Our Los Angeles real estate lawyers service a wide array of real estate professionals including, owners, developers, brokers, agents, escrow officers, contractors, engineers, landlords, tenants, title companies, whether commercial, residential, or industrial, from formation to conflict resolution. If you need to reach a deal, preserve a profit, avoid a pitfall, or resolve disagreements, we provide real solutions.
Real Estate Professionals
We assist real estate professionals whether they are commercial, residential, or industrial agents, to successfully close a challenging real estate transaction or to avoid or resolve a litigation claim involving their sellers, buyers, lenders or borrowers. A realtor that may be concerned that their client or themselves may be sued, by an individual or the California Department of Real Estate, may benefit from a meeting with one of our attorneys, as we provide reliable advice on contract formation, conditions, covenants, provisions, mediation, conflict resolution, and a wide array of real estate needs.
Commercial and Residential Real Estate Attorneys
The attorneys of Stone & Sallus are competent and experienced professionals in the areas of residential and commercial real estate law. Our team can advise you on minor residential disputes or complex commercial issues.
Residential: The law office of Stone & Sallus is uniquely poised to represent property agents, buyers, and sellers. Our team of residential real estate attorneys in Manhattan Beach is experienced in breach of contracts, fraud, misrepresentation, and foreclosure issues.
Commercial: Manhattan Beach is also home to a wildly competitive and growing commercial real estate market. A skilled and experienced commercial real estate attorney is essential to the complexities of buying and selling commercial properties. The law firm of Stone & Sallus is with our commercial clients every step of the way during both acquisitions and sales. We specialize in purchase and sale contracts, coordinating successful closings, and navigating any lending technicalities.
Breach Of Contract (Buyer And Seller)
When a dispute arises between a buyer and seller after the sale or purchase of residential real estate, buyers sometimes assert claims of breach of contract against the seller. This can also arise in the context of a failed transaction, in which the seller has declined to close escrow, and the buyer sues to enforce the contract or seeks damages, or where the buyer has refused to complete the transaction after the contingencies have been removed.
Our firm provides practical advice on how to avoid such disputes, or, if a breach of contract claim arises, how it can best be asserted or defended, depending on whether the client is a buyer or seller. We also provide clients with advice on how such claims are best avoided, so as to achieve the best possible outcome at the lowest possible cost to the client.
Fraud, Misrepresentation
Buyers and sellers of real estate often find themselves parties to claims in which either the buyer or seller has asserted claims for fraud or misrepresentation against the other. These claims frequently arise where, for example, a buyer claims that a seller failed to disclose material aspects of a home’s condition. Our firm is experienced in both prosecuting such claims on behalf of buyers, and defending such claims on behalf of sellers.
We are able to identify pitfalls in asserting such claims, or, if a claim has been asserted against a seller, identify potential defenses against such claims. We can also provide sound, practical advice regarding the nature of damages that can be expected in these types of disputes. One area in which our firm is especially useful is in reducing the likelihood of, or enhancing the probability of succeeding in, these disputes before an escrow has closed. We can advise both buyers and sellers on the best ways to avoid such claims, minimize any exposure, or, if necessary, assert such claims.
Landlord and Tenant Law
The attorneys of Stone & Sallus have vast experience in defending both landlords and tenants in real estate disputes.
Landlord: Our firm provides representation to protect the landlords’ rights while maximizing their profit for both residential and commercial properties. In the eviction process, our experienced attorneys comply, both substantively and procedurally, with all applicable laws, thereby avoiding delays, unnecessary expense, and possible liability to the tenant for wrongful eviction and/or criminal sanctions.
Tenant: Our firm provides representation to protect the tenants’ rights in situations where they are facing unwarranted eviction or other legal disputes where they have been taken advantage of by negligent landlords.
Foreclosure/Lender-Borrower Issues
In today’s economy, few legal subjects receive more attention than the remedies available to lenders and borrowers when real estate loans go into default. For over thirty years, we have advised lenders regarding loan workouts, loan modifications, and all of the steps leading up to, and including, foreclosure. Over the same period, we have advised borrowers regarding these same topics, as well as foreclosure avoidance measures such as short sales, deed in lieu of foreclosure options, and other negotiable resolutions.
Lease: Residential And Commercial
The firm can guide the lease preparation process from beginning to end, whether for landlord or tenant, sole proprietor or major company, a few hundred feet or a major commercial lease. The meticulous drafting and skillful negotiation, of a lease requires specific knowledge of the clients’ objectives to build an open and effective Landlord-Tenant relationship.
