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Buying and selling
A commercial purchase is a business decision first, so our job is to give you the information that decision needs. We review the title and every registered instrument, run the off-title searches, confirm zoning and permitted use, review environmental reports, and go through the leases and estoppel certificates on tenanted property. What comes back to you is a clear memo about what we found, what it costs, and what to do about it.
We draft and negotiate the purchase agreement, keep the conditions and waivers on schedule, and structure the closing with your accountant when a share purchase or a holding company makes sense for tax. GST on commercial property deserves careful handling. A registered buyer normally self-assesses instead of paying the tax to the seller, and getting that language right in the contract is worth real money.
Financing and leasing
On the financing side, we act for borrowers placing bank, credit union, or private debt against income property. That means reviewing the mortgage and security, preparing assignments of rents and general security agreements, giving the opinions lender counsel needs, and closing the advance without drama.
On leasing, we draft and negotiate for both landlords and tenants: offers to lease, net leases, renewals, assignments, and estoppels. A lease is the income the building gets valued on, so we treat it that way. Where construction or tenant improvements are involved, we advise on Alberta’s Prompt Payment and Construction Lien Act so holdbacks and lien exposure are managed from the start.
What this desk handles
- Purchase and sale of industrial, retail, office, and mixed-use property
- Development land and land assembly
- Commercial mortgages and private financing for borrowers
- Commercial lease drafting, review, and negotiation
- Due diligence: title, off-title, environmental, zoning, estoppels
- GST planning and self-assessment coordination
- Holding company and trustee structures with your tax advisors
- Builders’ lien and Prompt Payment Act advice
Where we act
Our lawyers handle commercial files across Alberta from our Calgary office, including Calgary, Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks, Chestermere, Edmonton, and everywhere between. Alberta has one Land Titles system, so the closing works the same wherever the property sits. Signing happens at our office, by video where permitted, or with a local commissioner near you.
