital, warned recently that the U.S. commercial real estate mortgage market is on the brink of collapse due to a predicted chain reaction of margin calls, mass foreclosures, evictions and bank failures resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.

“Loan repayment demands are likely to escalate on a systemic level, triggering a domino effect of borrower defaults that will swiftly and severely impact the broad range of stakeholders in the entire real estate market, including property and home owners, landlords, developers, hotel operators and their respective tenants and employees,” he wrote.

The longtime friend of President Donald Trump surmises that the impact could dwarf that of the Great Depression.

Indeed, the commercial property market is under severe strain domestically and abroad due to forced shutdowns of retail and hospitality businesses during the COVID-19 outbreak. The looming crisis in commercial real estate could eventually cause the Federal Reserve to relax some regulations, allow more forbearance on loans, and buy distressed assets directly by restarting the Troubled Asset Relief Program.