Real Estate Law Guidelines for Investments in Commercial Real Estate
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Real Estate Law Guidelines for Investments in Commercial Real Estate 1st edition Real Estate Law Guidelines for Investments in Commercial Real Estate Editor: LEGALINK Editorial: Jakoby Rechtsanwälte, Dr. Markus Jakoby, Berlin Design: Claudius Herwig, Berlin 1st edition © LEGALINK 2010 4 Real Estate Law Guidelines for Investments in Commercial Real Estate 1st edition 5 Introduction After the subprime and the global financial crisis of the recent years with sharp decline of almost all markets including the commercial real estate market we see in 2010 the start of an recovery of the commercial real estate market in almost all business centers worldwide. The investors and all players in this field as well as and the financing banks look more precisely to potential risks of products in the markets and this is only fair when you look back. Most products in the current commercial real estate market therefore are more transparent and most market players are reluctant to invest in products that are not transparent and not easy to understand. It is good to see that the commercial real estate sector is developing very well these days and investors realise established truth that real estate has been on longterm basis a veritable investment over decades as long as the facts of the object in question are professionally reviewed and the investment professionally placed. We are very happy to have in our developing worldwide Legalink network with more than 3000 lawyers of independant lawfirms located in most business centers of all five continents experts in this field that may help investors in all aspects of investments and transactions in commercial real estate and other real estate as well. The experts of the Legalink-network know each other personally from at least two meetings a year with special interest groups of the network and from cross border projects on which the firms work together. In discussions with our clients we found out that many of them as well as further potential investors would like to get an introduction to the rules of investing in commercial real 6 Introduction estate and further aspects that have to be taken into account within the different areas of the world in this field. We are pleased to give potential investors with this book a first overview to what has to be taken into account when investing in commercial real estate in specific areas of the world that might be of inter- est for them. Of course every single placement has to be reviewed in detail by specialists. You will find contact data of the firms within this book and on the website of our Legalink network (www. Legalink.ch). All firms are pleased to assist in this field and will give you professional advice. If you need a cross border analysis of diverse law aspects or joint efforts in a cross border deal or if you have any questions how our network could advise to get best solutions for investments in commercial real estate, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will place you to the specialists of our network who can assist you best in your case. Berlin, September 2010 Markus Jakoby *All answers in this booklet do not constitute legal advice as to the Legal Position of the countries represented by the Legalink members in this booklet and specific advice should be sought in relation to each particular set of facts and circumstances. Legalink Jakoby Rechtsanwälte Rita Jardim Schlüterstraße 37 Chief Administrative Officer 10629 Berlin Germany Tel: + 351 21 929 1772 Tel.: +49 (0)30 /88 03 20 0 Mobile: + 351 91 234 97 55 Fax.: +49 (0)30/88 03 20 10 [email protected] [email protected] 7 Index Australia ............................................................................................... 12 Austria .................................................................................................. 22 Belgium ............................................................................................... 30 Brazil .................................................................................................... 40 Canada ................................................................................................. 48 Chile ..................................................................................................... 58 Colombia .............................................................................................. 68 Costa Rica ............................................................................................ 76 Cyprus .................................................................................................. 86 Czech Republic .................................................................................... 94 England and Wales ............................................................................. 104 Finland ............................................................................................... 116 France ................................................................................................ 124 Germany ............................................................................................ 136 Hong Kong ......................................................................................... 146 Hungary ............................................................................................. 162 Indonesia ............................................................................................ 174 Italy .................................................................................................... 186 Korea .................................................................................................. 194 Malaysia ............................................................................................. 206 8 Index Mexico ............................................................................................... 214 New Zealand ...................................................................................... 230 Norway .............................................................................................. 240 Panama ............................................................................................... 246 Peru .................................................................................................... 252 Portugal .............................................................................................. 260 Russia ................................................................................................. 268 Singapore ........................................................................................... 278 Slovakia ............................................................................................. 288 Thailand ............................................................................................. 294 The Netherlands ................................................................................. 222 USA – California ............................................................................... 302 USA – District of Columbia .............................................................. 310 USA – Florida .................................................................................... 322 USA – New York ............................................................................... 330 USA – Ohio ........................................................................................ 340 USA – Pennsylvania .......................................................................... 350 USA – Texas ...................................................................................... 358 Vietnam .............................................................................................. 368 9 Questions I. Procedure of a real estate transaction 1. Could you give a short outline with regard to the formal procedure of a real es- tate transaction in your country starting from the signing of the purchase agree- ment (including the closing) until formal ownership vests in the purchaser? 2. Does your legal system permit different sorts of ownership like ownership of the whole land and construction or ownership for example only of one unit or lots of units (condominium) of the improvements? 3. Does the legal system of your country permit joint ownership of real property? Which kind of entities can be owner of real property in your country? 4. In some countries the ownership of a building is implied in the ownership of the land. Is it this way in your country as well and/or is it possible to have dif- ferent owners of the land and the building erected on it? 5. Is the land and/or the building registered in a formal register and is a good faith purchaser protected with regard to the entries in this formal register? II. Costs for transaction 6. What tax aspects are directly involved in a purchase of real property, for ex- ample real property transfer tax and what is the percentage of it? 7. Do you have to hold the property for a specific time with respect to tax reasons or is it in this context no problem to buy and sell property on a short term basis, for example within a year? 8. Can the seller get his money out of your country after the transaction (repatria- tion of funds)? 9. If you buy real estate that is leased to one or more persons are you allowed to terminate the lease contract(s) or which restrctions have to be taken into ac- count? 10. Are you allowed to change the use of a building from residential use to office space or do you need official approval for doing so or is