Real Estate Law · DuPage County, Illinois
Residential and commercial closings handled with care from contract to keys, so the details are covered before you sign.
Commercial real estate is not residential with bigger numbers. The contracts are longer, the due diligence is deeper, and the risks — environmental liability, zoning and use restrictions, existing leases and tenants, title and survey defects — are the kind that can quietly turn a good deal into a years-long problem. We represent buyers, sellers, investors, and developers across DuPage County in commercial transactions where reading every document, and knowing which ones actually matter, is the difference between a clean close and an expensive surprise.
Our commercial clients range from a first investment property to multi-tenant buildings, ground-up development, and 1031 exchanges on a deadline. Whatever the size, you work directly with the attorney on your file and get the same rigor a far larger firm would charge a premium for. We coordinate the title, survey, and environmental review, negotiate the contract and any existing commercial leases, and keep a 1031 exchange on track when one is part of the deal, so the transaction closes on time and on the terms you negotiated.
From small commercial purchases to multi-tenant property sales.
Investment properties, business location purchases, mixed-use buildings, retail spaces.
Investor exits, retiring landlord sales, owner-occupant sales, portfolio dispositions.
Triple-net, gross, modified-gross leases. Both landlord and tenant representation.
Tax-deferred like-kind exchanges with proper qualified intermediary coordination.
Title, survey, environmental, zoning, lease audit, financial review, coordinated as a package.
Land acquisition, zoning, financing structure, and construction-period coordination.
Non-binding outline of major terms before drafting full contract.
Purchase agreement with due diligence period, typically 30-60 days for commercial.
Full title commitment review, ALTA survey, Phase I environmental, zoning verification.
Closing typically 60-120 days from contract, depending on financing and complexity.
We work on deals from $300K small commercial up to multi-million dollar commercial, without big-firm overhead pricing.
Chris or John handles every commercial file. No first-year associates learning on your transaction.
Commercial DD is where deals are won or lost. We coordinate environmental, zoning, lease audit, title.
30+ years drafting and reviewing commercial leases, we know what the gotchas are.
Properly structured 1031 exchanges defer capital gains. We coordinate with qualified intermediaries.
Commercial deals get negotiated extensively. We push hard on terms that matter.
Most commercial deals that fall apart or turn into litigation do so for reasons that surface during due diligence, if anyone is looking. An environmental issue on the property, a use the zoning will not actually permit, a survey that reveals an encroachment, a title defect, or a lease that binds you to a tenant on terms you would never have agreed to. The seller is not required to volunteer these; you and your attorney have to find them inside the contract’s due-diligence window. We build that investigation into every transaction, so problems get priced, fixed, or walked away from before you are committed.
The other place commercial deals go sideways is the contract language itself. Representations and warranties, indemnification, conditions to closing, and remedies for default are where a deal is either protected or exposed, and they are routinely glossed over in a rush to sign. We negotiate those terms deliberately, with an eye on what happens if the deal, the property, or the other party does not perform. The goal is simple: when something goes wrong later, the document is already on your side.
From our Villa Park office, we represent clients across DuPage County and the western suburbs of Chicago.
Larger due diligence (often Phase I environmental, ALTA survey, zoning review, lease audit), longer timelines (60-120 days vs 45-60), and meaningfully negotiated contracts. Commercial buyers typically have more leverage to negotiate terms than residential buyers.
Most commercial deals are quoted flat-fee based on transaction size and complexity. Multi-tenant or development deals may be hourly. We quote upfront at consultation.
Almost always recommended, an ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey is more detailed than residential and reveals encroachments, easements, and boundary issues. Required by many commercial lenders.
Environmental site assessment that reviews property history, neighboring uses, and visible site conditions for contamination risk. Required by most commercial lenders. Phase II is invasive sampling, ordered only if Phase I raises concerns.
Yes, we handle the legal side of 1031 exchanges and coordinate with qualified intermediaries (we don’t act as QI). Proper 1031 structuring defers capital gains tax indefinitely.
No, we represent one party per deal. Commercial deals have meaningfully different interests on each side; you need your own representation.
Almost everything that carries risk is bigger. Commercial due diligence routinely includes environmental review, zoning and permitted-use analysis, survey and title scrutiny, and a careful look at any existing leases and tenants — none of which is standard in a home purchase. The contracts are heavily negotiated rather than form documents, and the financial and liability exposure is far greater. That is exactly why having an attorney involved from the letter of intent forward, not just at closing, matters so much more on the commercial side.
Yes, ideally. A letter of intent is often treated as non-binding, but it sets the framework for the entire deal, and some provisions in an LOI can bind you whether you intended them to or not. Getting counsel involved at the LOI stage lets us shape the price, contingencies, due-diligence period, and exclusivity terms before they harden into a contract. It is far cheaper to get the structure right at the start than to renegotiate it after the other side believes the terms are settled.
Whether you’re considering an investment, signing a lease, or selling longtime commercial property, we’ll walk you through what to expect.