Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2011 
Chris concentrates her real estate practice on condominiums, planned real estate developments, and community associations. She is a primary resource for assisting residential and commercial developers with compliance matters related to New Jersey’s Planned Real Estate Development Full Disclosure Act (PREDFDA).
Chris handles all aspects of project registration with the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) on behalf of residential and commercial developers and sponsors. Her work includes the preparation of public offering statements, master deeds, declarations and other documents governing the association. She advises on regulatory issues arising within the jurisdiction of the DCA, including public disclosure compliance, conversion and eviction laws, builder registration, new home warranty problems, consumer protection, community association regulations, and building or housing code violations.
She also performs the registration of developments situated outside of New Jersey with the Bureau of Subdivided Land Sales Control of the New Jersey Real Estate Commission so that homes in other states may be offered and sold within New Jersey.
Her experience encompasses residential condominiums, and subdivided lot communities administered by associations, where she structures the interests of high-rises, single-family detached units, townhomes, stacked flats and duplexes. She provides guidance related to the conversion of rental properties to the condominium form of ownership and the removal of tenants within the context of a conversion. Compliance with lending guidelines, age-restrictions and affordability controls restricting occupancy to low-and moderate-income households are part of her residential development practice.
Her work also includes all aspects of mixed-use developments, including those accommodating commercial, retail, office, and business uses, as well as industrial condominiums. She has significant experience in structuring and documenting large scale commercial, industrial and mixed-use developments to satisfy the specific requirements of institutional lenders.
Chris counsels successor developers and sponsors, owners, lenders, and associations on regulatory issues in existing and distressed communities, including negotiating to resolve financial and operational issues between the developer and the association. She undertakes the reformation of existing governing documents to resolve problems which were unanticipated when documents were originally drafted or are warranted due to the passage of time.
Chris has expertise in phasing developments to afford the sponsor maximum flexibility in planning and timing construction, and in incorporating improvements into a development. This includes compliance with requirements imposed by the Federal National Mortgage Association and Federal Housing Administration. She assists in recognizing and reconciling differences in expenses and ownership interests within a single development and in anticipating economic and operational differences using master and sub-associations.
In addition to her condominium and planned real estate practice, Chris is experienced in the acquisition and sale, mortgage financing and leasing of commercial and residential real estate. She provides litigation support in cases involving construction defects and transition from sponsor to unit owner control of associations. Her community association representation also includes general counseling, collections, and alternative dispute resolution.
Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.
