Service 03
Real estate transactions.
Schneidman Law handles real estate transactions on the buyer and seller side, residential and commercial, including new construction. Your interests protected and the deal protected, by an attorney who understands both the business side and the life side of a transaction.
What should a real estate attorney actually do for you?
A real estate attorney should protect your interests and protect the deal, without slowing it down or turning a straightforward transaction into an ordeal.
The ideal real estate client values efficiency. Buying or selling property is a major decision with real consequences for how you live or how you run your business, and the work should reflect that weight without adding friction to it.
Andrew’s background includes more than a decade of practice with particular depth in real estate and construction, including years as general counsel for a large construction and real estate development company. That experience is why the work moves fast and holds up.
What does the real estate practice cover?
The practice covers residential and commercial purchases and sales on both sides, new construction, leases, and the title, diligence, and financing work that carries a deal to closing. It is a standalone service, separate from the outside general counsel subscription. Every matter below is transactional: the work of getting deals right, not fighting over them afterward.
- Purchase, sale, and option agreements
- Drafted, reviewed, and negotiated so the terms say what you agreed to, including contingencies, deadlines, and remedies.
- Title commitment and title insurance review
- The exceptions and requirements read before closing, so easements, restrictions, and liens surface while they can still be fixed.
- Due diligence
- Inspection periods, document review, and the calendar of deadlines that decide whether your earnest money is safe.
- Earnest money provisions
- Deposit amounts, escrow terms, and the exact conditions that release or forfeit the money.
- Easements and encroachments
- Access rights and boundary issues identified in the survey and title work, resolved on paper before closing instead of in a dispute after it.
- Deeds of trust and seller financing
- Promissory notes, security instruments, and payment terms when the seller carries part of the price.
- Closing services and settlement statements
- The closing package reviewed line by line: deed, settlement statement, prorations, and funds flow.
- Commercial leases and subleases
- Drafting and negotiation, including CAM charges, assignment and sublease rights, renewals, and build-out terms.
- Zoning and permitted-use verification
- Confirming during diligence that the property's zoning actually allows what you plan to do with it.
- HOA and condominium documents
- Covenants, bylaws, resale certificates, and assessment history read before you commit to living with them.
- New construction contracts
- Builder agreements, deposits, change orders, completion dates, and warranty scope on new builds.
- Real estate development
- Contract structures for developers and builders, informed by years as general counsel inside a construction and development company.
- Environmental due diligence
- Coordinating Phase I assessments and reviewing environmental disclosures on commercial acquisitions.
- Landlord-tenant matters
- Lease enforcement terms, notices, and renewals handled transactionally, for landlords and tenants alike.
Business owners who hold or lease property often pair this work with outside general counsel, so the lease and the business strategy are read by the same person.
Based in Williamson County? See real estate transactions in Franklin, TN.
Common questions about real estate transactions
Do I need a real estate attorney for a closing in Tennessee?+
Tennessee does not require an attorney at most closings, and that is exactly why one earns their keep. The title company works for the transaction, not for you. An attorney reads the contract, the title commitment, and the closing documents with only your interests in mind.
How long does a real estate closing take?+
A typical Tennessee closing runs 30 to 45 days from contract to keys. Cash purchases close faster, and new construction follows the builder's schedule. Attorney review adds days at the front of that window, not weeks, and routinely saves both.
Does the firm handle leases for landlords and tenants?+
Yes, on both sides. The firm drafts and negotiates commercial and residential leases for landlords, and reviews and negotiates them for tenants, including renewals, build-out terms, and the obligations that surface years after signing.
What is different about buying new construction?+
The builder wrote the contract, and the builder's contract protects the builder. Deposit terms, change orders, completion dates, and warranty scope all deserve a careful read before signing, because new construction disputes almost always trace back to that first document.
The deeper mechanics live in the Real Estate Law guides.
Ready to move on a property?
Tell us where the deal stands and we will tell you, plainly, how we can protect it.