Real Estate Law
Fundamentals for The Development Process

Unlike existing textbooks written for law students on specific subjects impacting real estate transactions, Real Estate Law: Fundamentals for The Development Process uses "The Development Process" as a framework for understanding how the U.S. legal system regulates, facilitates, and generally impacts real estate transactions and their outcomes.

This book not only addresses the nature of specific legal issues directly relating to real estate transactions but also how those issues may best be identified and addressed in advance. This book breaks down the myriad of laws influencing the selection, acquisition, development, financing, ownership, and management of real estate, and presents them in context.

Readers of Real Estate Law will gain a practical understanding, from the perspective of a real property developer or real estate executive, investor, or lender, of:

• how to identify potential legal issues before they arise;
• when to involve a real estate attorney;
• how to select an attorney with the appropriate, relevant experience; and
• how to efficiently and economically engage and manage legal counsel in addressing real estate issues.

Written as a graduate-level text book, Real Estate Law comes with numerous useful features including a glossary of terms, chapter summaries, discussion questions, further reading, and a companion website with instructor resources. It is a resource of great value to real estate and finance professionals, both with and without law degrees, engaged in one aspect or another of real estate development and finance, who want to become more conversant in the legal issues impacting these transactions.

1. Introduction: Asset classes, property classifications, ownership types and The Development Process 2. Introduction to The Development Process 3. How legal issues arise in The Development Process 4. Local Governments and land use law 5. Zoning and land use regulations in action 6. Environmental law 7. Contract law 8. Tax considerations of real estate transactions 9. Financing real estate transactions 10. Private actions creating public benefits 11. Property management and leasing

Peter E. Smirniotopoulos is Adjunct Professor of Real Estate in the MBA program at The George Washington University and in the School of Business at George Mason University, USA.