Title issues in commercial real estate don’t always show up at the start of a deal, but they can create serious complications when they do. These issues often emerge during due diligence, when the title commitment and supporting documents are delivered. What may appear to be a minor lien or gap in ownership history can quickly stall progress if not addressed immediately and properly.
At Kleiner Law, we help buyers, sellers, developers, and investors avoid title-related surprises. We review title commitments in full, flag potential problems early, and work closely with title agents, surveyors, and lenders to keep your transaction on track. Our goal is to help you close with confidence, not to untangle preventable problems at the eleventh hour.
What Title Issues Typically Show Up—and Why They Matter
Even the cleanest-looking commercial property can come with title complications. The most common title issues in commercial real estate transactions include things like old mortgages that were paid off but never properly released, liens tied to unpaid work or taxes, or errors in past conveyances that interrupt the chain of title.
Access rights are another frequent problem. If easements or rights-of-way weren’t properly recorded, or if a survey shows encroachments onto neighboring parcels, your future use of the property could be restricted. These issues may not block ownership entirely, but they can prevent construction, affect tenant use, or raise lender objections.
Sometimes the issue isn’t with the land, but with who claims to own it. Properties held in trusts, by LLCs, or through estate transfers often have gaps in authority or clarity. If these aren’t resolved before closing, it can call the entire transaction into question. The point is simple: a recorded deed alone doesn’t guarantee a clean title. It takes a thorough legal review to confirm that what’s being sold is what was promised.
What We Do When Title Issues Appear
When title issues in commercial real estate arise, we don’t just forward the commitment to the client and move on. We review it in detail, looking at exceptions, schedules, and supporting instruments, and identify anything that could affect closing, financing, or future use.
Once issues are identified, we coordinate directly with the title agent to get them resolved. That might mean tracking down missing releases, clarifying boundaries through a new survey, or removing outdated restrictions from prior owners. If a full resolution isn’t possible before closing, we help the parties structure around the issue with escrow holdbacks, special endorsements, or contractual workarounds.
Our role is to protect your interests and keep the deal moving. That requires legal clarity, practical coordination, and a business-minded approach to risk. We bring all three to the table.
Clients We Support Through Title Challenges
We work with commercial property buyers and sellers across a wide range of asset types. That includes multi-tenant retail centers, single-tenant net lease deals, warehouse and industrial properties, and vacant or underused land slated for redevelopment.
Many of our clients are also engaged in time-sensitive closings, such as 1031 exchanges or financed acquisitions with hard deadlines. These deals don’t have time for confusion or miscommunication. We step in to handle the title work so that deadlines don’t get missed and no detail falls through the cracks. We also support brokers, lenders, and private capital groups who need legal partners that understand both the legal and commercial realities of real estate transactions.
Why Legal Review of Title Matters
Most title companies are very good at what they do, but their job is to issue insurance based on available records, not to make business decisions or advise buyers. They’ll provide the commitment, note the exceptions, and offer to insure against certain risks. But whether those risks are acceptable or actionable is a legal question, not a title question.
That’s where we come in. We review the documents not just to check boxes, but to understand how they affect your specific transaction. We compare what’s in the title file with what’s in the contract, what’s in the survey, and what your goals are for the property.
Without legal oversight, these pieces can easily drift apart, confusing closings, unexpected delays, or future limitations on how the property can be used. We make sure that doesn’t happen.
Timing Is Everything
Title commitments don’t always arrive at the beginning of a deal. In some cases, they show up only a few weeks or days before closing. That doesn’t leave much time for review, correction, or negotiation.
We help our clients avoid this crunch by building smart timelines into the purchase agreement. We push for early title delivery, coordinate with surveyors to confirm boundary accuracy, and get all issues addressed before they threaten your financing or closing schedule. The title is one of the most critical pieces of a commercial transaction. The sooner it’s handled, the smoother your closing will be.
Contact Us
If you’re buying or selling commercial real estate and want to make sure title issues don’t create problems at the last minute, reach out to Kleiner Law.
We provide hands-on, detail-focused title review and support, so that when it’s time to close, there’s nothing standing in your way. From document analysis to closing coordination, we help you move from commitment to closing with clarity. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and take the uncertainty out of your title process.
