Real Estate & Commercial Lending

Our attorneys represent real estate developers on all aspects of commercial, residential, and mixed-use developments. Our practice in this area includes work on acquisitions, zoning and entitlements, leasing and financing real estate developments. We regularly represent clients in hearings and other proceedings before boards, commissions and councils concerned with licensing, zoning, planning and land use issues. The firm also has experience in litigating a wide range of real estate conflicts, such as eminent domain matters. Partners in the firm are present or past members of Nashville’s Metro Council, its Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals.

Our attorneys regularly represent numerous banks, insurance companies, and other institutional lenders, venture capital firms, and private equity firms in financing transactions, including:

• Multi-lender credit syndications
• Mezzanine loans with equity features
• Real estate and construction loans
• Syndication financings
• Securitized real estate loans
• Industrial development project financing and other tax-exempt financing
• Tax increment financing
• Asset-based loans
• Asset securitizations
• Sale and leaseback transactions

We also routinely represent borrowers in the negotiation and documentation of sophisticated financing arrangements, including multi-state mortgage financings, and interim and permanent mortgage loans.

We have extensive experience in all facets of commercial leasing and a significant portion of our real estate practice involves lease preparation, review and negotiation for both landlords and tenants. We regularly represent landlords and tenants in lease disputes.

The firm frequently acts as special counsel in a variety of multi-state transactions involving out-of-state lenders. In these transactions, we commonly review loan and acquisition documents for Tennessee law compliance, provide legal opinion letters, provide title insurance services and provide general advice about securing loans with assets located in Tennessee.

We regularly represent borrowers, issuers, banks and government entities in connection with the issuance of private and public activity bonds.

Working with our colleagues who handle real estate transactions, we have extensive experience representing clients in a range of real estate-related litigation. Representative areas include condemnation suits, landlord-tenant disputes, broker/commission litigation, land use and zoning disputes, litigation arising under the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act, and breach of contract. We regularly work with our real estate clients to resolve real estate disputes before they result in litigation.  Selected recent cases include:

• PSC Metals, Inc. v. Shelby Land Co. LLC, No. 3:14-CV-02019, 2017 WL 587878 (M.D. Tenn. Feb. 13, 2017) (prevailed on cross-motions for partial summary judgment for owners of scrapyard property in downtown Nashville)
• Nashville Cool Springs, L.P. v. Sports Land Group, LLC, No. 16-2725-BC (Business Court, Davidson County, Tennessee, 2017) (prevailed on cross-motions for summary judgment for regional developer in lawsuit arising out of transaction to purchase A-Game Sportsplex in Franklin, Tennessee)

Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison assists its clients on title insurance matters. In addition to addressing specific title insurance issues for transactions, we serve as agents for Fidelity National Insurance Corporation, and Old Republic National Title Insurance Company. Tennessee is a “filed rate” title insurance state and, as a result, we provide title insurance at the same rates as other providers.