General

Russian real property market has recently become one of the most attractive areas of investment for both foreign and domestic investors. Failure to comply with voluminous legislation governing the real estate transactions may jeopardize the success of a transaction and diminish proceeds it generates.

Considering real estate transactions one of the key areas of our expertise, we have a substantial experience of representing developers, domestic and foreign investors, purchasers and sellers, lessees and lessors, engineering organizations and real estate brokers. Our lawyers have worked on various types of real-estate transactions including sale, purchase, lease, construction, cession, leasing, mortgage, trust, contracting, site development, securitization related to both commercial and residential property, including:

• Development of a filling station network for a major international oil company;
• Acquisition of a land-plot for construction of a factory for a multinational confectionary business;
• Development of several major residential and office sites in the center of Moscow;
• Development of leases for office space and land plots;
• Securitization of contractual obligations by mortgaging real estate objects (including land plots and land lease rights);
• Cottage-building in the Moscow region.

Due diligence

In order to minimize future risks pertaining to title clarity we offer to our Clients to undertake due diligence of all real estate objects involved in a project.

Our lawyers will carry out title research and assess potential risks pertaining to title clarity of real estate objects. Should it be necessary, the title research will include communication with state and municipal authorities in order to collect as much information about the real estate object as possible.

Besides, we will assess the project from the standpoint of the applicable legislation in order to highlight weaknesses (if any) of a forthcoming transaction or its integral parts.

Transaction implementation

We can also devise a transaction implementation scheme meeting the most sophisticated commercial requirements posed by a Client and the business environment in order to eliminate unnecessary expenses and maximize proceeds from a transaction. Further, our lawyers will help the Client to draft and negotiate contract documentation, provide follow-up support to transactions, and represent the Client at state and municipal agencies for the purposes of obtaining necessary licenses, permits, and registrations.

G&P is proud of having been involved in establishment of a filling stations network for a major international oil company in Moscow. In order to provide better protection of our Client’s interests we succeeded in changing the standard form of land lease that was used at that time by Moscow authorities.

Being quite common in the West, the institute of trust was formally introduced in the Russian legislation only in 1996. We successfully designed a scheme of trust-based relations for the benefit of one of the major real estate consultants on Moscow real estate market.

Privatization issues

With its expertise in the area of real estate G&P maintains a strong position in advising its Clients on various aspects of privatization, including:

• Due diligence of various privatization objects (including buildings, production facilities, collective farms, enterprises);
• Evaluation of privatization programs and assessment of risks pertaining to failure to comply with such programs;
• Advice on approaches to minimization of risks pertaining to privatization transactions.