Real Estate

We support the legal needs of the real estate development industry, including the transactional, litigation, and regulatory needs of our clients.

McCandlish lawyers in the Real Estate Practice provide expertise in supporting all the legal needs of the real estate development industry, including the transactional, litigation, and regulatory needs of our clients, and in meeting the real estate law needs of the business investment, retail, office, and other “bricks and mortar” industries.

Legal issues arising in connection with real estate are unique and complex.  When the matter involves the purchase and development or redevelopment of real estate, the process can take considerable time.  McCandlish’s real estate lawyers understand this process.

This means we have experience working on the sale and/or purchase of real estate, working through the zoning and land use processes to develop or redevelop that real estate, the securing of financing, managing ongoing interactions with development professionals, and, once developed, negotiating with opposing counsel, and assisting with the re-sale and/or leasing of the property to third parties.

While we have significant experience in helping clients navigate this process, each case is different.  The outcome of your real estate project or transaction can be influenced by the contract, by the other party’s lenders or shareholders, by local government officials and agencies, by neighbors, by politics, and by the economy.  Understanding each of these factors is critical to helping you reach your goals.  Having an attorney who can provide reliable, thoughtful, honest legal counsel when these factors hinder your project’s success is just as important.

More specifically, McCandlish lawyers provide focused and experienced legal counsel, advice and advocacy for all aspects of the real estate industry, including:

  • Acquisition and Sale of Raw and Improved Land and Finished Lots
  • Formation of Appropriate Business Entities
  • Acquisition, Sale and Management of Communications Towers
  • Office, Industrial and Retail Development, Construction and Leasing
  • Acquisition, Development and Construction Financing
  • Feasibility/Due Diligence
  • Title Issues
  • Wetlands, “UST,” Lead and Other Environmental Issues
  • Condominium and Property Owners’ Association
  • Condemnation and Real Estate Tax Appeals
  • Construction Contracts, Subcontracts and Disputes
  • Comprehensive Planning, Zoning, Site Plans and Subdivisions
  • Dispute Resolution
  • Related Litigation

Your options will depend on the facts of your situation and your objectives, as well as the law that can or does apply, and your preferences.  An initial consultation will help us identify your goals and objectives, and recommend a suitable course of action.

In situations where a real estate transaction or issue is developing or has deteriorated into a dispute with the other party or even a locality, or has already resulted in litigation, McCandlish Lillard’s Real Estate Practice Group works closely with the firm’s Litigation Practice Group to ensure that our clients receive effective representation through the entire legal process.

McCandlish lawyers represent clients in all three metropolitan Washington, DC jurisdictions, including the Maryland suburbs and the District of Columbia.

McCandlish’s real estate group attorneys are listed below.  For more information about real estate law issues, or to request an initial meeting, we invite you to review the attorneys’ respective profiles, and welcome you to contact them directly.