Real Estate Law
Real estate has been at the heart of Gardner Bist’s legal practice since its founding and the firm’s real estate attorneys continue to be leaders in all areas of real estate law. Counting a Florida Bar Board Certified Real Estate Lawyer and a founding member of the firm among its numbers, the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group has extensive experience in all areas of real estate and real property law.
Transactions and Title Insurance Services
The firm’s transactional real estate practice has included acting as closing agent, lender’s counsel, seller’s counsel, and buyer’s counsel in all manners and types of real estate, including commercial, acreage, agricultural and residential property. Gardner Bist is also an authorized title agent in Florida for several major national title insurance companies. Whether representing developers, buyers, sellers, or banks, the real estate attorneys of Gardner Bist can help guide clients through all stages of a real estate transaction. See below for more information about our title and closing services
Real Estate Litigation
Real estate litigation is also a significant part of Gardner Bist’s legal practice, whether in the context of quiet title actions, tax deed litigation, partitions, Eminent Domain and Condemnation, landlord/tenant issues or otherwise. Our real estate attorneys also regularly litigate to protect the interests of mortgage lenders and creditors in mortgage foreclosures and bankruptcy proceedings. Our attorneys have the years of experience and knowledge to help our clients navigate the challenges of all types of real estate litigation matters.
When combined with our broad experience in Environmental Law, Land Use, Eminent Domain and Condemnation, and Business Law, and with the support of other similarly skilled attorneys in the firm, the real estate attorneys of Gardner Bist can professionally and skillfully handle all of your real estate legal needs from start to finish, including:
- Acreage and Timberland Acquisition, Financing, and Sales
- Assisted Living Facility and Nursing Home Acquisitions and Sales
- Commercial and Industrial Property Acquisition, Financing, and Sales
- Commercial, Residential and Mixed-Use Development
- Commercial and Residential Landlord/Tenant Matters
- Condominium Law
- Easements and Licenses
- Homeowners Association Law
- Leasing
- Like-Kind Exchanges
- Loan Workouts, Modifications and Forbearance Agreements
- Mortgage Foreclosure
- Mortgage Lending
- Oil, Gas, and Mineral Rights
- Partition and Ejectment Actions
- Planned Communities, Condominiums and Mixed-Use Developments
- Quiet Title Actions
- Residential Property Acquisition, Financing, and Sales
- Tax Deed Acquisition and Title Matters
- Title Insurance (First American Title Insurance Company, Old Republic Title Insurance Company – Attorneys’ Title Fund Services)
For more information on this area of our legal practice, contact any one of the Real Estate Practice Group members:
Real Estate Closings
Board Certification is the Florida Bar’s highest level of evaluation of an attorney’s competency and experience within an area of law, including the attorney’s professionalism and ethics in practice. Our Board Certified Real Estate Attorney, Garvin B. Bowden, is an expert in his chosen practice area of real estate law and he has the special knowledge, skills and proficiency to serve you and your clients best.
Gardner Bist’s real estate attorneys have over 60 years combined experience closing real estate transactions, including one of the firm’s founding members, Charles R. Gardner. Those decades of experience will be at your disposal when you choose Gardner Bist to handle your real estate closings. Whether problems arise or not, you know that experience is there to back you up.
Some title agents will emphasize the large number of real estate transactions they close every year. We prefer to focus on the quality of our real estate transactions rather than the sheer number we manage to close. You know at a Gardner Bist closing that you will get the quality and attention to detail that other closing agents may not have time to devote. A real estate attorney is at every closing we conduct and that attorney takes the time to thoroughly review and explain all closing documents and answer any questions your or your clients may have. We take the time to do it right.
American Land Title Association’s (ALTA) Title Insurance and Settlement Company Best Practices are a benchmark for the real estate settlement and mortgage lending industries. They illuminate the high level of professionalism that ALTA members follow to protect consumers and businesses in real estate and mortgage settlement. ALTA’s Best Practices are not mandatory, but Gardner Bist has adopted ALTA’s Best Practices in our own real estate settlement policies and procedures.
Title and Escrow Agent Details
If you are a broker, agent, or party to a contract and you wish to nominate Gardner Bist as the title and escrow agent to conduct your closing, our contact information for the contract is as follows:
Gardner Bist
1300 Thomaswood Drive
Tallahassee, Florida 32308
Telephone: (850) 385-0070
Facsimile: (850) 385-5416
closings@gbwlegal.com
Checks for earnest money deposits can be made payable to “Gardner Bist.” Wiring instructions for delivery of earnest money deposits are available upon request, subject to telephonic verification.