J. Christopher Geiger
Founding Attorney
Mr. J. Christopher “Chris” Geiger was born and raised in Savannah, where despite hundreds of great restaurants, the best food can still be found at his Mom’s house. He earned his BA in English at Mercer University and followed up with his JD at Mercer’s Walter F. George School of Law in 1981. He began his career in private practice in June of 1981 in Canton.
Chris began to specialize in real estate/secured financing when the real estate boom of the 80’s, spurred by the opening of Interstate 575, transformed the Cherokee County economy from agricultural to suburban. He represented community banks and mortgage providers in meeting the demands of acquisition and development loans for local developers, construction loans for the home builders, and mortgage loans for the ultimate buyers. Commercial lending followed the new home economy, and more complex secured financing arrangements between lenders and borrowers were required. A few recessions over the years brought on the need to address loan workouts, loan modifications, and foreclosure issues with his lender clients.
A more recent expansion on government guaranteed lending by the U. S. Small Business Administration led to a niche specialty in handling the document compliance and loan closings for SBA 7(A) loans, with or without a real property component. In the last few years, Chris has closed approximately 200 SBA 7(A) loans for community banks throughout the North Georgia and Atlanta metro areas. Often these loans require preparation of business formation documentation, including Limited Liability Company Operating Agreements, Corporate By-Laws, and Trade Name Registrations in order to assist the small business owner obtain the desired financing.
Chris’ current practice retains a mix of commercial, residential, and SBA closings, as well as simpler, but no less important, buy-sale transactions between individuals, whether for “cash at closing” or through secured seller financing as part of the negotiation.