Commercial Real Estate Attorney for Long Island Businesses
Purchases, sales, and leases where the numbers are bigger, the contracts are heavier, and nobody is standing behind you unless you put them there. We are the ones standing behind you.
Residential Rules Do Not Apply Here. That Cuts Both Ways.
A commercial real estate attorney earns their fee in the fine print, and our real estate law practice has been reading that fine print for Long Island businesses since 2006. Commercial deals carry almost none of the consumer protections that soften residential transactions. There is no cooling-off period, no implied warranty of habitability, and very little sympathy from a court for a business owner who signed something without reading it.
That freedom is also the opportunity. Nearly everything in a commercial deal is negotiable: the contingencies, the representations, the escalation clauses, who pays for what and when. The party with the sharper attorney usually ends up with the better contract.
We represent buyers, sellers, landlords, and tenants (one side per deal, never both) in transactions across Suffolk and Nassau County. Office space in Melville, warehouse and flex buildings in the Deer Park and Hauppauge industrial corridors, retail along Sunrise Highway and Route 110, mixed-use buildings on the downtown main streets.
Every deal gets the same treatment: contract negotiated to your goals, title review and due diligence that surface problems while you can still walk away, and a closing that happens when it is supposed to. If you are buying through an entity, we can also form the LLC that takes title, so the property never touches your personal balance sheet.
What We Watch For, by Property Type
Every property class has its own set of traps. Tap a type to see where deals like yours tend to go wrong, and what we check before you commit.
Office
Melville, Hauppauge, Route 110- Loss factor and rentable-vs-usable square footage games in the lease
- Operating expense escalations and base year manipulation
- Sublease and assignment rights if your business outgrows or shrinks out of the space
- Build-out obligations: who pays, who owns the improvements at the end
Retail
Sunrise Hwy, Main Streets- CAM charges that quietly grow every year with no audit right
- Exclusive use and co-tenancy clauses: what happens when the anchor leaves
- Percentage rent triggers and how sales are defined
- Signage, parking, and hours restrictions buried in the rules and regulations
Industrial
Deer Park, Hauppauge Parks- Environmental history: Phase I reports, prior tenants, and what is under the slab
- Certificate of occupancy matching your actual use, not the last tenant's
- Loading, ceiling height, and power representations you can hold the seller to
- Town of Babylon and Islip zoning compliance before you sign, not after
Mixed-Use
Downtowns, Village Centers- Existing residential tenants upstairs and the leases you inherit with them
- Rent regulation exposure on the apartment units
- Separate metering, insurance, and code requirements for each use
- Whether the mix of uses is actually legal under current zoning
Three Clauses That Decide Whether Your Lease Protects You or Owns You
A commercial lease is one of the most one-sided documents your business will ever be handed, because the landlord's attorney wrote it. These are the three we negotiate hardest, and they connect directly to how we approach every business contract.
The Personal Guaranty
Sign an unlimited guaranty and your house backs the lease, LLC or not. We negotiate good guy guaranties and burn-off provisions that cap your personal exposure and release it as the lease ages.
CAM and Escalations
Common area maintenance, taxes, and operating escalations can add thirty percent or more to your real rent. We define what counts, cap the increases, and lock in your right to audit the landlord's numbers.
Assignment and Exit
Businesses change. If you sell the company, move, or close a location, the lease follows you unless it says otherwise. We build in assignment rights and early termination options before you need them.
Due Diligence That Actually Digs
Commercial closings run 60 to 120 days for a reason. This is the window where problems are the seller's to fix. Here is where we spend it.
Title and Survey
Liens, easements, encroachments, and restrictions of record. A utility easement running through your planned loading dock is a survey problem today and a construction shutdown later.
Zoning and Use
We confirm your intended use is permitted as of right, not just tolerated. A use variance you did not know you needed can stall a business for a year in front of the zoning board.
Environmental
Phase I review and, where the history warrants it, deeper investigation. On Long Island's older industrial parcels, what a prior owner left behind can become the new owner's cleanup bill.
Leases and Tenants
Buying an occupied building means buying its leases. We review every tenancy, estoppel certificate, and security deposit before the obligations become yours, and if you are becoming a landlord, our landlord-tenant practice covers you after closing too.
Commercial Counsel Across Both Counties
Based at 375 Commack Road in Deer Park, minutes from the industrial parks and the Route 110 corridor.
Commercial Real Estate FAQ
Do I need an attorney for a commercial lease?
Yes, and before you sign a letter of intent, not after. Commercial leases carry none of the protections residential tenants get, and courts hold businesses to what they signed. The lease was drafted by the landlord's attorney to favor the landlord. Someone needs to push it back toward the middle, and that only happens before signatures.
How long does a commercial real estate closing take?
Most run 60 to 120 days from contract, driven by financing, due diligence, and title clearance. The timeline is longer than residential on purpose: the due diligence period is your only chance to find problems while they are still the seller's to fix.
Should I buy commercial property in my own name or through an LLC?
Almost always through an entity. Holding commercial property in an LLC keeps a slip-and-fall or an environmental claim from reaching your personal assets. We handle the entity formation and the purchase together so title is taken correctly on day one.
Can you help with 1031 exchanges?
Yes. We coordinate with your qualified intermediary and structure the contract language so the exchange meets IRS identification and timing requirements. The 45-day and 180-day clocks are unforgiving, so this gets planned before the sale contract is signed.
Do you assist with zoning and land use issues?
Yes. We verify zoning compliance and permitted use during due diligence, and flag anything that needs a variance or special permit before you are locked in. Discovering a use problem after closing means facing the zoning board as the owner instead of walking away as the buyer.
Can you represent both landlord and tenant in the same lease?
No. We represent one party per transaction. A lease negotiation is adversarial by nature, and you deserve an attorney whose only loyalty in the deal is to you.
Reviewing a Deal? Get a Second Set of Eyes First.
Bring us the contract, the lease, or the letter of intent before you sign it. The free consultation is the cheapest due diligence you will ever do.
Tell Us About Your Property or Lease
Buying, selling, leasing, or refinancing. Fill out the form and we will reach out to schedule your free consultation, or call 631-964-4418.