By: James Walson It is routine in Florida leases to consider any prevailing party fee provision as automatically reciprocal due to Section 57.105(7), Florida Statutes. That Statute provides for reciprocity of attorneys’ fees even where …
Five Quick Bullets for a Tighter Lease
By: Shawn Rader Here are five quick tips for tightening a commercial real estate lease and avoiding potential pitfalls down the road. The Parties It is amazing how often the identity of the parties to …
What Landlords and Tenants Need to Know This Hurricane Season
By: Scott Renaud, Foundry Commercial; Quino Martinez and Nicole Cuccaro, Lowndes This year, forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration correctly predicted another above-average Atlantic hurricane season, which runs June 1 through November 30. …
Cattle Grazing Leases: Key Considerations for Real Estate Developers
By Gary M. Kaleita Real estate developers in Florida are buying and improving rural land at a record pace. In many cases, this land has been devoted to purposes which resulted in the land being …
Outdoor Advertising: How Billboard Landlords Can Protect Their Property and Their Profits
By: Gary M. Kaleita & Ty J. Pryor Billboards are ubiquitous in the landscape along major Florida thoroughfares, at times seemingly blending into their surroundings. They dot (some would say mar) the landscape on farms and ranches along …
Critical Elements of Tenant Estoppel Letters
By: Gary M. Kaleita If you are an investor buying a leased property, you are undoubtedly looking to the rental income as the return on your investment, in addition to the appreciation in the value …
Submerged Land Leases
By: Gary M. Kaleita The Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund of the State of Florida (the Board of Trustees) is vested with title to all land lying under navigable waters within …
Property Buyer Beware: Avoid Costly Tax Liabilities with a Sales Tax Clearance Letter
By: Gary Kaleita Florida imposes sales tax on rent payable under commercial leases. The rate imposed by the state is 5.5%, but local governments have the right to impose a surtax which varies based on …
Do Change of Control Transactions Constitute an Assignment by Operation of Law?
By: Laura Walda & Samantha Duran Commercial landlords often rely on anti-assignment provisions to restrict the ability of tenants to assign their interest in a lease to a third party. Such provisions will often explicitly restrict assignments by “operation of law,” which are generally …
New Florida Law Expected to Significantly Reduce Florida’s Commercial Lease Sales Tax Rate
By: Matthew O’Kane & Samantha Duran On April 19, 2021, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law Senate Bill 50 (SB 50), which amends portions of Chapter 212, Florida Statutes. SB 50 is slated to significantly reduce Florida’s commercial leasing sales tax rate and reemployment tax rate and to …