Real Estate Transactions
In San Diego real estate, the money is made in the contingencies
Purchase agreements, commercial leases, and development deals reviewed by an attorney who has served as president of a real estate development company and liquidated substantial property portfolios. I read the documents before your deposit goes hard, not after.
Real Estate Transactions
A transactional lawyer who has been the principal
San Diego County real estate moves quickly, and the standard forms are written to keep it moving. What they are not written to do is protect the specific thing you care about in this particular property, whether that is a lease assignment, a coastal permitting condition, or an easement nobody mentioned.
I bring more than thirty years of legal practice to real estate transactions, along with direct experience as president of a real estate development company where I liquidated substantial real property assets, and years in banking and finance. I have been the borrower, the seller, and the counsel.
For buyers, sellers, landlords, tenants, and developers across San Diego County, that means advice grounded in how these deals actually close here. Which contingencies deserve real time. Which title exceptions matter and which are noise. How a lease assignment provision will affect the value of a building when you sell it in six years.
Scope of Work
Real estate matters I handle
- Commercial purchase and sale agreements
- Investment and multifamily property acquisitions
- Industrial, retail, and office transactions
- Land acquisition and development transactions
- Commercial leases for landlords and tenants
- Lease assignments, subleases, and amendments
- Title report and preliminary report review
- Escrow instructions and closing coordination
- Easements, access, and boundary matters
- Purchase money financing and seller carryback notes
- Tax credit financing transactions
- Entity structuring for property holdings
- 1031 exchange transaction documentation support
- Residential transactions involving unusual complexity
What I Watch For
What I look at that a standard form will not catch
Escrow will process the paperwork. Nobody in the standard process is reading the deal specifically for your downside.
- Contingency periods long enough to complete real inspection and financing
- Title exceptions, easements, and recorded restrictions that limit your use
- Zoning, permitted use, and coastal or overlay constraints
- Existing tenant leases, estoppels, and assumed obligations
- CAM charges, operating expense caps, and escalation formulas
- Assignment and change of control rights in leases you are inheriting
- Representations regarding property condition and known defects
- Environmental disclosures and phase one review scope
- Liquidated damages and deposit forfeiture terms
- Financing contingency language that actually protects your deposit
How It Works
From first call to finished file
No mystery about what happens next or what it costs. Here is the sequence.
Free consultation before your deposit goes hard
Bring me the deal early. The contingency period is the window where you still have leverage, and it closes faster than most buyers expect.
Document and title review
Purchase agreement, disclosures, preliminary title report, leases, estoppels, and escrow instructions reviewed with a written list of what needs to change.
Negotiation of terms
I negotiate the amendments and addenda directly with the other side or their counsel, and coordinate with your broker, lender, and escrow officer.
Clean closing
Escrow instructions, funding conditions, and recording confirmed. You know exactly what you own and exactly what you agreed to assume.
Do I need a real estate attorney in California if I already have an agent?
When in the process should I bring in an attorney?
What should I look for in a San Diego commercial lease?
Can you help with a 1031 exchange?
Do you handle residential transactions?
Free Consultation
Call before the contingency period runs out
The window where a San Diego property deal can still be changed is short. A free consultation now can save a deposit, or save you from a building that does not do what you were told it would do.
- Free consultation on any San Diego County property deal
- Perspective from a former real estate development company president
- Title, lease, and escrow documents reviewed in detail
- Coordination with your broker, lender, and escrow officer
2366 Front Street, San Diego, CA 92101-1414
Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Get your property deal reviewed while you still have leverage
Tell me about the property and where you are in escrow. I will tell you what needs attention first.
Your details go straight to Donald Schiffer. Most inquiries receive a reply the same business day. Prefer to talk now? Call (619) 699-4860.
Related Services
Other ways this office can help
Most matters touch more than one area. One attorney handling all of them keeps things from falling between the cracks.
Business Formation
Choose the right entity the first time. LLC, S corporation, partnership, or nonprofit, structured to protect what you own and keep your tax bill sane.
Explore This Service
Business Transactions
Buying, selling, or merging a San Diego company. Diligence, deal structure, and closing documents handled by the attorney you actually hired.
Explore This ServiceSan Diego County
Local counsel, on the ground where you do business
My office sits at 2366 Front Street in downtown San Diego, minutes from the county recorder, the courts, and most of the lenders and title companies my clients use. That proximity is not a marketing line. It means documents get signed, recorded, and closed without a week of shipping delays.
Communities Served
Each community has its own page covering the local commercial corridors and the issues that come up there most often.