The commercial real estate market is not for the faint of heart; just ask anyone who’s worked in the field over the last few decades. It is a cyclical industry, where hidden risks lie beneath every cornerstone. In this environment, knowledge, judgment and experience are the keys to success, and those are precisely the attributes Vytas Petrulis brings to his practice.
Vytas has experience in all aspects of commercial real estate law and the knowledge that comes from nearly two decades spent working in the Houston market. He has represented clients in a variety of matters ranging from single-property deals to large portfolio transactions spread across the United States. Within the field of commercial real estate, Vytas has developed particular experience in multifamily housing and office leasing. In each of these areas, he helps clients recognize opportunities while controlling risks.
“It’s really about bringing value from an understanding of what the clients’ needs are,” he says. “That includes what they’re telling you, what they’re telegraphing to you, and what they may not even know yet. Then you try to bring your own experiences into the mix to help clients achieve their objectives without diluting the payoff.”
“It’s really about bringing value from an understanding of what the clients’ needs are.”
– Vytas Petrulis
In the multifamily sector, Vytas represents developers and investors involved in the purchase, sale, development, and redevelopment of apartment and condominium projects. Vytas has been involved in every aspect of apartment development, from initial deal structuring to disposition, and is skilled in addressing some of the specific areas of risk unique to multifamily projects, including mold contamination, accessibility standards, construction defects, and utility allocation.
Vytas takes a similar approach to helping his office leasing clients achieve their goals while minimizing risks. This includes paying close attention to how leasing documents are structured and thinking carefully about how responsibilities will be distributed between landlord and tenant. “These are already complicated transactions,” Vytas says, “but we’re often able to address issues in the documents upfront to help our clients avoid unnecessary problems down the road.”
While identifying potential pitfalls is an important part of real estate negotiation, it is only part of the picture. Vytas is also skilled in helping clients recognize emerging areas of opportunity, such as mixed-use projects, which represent a growing trend in multifamily development. For example, he represented a Houston-based developer on a successful assemblage of land for a mixed-use development in the desirable Town Lake area in Austin. It was a complicated transaction that involved the acquisition of several older apartment complexes, a retail center, and other parcels of property in a highly competitive market. Despite the challenges, through skillful planning and negotiation, Vytas and his team helped the client bring all the pieces together to create a successful outcome.
Vytas is also familiar with burgeoning areas of growth in the office leasing sector. For example, he has been a leader in the field of green leasing, helping both landlords and tenants achieve their sustainability goals. Because of his experience, he was appointed to the American Bar Association’s Green Lease Task Force and advises property managers, brokers, and building owners about the issues involved with leases in LEED-certified office buildings.
Vytas’ dedication to innovation and client service has earned him recognition as a Rising Star by Thomson Reuters and as one of Houston’s Top Lawyers by H Texasmagazine. His biggest reward, though, comes from putting his experience to work to help clients achieve their goals.
“If clients just need routine representation, there are a lot of attorneys who can do that, but when they need someone who has in-depth experience with many different types of clients and transactions and can think through the kinds of problems that might present themselves, that’s where I am able to add value,” he says.
That kind of insight enables Vytas’ clients to make the most of their investments, no matter how challenging the market.
