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Edward is a Florida Bar Board Certified Real Estate Lawyer. He concentrates his practice in the area of real estate law, including commercial and residential development, acquisitions, finance, survey matters, title insurance and commercial leases. His experience includes representation of developers, builders, governmental agencies, lending institutions, non-profit corporations and national title insurance underwriters.

Edward was the Valedictorian of his law class and served as Law Review Associate Editor. While in law school, Edward authored four publications involving constitutional rights, eminent domain and bankruptcy. He is a three time recipient of West Publishing Outstanding Academic Achievement Award and received four American Jurisprudence Book Awards. Edward also served as a federal judicial intern and completed an internship with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.

Edward has been recognized by Florida Super Lawyers® magazine as a “Rising Star” in the field of real estate law every since 2010. While only 5% of lawyers in the entire State are named to Florida Super Lawyers®, no more than 2.5% are named to the Rising Stars list.

Commercial space is rarely “walk-in ready” for the tenant. As a result, landlords and tenants must negotiate for leasehold improvements in order for the leasing transaction to move forward. This can impact new leases, amendments or renewals of existing leases.

Below are some tips when negotiating and drafting the work letter for leasehold improvement responsibilities, originally published in the January 2019 issue of SuiteLife Magazine:
Continue Reading Six Tips for Negotiating Leasehold Improvements

Commercial Lease.jpgCommercial leases often contain the option of additional or “renewal” terms to extend the lease term. Reviewing and understanding this provision in your lease can help maximize your lease rights, whether you are the landlord or the tenant. This post focuses on the importance of a well-drafted renewal option provision, and the need to monitor critical deadlines.

Mechanics of Renewal Options

Understanding the mechanics of renewal options is important. Some parties prefer automatic renewals, while others favor the delivery of notice to exercise renewals. There can be one or more renewal options. Several factors can influence how to best structure the renewal option provision, such as current and anticipated market conditions, landlord concessions, tenant incentives, business planning, and your administrative ability to monitor deadlines, to name a few. 

Continue Reading Understanding Commercial Lease Renewal Options

iStock_000016386965XSmall.jpgSecurity must keep pace with technology. We experience it first-hand. Remove your shoes, jacket, liquids and electronics. Place them on the conveyor belt, and proceed to the body scanner. But wait, this seems odd – I’m heading into my real estate closing, not the airport, right? 

Fortunately, real estate transactions do not command the physically invasive security measures that accompany aviation, but the gap may be narrowing slightly based upon recent alerts. National and local title insurance underwriters and The Florida Bar have recently published alerts in reaction to the latest fraud scam affecting real estate transactions – the weapon of choice is the Smartphone.

How It Works

Continue Reading Fraud Scam with Smartphone Endangers Real Estate Transactions

money.jpg“Short sales” deserve attention as we continue focusing on opportunities in a down real estate market. As you probably know, a short sale is where the current lender agrees to release property from the lien of the mortgage in exchange for less than the outstanding mortgage debt. Shorts sales gain popularity as owners owe more on their outstanding mortgage than their property is currently worth.

The devil is in the details with commercial and residential short sales. All parties to the transaction (seller/borrower, lender, buyer, guarantor(s)) should consider how to protect themselves with written agreements. This article will examine some of the critical terms that should be reduced to writing when navigating a short sale.

Essential Contract Terms

A short sale comes to life when a contract for sale is executed by the seller/borrower and buyer.  At a minimum, the contract should clearly state that the transaction is a short sale and provide 

Continue Reading Short Sales: Don't Sell Yourself Short

“Title insurance” is a term that is frequently uttered when discussing real estate transactions. Title insurance costs money, which should grab your attention, but do you really know what it is? It is not just another closing cost reflected on a settlement statement. In fact, title insurance is a unique animal in the insurance world, and understanding its nuances can protect your investment – for much longer than you may think.

This post is a title insurance guide for potential buyers of real estate, and is intended to provide valuable information to real estate enthusiasts engaged in any aspect of a transaction. Although this post focuses on title insurance as it relates to the purchase and sale of real estate, it is important to note that title insurance also applies to lending transactions involving real estate.

What is Title Insurance and Why is it Unique?

Continue Reading Title Insurance Demystified