Mike R. Tirman

Mike Tirman focuses his practice on transactional real estate and real estate finance, with experience spanning acquisitions and dispositions, development projects, joint ventures, and borrower-side financing. He regularly represents real estate investors, developers, REITs, family offices, and an industrial asset manager in transactions involving a wide range of asset classes, with particular depth in industrial, student housing, multi-tenant, office, and shopping center properties. His work includes drafting and negotiating purchase and sale agreements, development agreements, loan documents, and related real estate contracts, and he is known for aligning deal structures with client business plans and capital strategies. Mike understands the commercial realities of getting a deal done and brings a practical, business-minded strategy to every engagement, ensuring that legal advice serves—rather than hinders—the broader objectives of the parties at the table.

On the financing side, Mike has significant borrower-side experience and advises on construction and permanent loans, refinancings, and other credit facilities, helping clients navigate covenants, collateral structures, intercreditor issues, and closing deliverables. Mike frequently supports development-focused clients through the full development lifecycle—from site acquisition and entitlement considerations through financing and eventual stabilization or disposition—with a strong concentration in industrial and student housing projects.

Mike also handles a range of real estate joint ventures and selective real estate fund formation matters, developing pragmatic structures that balance control, economics, and exit options without over-engineering. He is comfortable with leasing and ground leasing and advises clients on lease issues in support of broader transactional and development objectives, while keeping his practice centered on acquisitions, development, and financing. Mike's experience extends to cross-border and Sharia-compliant investment; he has represented foreign family offices and private equity firms in the acquisition and financing of real estate and corporate interests, including drafting and negotiating Sharia-compliant finance leases (Ijara) and advising on structuring when funds flow through the MENA region.

In addition to his client work, Mike has spoken on leasing issues at a CLE Forum for In-House Counsel, on Sharia-compliant asset management and Islamic capital raising in Saudi Arabia at the IFN KSA Dialogues, and on tax and legal structuring in real estate transactions.

Practice Areas

Industries

Representative Matters

Acquisition, Disposition, & Financing

• Mike represented a real estate fund in the acquisition and financing of a six-property portfolio of industrial buildings located in Cincinnati, Ohio for ±$33,000,000. He negotiated the purchase agreement, provided counsel on the corporate structure of the borrower, conducted real property due diligence, and coordinated the closing. He also negotiated the acquisition loan agreement from a life insurance company in the principal amount of ±$20,000,000.*
• Mike represented an investment firm in the acquisition and financing of a 136-bed student housing project located near the campus of the University of West Georgia in Carrollton, Georgia for ±$8,100,000. The acquisition included the assumption of a Freddie Mac loan in the original principal amount of ±$6,000,000.*
• Mike represented a foreign family office in the acquisition and financing of a 30-property portfolio of industrial buildings located in fifteen states across the US for ±$195,000,000. He negotiated the acquisition CMBS loan agreement from an international bank in the principal amount of ±$130,000,000. He also represented the client in the negotiation of a joint venture agreement with a US-sponsor who ultimately would act as the general partner of the investment. *
• Mike represented an investor in the acquisition of a roadside hotel in Fort Stockton, Texas for ±$12,000,000. The acquisition was initially funded with seller financing, which was shortly thereafter refinanced for long-term debt from a local bank in the principal amount of ±$7,000,000.*

 Development & Financing

• Mike represented a multifamily developer in the land acquisition, development, and financing of a 252-unit workforce housing development in Cumberland, Indiana with a stabilized appraised value of ±$28,500,000. He counseled the client on the structure of the acquisition and financing, which consisted of a complicated capital stack of preferred equity, tax increment financing (TIF) proceeds, and a construction loan from a national bank. He negotiated a TIF bridge loan that provided financing for the developer-backed bonds, and negotiated a construction loan that included a forward commitment to convert to a permanent Freddie Mac loan upon stabilization. He also drafted and negotiated a comprehensive declaration of covenants, conditions, and restrictions for the development. *
• Mike represented a student housing developer in the land acquisition, development, and financing of a 284-bed student housing development located near the campus of Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi with a stabilized appraised value of ±$26,000,000. He negotiated a construction loan with a principal balance of ±$14,500,000 and drafted and negotiated several easements related to water access for the development. *
• Mike represented an investment firm in the acquisition and development of a ±400,000 square foot distribution warehouse in San Antonio, Texas, with a stabilized appraised value of ±$86,000,000. He negotiated a third-party development services agreement on behalf of the client and a joint venture agreement with the seller who was participating in the deal post-closing. *
• Mike represented a bridal designer and retailer in the development and financing of its ±25,000 square foot worldwide headquarters and showroom located in Indianapolis, Indiana. He negotiated the construction loan agreement with a principal amount of approximately ±$10,300,000 guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration, and continues to act as outside general counsel to the owners of the business.*
• Mike represented a multifamily developer in the land acquisition, development, and financing of a 102-unit build-to-rent single family home development in Houston, Texas with a stabilized appraised value of ±$26,000,000. He counseled the client on the structure of the acquisition and financing, which included proceeds from a Section 1031 exchange, and a construction loan from a national bank that was master leased to the developer.*

Cross Border Investment

• Mike represented a foreign family office in the joint venture, development, and financing of a senior living development in Punta Gorda, Florida with a stabilized appraised value of ±$30,000,000. He counseled the client on the structure of the acquisition and financing, which included a flow of funds from the MENA region through Jersey into a Delaware limited liability company taxed as a corporation. He also drafted and negotiated a finance lease (Ijara) and worked with the client's advisors and auditors to ensure that the investment was Sharia complaint. *
• Mike represented a foreign private equity firm in the acquisition and financing of a medical office building in Cincinnati, Ohio for ±$85,000,000. He negotiated the purchase agreement, negotiated a joint venture agreement with a US-general partner, provided counsel on the corporate structure of the borrower (which anticipated the flow of funds from the MENA region through Jersey), conducted real property due diligence, and coordinated the closing. He also negotiated the acquisition loan agreement from an international bank in the principal amount of ±$56,000,000, and drafted and negotiated a Sharia-compliant finance lease (Ijara).*
• Mike represented a foreign private equity firm in the acquisition and financing of an office building in Westmont, Illinois for ±$21,700,000. He negotiated the purchase agreement, provided counsel on the corporate structure of the borrower (which anticipated the flow of funds from the MENA region through Jersey), conducted real property due diligence, and coordinated the closing. He also negotiated the acquisition loan agreement from an international bank in the principal amount of ±$14,500,000, and drafted and negotiated a Sharia-compliant finance lease (Ijara).*

*Matters handled prior to joining Honigman LLP

Prior Experience

• Ice Miller LLP, Partner

Additional Languages

• French

Education

Admissions

Awards

• Best Lawyers in America, Real Estate Law, 2021-2026
• Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Stars
• Indiana Super Lawyers Rising Stars

Professional & Community Involvement

• American Pianists Association, Board of Directors
• Islamic Finance News, Contributor
• The Chicago Real Estate Private Equity Network, Member

News

Press Releases