Christine F. Li

Christine F. Li: Leading Real Estate Attorney Specializing in Condominium & Planned Development Law

Christine F. Li is a highly experienced real estate attorney dedicated to providing expert legal counsel in condominium and planned real estate development. With a comprehensive understanding of complex legal issues, Ms. Li represents a diverse range of clients, including developers, sponsors, associations, owners, and lenders, navigating the intricacies of community association law, real estate transactions, and regulatory compliance. Her expertise extends across New Jersey, encompassing residential condominiums, subdivided lot communities, mixed-use developments, and industrial condominiums, ensuring the successful execution of projects from conception to completion.

Ms. Li’s practice centers around structuring the interests of all parties involved – from high-rise residents to single-family homeowners – within condominium and planned development settings. She is particularly adept at the conversion of rental properties to condominium ownership, meticulously managing the often-complex statutory and regulatory requirements surrounding tenant removal, ensuring a seamless transition for all stakeholders. Recognizing the importance of affordability and responsible development, she also specializes in compliance with lending guidelines, age-restrictions, and affordability controls designed to promote low-and moderate-income housing opportunities.

Beyond residential projects, Ms. Li possesses extensive experience in mixed-use developments, skillfully advising on commercial, retail, office, and business uses, alongside industrial condominiums. A core component of her services is handling all aspects of project registration with the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) on behalf of developers and sponsors, meticulously preparing public offering statements, master deeds, declarations, and other governing documents. Her proactive approach includes advising on critical regulatory issues within the DCA's jurisdiction, including public disclosure compliance, conversion and eviction laws, builder registration, new home warranty problems, consumer protection, community association regulations, and adherence to building or housing code violations. She further distinguishes herself by performing the registration of developments situated outside of New Jersey with the Bureau of Subdivided Land Sales Control of the New Jersey Real Estate Commission, facilitating the offering and sale of properties across state lines.

Ms. Li frequently counsels successor developers and sponsors, owners, lenders, and associations on regulatory issues in both existing and distressed communities. Recognizing the inherent challenges of these situations, she excels at negotiating resolutions with community associations to address financial and operational issues between developers and associations, often involving the reformation of existing governing documents to proactively resolve unforeseen problems or address changes necessitated by time. Her experience extends to phasing developments to provide sponsors with maximum flexibility in construction planning and timing, as well as incorporating improvements into developments, with strict adherence to FNMA and FHA requirements. Furthermore, she is skilled in recognizing and reconciling differences in expenses and ownership interests within a single development, anticipating economic and operational differences by utilizing master and sub-associations for enhanced organization.

In addition to her core condominium and planned real estate practice, Ms. Li offers a breadth of services in commercial and residential real estate, including acquisition and sale, mortgage financing, and leasing. She provides robust litigation support in cases involving construction defects and the transition of control from sponsors to unit owner associations. Her community association representation encompasses comprehensive general counseling, collections, and alternative dispute resolution services. She is a dedicated advocate for her clients, leveraging her in-depth knowledge and practical experience to achieve favorable outcomes.

Education & Credentials

Ms. Li is a respected legal professional with a proven record of success in real estate development law. Her commitment to excellence is reflected in her numerous accolades and recognitions:

• Lawyer of the Year: Real Estate Law – Woodbridge (2019)
• Recognized: Community Association Law – Various recognized rankings
• Recipient of a New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education Distinguished Service Award (2000)
• Recipient of the 2013 Arthur S. Horn Distinguished Service Award from the New Jersey State Bar Association Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section – in recognition of significant contributions to the development of Real Property Law in New Jersey

Professional Affiliations

Recognized Since: Recognized in Best Attorney USA since 2011

Contact Information

City: Iselin, State: New Jersey, Country: United States