Partner Laura Mehl Sugarman Quoted in Brick Underground

Laura Mehl Sugarman, a Partner in Benesch’s Real Estate Practice Group, was recently quoted in Brick Underground in an article titled, “Co-ops With Ground Leases Can Renew Early Under New Law.”

Under new legislation signed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul in late September, co-ops that lease the land beneath their buildings can now renew their ground leases at any point, rather than waiting until the end of the term—typically 99 years.

“The legislation should give these co-ops a shot at securing a new mortgage, as banks have been unwilling to lend to co-ops with a ground lease that would expire before the debt was paid off,” Sugarman explained. 

She continued, “This became a financing problem for co-ops. Traditional lenders are not inclined to give a mortgage because they don’t know what’s going to happen to the value of the property when the land lease is up.” 

Read the full article here.