Some of the matters we have experience in include:
- Resolution of due diligence matters
- Escrow issues
- Environmental issues
- Negotiation of and execution of purchase agreements
- Section 1031 tax-deferred exchanges
In addition, we provide our clients with professional assistance on the tax implications and structuring of real estate deals, including acquisitions, taxable and tax-free exchanges, Property taxes, sales and commercial leases.
Sample Transactions
Kleiner Law has worked on hundreds of transactions. Below is a sample of the transactions we’ve helped our clients complete in Florida:
Assisted Purchaser in Office Building Purchase in Coral Gables with Lease Back to Seller. Negotiated all leases in connection with Lease Back.
Represented the lender in connection with the construction loan for a car wash facilities in Broward and Palm Beach Counties.
Represented the buyer in purchase of shopping center in Miami-Dade County in excess of $40M.
Represent purchaser of Dollar General store in Florida. Performed all due diligence, lease abstracting, and negotiation of loan documents and title insurance issues.
Represented the tenant in an office lease for a class A building in downtown Miami.
Helped a purchaser negotiate closing the $12.4 million acquisition of apartment complex in Broward County and performed all necessary due diligence in connection with the loan that facilitated the purchase.
Helped reduce the value of a Coconut Grove Office building by $1,000,000.
Represented purchase of $8 million Walgreen’s in New Hampshire. Performed all due diligence, lease abstracting, and negotiation of CMBS loan documents.
Assisted the purchaser in a small-building portfolio long-term sale-leaseback transaction in Miami, Broward and Palm Beach counties; negotiated all loan documents, prepared and negotiated all leases in connection with the transaction.
Represent purchaser of assisted living facility (ALF) in Broward County Florida. Handled all due diligence with respect to asset purchase and separate real estate purchase.
Represented the purchaser of a mixed use industrial and retail property for $19M.
Represented the owner of an industrial property in Miami Dade County and obtained a reduction in excess of 30% of the preliminary market value.
Represented the landlord in connection with a sale leaseback transaction in a lease. Seller was selling his building but wanted to continue to occupy the property after closing. We drafted a lease that was fair and balanced for both parties to allow each of them the flexibility to work together towards their common goals.
Represented the buyer of medical office building portfolio in Northern Dade County Florida.
Represented a borrower in an $11M Fannie Mae refinance of an apartment complex.
Represent the purchase of multi-unit new development condominium from developer to close out remaining inventory of two condominium projects valued in excess of $10 million.
Represent the purchaser of $4.1 million multi-bay warehouse complex in Tampa Florida.
Represent owners, of industrial, multi-family, vacant land, single family homes, shopping centers, hotels and office buildings in value adjustment board hearings in connection with property tax petitions throughout the state of Florida resulting in multi-million dollar market value reductions and significant tax savings to the owners
Represented the purchaser of an office building complex in downtown West Palm Beach; performed all due diligence and lease abstracting in connection with both acquisition and financing of the transaction
Represent the landlord in connection with a long term lease of property to an affiliate of a fortune 500 beverage company.
Represented the buyer of an industrial warehouse complex.
Successfully obtained a multi million dollar reduction for commercial property in South Dade County in excess of 62% of the preliminary market value.
Represented a close on an industrial flex property in South Florida.
Represent Seller in $5.2 million sale of industrial warehouse property located in Broward County, Florida.
Represented Borrower in refinance of industrial portfolio in spanning several counties in south and central Florida in excess of $20M.
Represented the buyer of retail strip center which sold for $2.8M as part of a redevelopment opportunity for a mixed use property to include retail and townhomes.
Represented a bank in connection with a commercial refinance.
Assisted the buyer in assembling and purchasing a portfolio of apartment complexes in North Miami Beach, including performance of all necessary due diligence related to all of the properties.
Represented a landlord in a single tenant triple net lease. We developed a “form lease” for the owner so that he will be able to apply and use this lease as a template for other properties that he owns.
Represented the buyer in multiple transactions along the Miami River for a combined purchase price in excess of $10M.
Represented the Landlord in a single tenant long term industrial lease with a national corporate guarantor.
Represent Seller in a $5 million transaction to sell small bay industrial warehouse complex in North Miami-Dade County closed in less than 30 days from contract to closing.
Testimonials
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