Land Use and the Comprehensive Plan

Counsel involved in the sale, purchase, or financing of commercial real estate must understand the critical role of title insurance in insuring against risks. Counsel can evaluate coverage and endorsements that provide the optimal protection for clients. Practitioners must understand the intricate details of title insurance policies and current coverage trends, including all recent ALTA endorsements, to effectively advise property owners, investors, lenders, and developers. And parties must address survey issues with the title company (and purchasers and lenders) and know which survey or other endorsements can resolve survey matters. Listen as our authoritative panel discusses current trends in title insurance coverage and strategies for negotiating coverage and endorsements that will help avoid coverage gaps.

When purchasing a hotel, counsel must advise clients that the due diligence must include analysis of the physical assets associated with the property (i.e., the hotel structures, parking, systems, equipment, and inventories), as well as the operating business conducted at the hotel facility and the relevant markets and environment. When developing a proposed acquisition price, the buyer must make assumptions about future market conditions and the hotel's performance within that market. A discounted cash flow on stabilized operating projections will reflect these assumptions. Thus, a preliminary business plan must reflect assumptions as to physical facilities and condition, management, affiliation, and other factors to assess the potential acquisition realistically. In today's market, the time allotted for due diligence, deposits going non-refundable, and closing has been significantly compressed. All sophisticated buyers know they must act quickly. Counsel should assist in coordinating the due diligence team and start the process as soon as possible. Counsel should also coordinate with clients to prioritize and push critical areas of due diligence to identify and evaluate potential deal-breakers early. Many buyers do not focus enough on seller representations and warranties--even with significant disclaimers in the purchase agreement. Diligent preparation can flush out critical physical and operational hotel issues that only a seller or its management company would understand. Even if the seller is unwilling to make a specific representation and warranty on a particular condition, focusing on the issue upfront will help frame the buyer's post-signing due diligence. Likewise, indemnification clauses are not a haven for buyers. The language is typically inadequate to protect a buyer from additional costs avoidable with proper due diligence. Indemnification generally applies only for breaches of representations and warranties, and if the seller limits or qualifies its representations and warranties, the indemnification provision may not be triggered. Listen as our authoritative panel discusses the legal concerns in hotel acquisition and due diligence, conducting a proper investigation, and evaluating the data to provide the buyer with more alternatives, lower costs, and negotiating power to deal with the issues.

The Netherlands real estate market still shows very strong performance, but it’s not immune to the slowdown we see in global markets. Listen to the Q1 2019 results of MSCI Netherlands Quarterly Property Index. In the first part, Maarten Broek, Executive Director, MSCI provides a summary of the drivers of performance in the Netherlands market. In the second part, Will Robson, Global Head of Real Estate Solutions Research, MSCI provides an insight into how the Netherlands compares globally.

Join CEPTES and Salesforce experts to hear how leading property developers stand out in competitive markets and go from the first online viewing to handing over the keys in record time by delivering outstanding customer experiences. Key Takeaways What is the cost (Onboarding + Operational) How to automate end to end real-estate operations How to ensure zero lead leakage with accelerated sales productivity Best ways to optimize processes in order to save time & cost Efficiently manage the entire channel partner ecosystem How to assess metrics with AI & Analytics