The Impact of Bankruptcy on Real Property Transactions

Program Description

After his obituary was mistakenly published, Mark Twain famously quipped, "The report of my death was an exaggeration." The same may be said of the U.S. economy, which appears to be recovering from one of the worst near-collapses in modern history, but the rough ride isn't over for the real estate sector.

Commercial real estate delinquencies are poised to escalate as the market tries to absorb an avalanche of maturing loans, eroding rents, rising vacancies and falling values amid strained credit conditions and stagnant refinancing. Some borrowers are opting to walk away from their properties and others are choosing bankruptcy.

For real property practitioners, insight into the ways a bankruptcy proceeding can affect their clients' transactions is essential for effective counseling. This program details the effect of bankruptcy and recent case law on real estate transactions and how to best plan for that real possibility.

Program Highlights

Leases and other executory contracts 

Rights to administrative rents 

Assumption or rejection 

Damages upon rejection 

Assignments 

Curing defaults and adequate assurance 

"Ipso facto" clauses 

Lease amendments in the "shadow" of bankruptcy 

Use and sale of real property 

Sales free and clear of liens 

Rents, issues and profits 

Rights to surcharge collateral 

Restructuring real estate debt 

The automatic stay 

Scope and effect on foreclosures 

Relief from the automatic stay (procedures and tactics) 

Adequate protection 

Single asset real estate (SARE) cases 

Serial filings and transfers to facilitate filings 

Assumes some experience in handling secured real property transactions and landlord/tenant matters but little experience in a bankruptcy context.