No matter how detailed a lease is or how thoroughly it was developed and reviewed, disputes often arise concerning the provisions of the lease. We analyze our client’s objective and then thoroughly chart the path to make sure our client’s ultimate goal is met. This includes commercial disputes involving enforcement of exclusive use provisions, commercial unlawful detainer, property management, tenant improvement issues, assignments, leasing, pass-through provisions, Common Area Maintenance (CAM), recapture provisions, brokerage agreements, and more.
Lease Assignment And Subletting Negotiation
Assignment and subletting is the process of transferring some or all of the interest in property (created by the lease) to another. The individual lease controls a tenant’s ability to assign or sublet their lease. We have found that by assigning and subletting a lease, tenants who are no longer able to abide by the terms of the lease can reduce their liability by assigning or subletting their interest in the pre-existing lease to another tenant. Generally, the lease will require the landlord’s written consent to either assign or sublet the lease.
Purchase and Sale
We believe thorough planning and precise contracts will help avoid many business disputes and save money, building productive relationships in the process. When problems involving purchase and sale agreements, we have extensive experience in all types of non-disclosure cases. Whether it is our clients’ business property or their house, we are cognizant of the uniqueness of real property. We commonly litigate these claims, understand the intricacies, and take every step necessary to protect your interests and enforce the terms of your purchase agreement.
This may include specific performance cases, liquidated damages provisions, disputes concerning escrow deposits, broker and agent representation disputes, rights of redemption, and more. It is possible that something may go wrong with the purchase and sale of the property, such as a missing or incorrect loan document or last minute title problem, which may jeopardize a closing. Our principal goal is to complete the transaction.
We work in the acquisition and sale of both residential and commercial properties. This includes negotiation, drafting, and execution of a purchase and sale contract, overseeing due diligence, as well as coordination with lenders, brokers, and title companies. We offer as much or little advice necessary, to effectively resolve issues in a cost effective manner.
We advise clients as to the most effective way to secure and hold title to real estate, whether, joint tenants, tenants in common, or community property (CA is a community property state). We strive to ensure title is passed in a timely manner absent unexpected surprise, stress, and excess expense to all involved parties.
Financing Disputes and Litigation
We represent both lenders and borrowers in their financing disputes. We also counsel clients on ways to avoid these disputes by understanding and reviewing the terms of the loans. Whether it be a bank or individual borrower, we understand the issues that are involved with financing disputes and we undertake to impart that knowledge on our clients
Unlawful Detainer
Unlawful Detainer is the process by which a commercial or residential landlord evicts a tenant for failure to pay rent or failure to comply with a covenant in the lease. We offer counsel throughout the process, which includes drafting 3 Day Notices, 30 Day Notices, complaints, judgments, and writs of possession which cause the Sheriff’s Department to serve a notice to vacate.
Tax-Deferred Exchanges
Our real estate clients utilize a variety of transfers and exchanges for tax purposes and to increase their portfolio. We structure Section 1031 tax-deferred exchanges of all types. Our firm can provide strategic advice and guidance through the sale of property and exchanges, as well as utilize our relationships with subsidiaries that may assist in the process of tax-deferred exchanges.
Easements
An easement is generally the right to use the real property of another. This grants the right to use the property of another. Our experience includes negotiating easements, drafting and creating easements between adjacent landowners, and litigating easement disputes. We may help you negotiate a positive arrangement in which all parties may benefit.
Quiet Title and Partition Actions
In property ownership disputes we have experience in helping our clients resolve disputes concerning ownership of title to real property. These disputes often arise when co-owners of property disagree on whether or not they should retain ownership. We may bring a quiet title action and partition action, to help resolve these disputes. In these matters, we take all appropriate steps to make sure our client’s interest in the property is protected, which often includes recording a lis pendens on the property at the county recorder’s office. In addition, we actively pursue settlement of these disputes to help avoid costly court costs and receiver costs.
Nondisclosure
We have experience in representation of clients with actions against the sellers of real property arising out of the seller’s failure to disclose defects in the real property that the seller sold. We investigate the nature of the problem, help our clients understand the cost to fix it, and then actively protect our clients rights. If a buyer discovers a defect in the property and the buyer thinks that the seller knew about the defect, the buyer may be entitled to damages for the seller’s failure to disclose. However, so long as the defect is disclosed in writing, there is often no liability for the defect. Depending on the time of the disclosure (early negotiation stages, late in escrow) the buyer may be entitled to damages for the seller’s failure to disclose.
Schedule a Consultation with an Experienced Los Angeles Real Estate Attorney
Our award-winning attorneys have decades of combine experience in California real estate law. We serve clients throughout Los Angeles, including Manhattan Beach, El Segundo, Torrance, Malibu and the surrounding areas.
