Real Estate and Land Use

We handle a wide variety of real estate and land use matters, representing clients on both commercial and residential matters.

Land Use

We have extensive experience in representing clients in the often complicated process of obtaining permits and other government approvals necessary to develop real property.  The City of Santa Cruz and the County of Santa Cruz are unique in terms of the complexity of the land use laws and regulations that affect development.  Our clients have found that our local knowledge and insight is invaluable in navigating the land use process.  We regularly appear in front of the Coastal Commission, the City Councils of the cities of Santa Cruz, Capitola, Scotts Valley and Watsonville, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, and other regulatory bodies in representing our clients.

We are also experienced in assisting clients with subdivisions, minor land divisions, condominium conversions, lot line adjustments, and other real property matters.  We provide the advice and counsel necessary for our clients to make informed choices about how they wish to develop their property.  We also provide all of the legal documents necessary to for such matters, such as lot line adjustment agreements, covenants, conditions and restrictions, and articles, bylaws, and rules and regulations for common interest community associations.  We represent a wide range of clients, from those that wish to effectuate a one-time lot split to professional developers who wish to create major residential and commercial subdivisions.  We assist mobilehome park owners and tenants in the process of converting from rental parks to owner-occupied parks.  We also provide ongoing advice for clients such as homeowners’ associations that need to ensure that they are kept up to date with changes in the law and the changing needs of their community.

Real Estate Transactions

We are adept at handling transactional matters such as purchase and sale transactions, lease negotiations, and tenancy in common ownership agreements.  We are experienced at resolving the specialized legal and factual issues that arise during transactions involving different types of properties such as office, retail, residential, industrial and agricultural properties.  We represent a wide variety of clients on transactional matters and will deliver cost-effective and first-rate service whether our client is involved in a sales or lease transaction for a single home or a shopping center.

Real Estate Litigation

We specialize in property use issues such as boundary disputes, encroachments, nuisances, and easement disputes, adverse possession/prescriptive rights issues, and quiet title cases.

We also have extensive experience in representing both residential and commercial buyers, sellers, agents and brokers in disputes arising from the purchase or sale of real property.  Such disputes include non-disclosure issues, mortgage and deed of trust cases, environmental contamination issues and construction defect cases.  We are also experienced in representing tenants and landlords in commercial and residential lease disputes and unlawful detainer (eviction) cases.