Christopher Hanson | Real Estate Mediation Service
A Catalyst to Settlement
What We Do
Real Estate Mediation Service does one thing, and one thing only: Facilitate the negotiation of a settlement of a real estate dispute.
It sounds simple. It isn’t always so.
That’s because real estate is “unique.” As are the people and issues that come up in a real estate controversy.
From boundary lines, to dividing family property in a partition, or unwinding a deal that’s gone bad, or pushing forward on a deal that’s become .. complicated, it takes someone who knows the industry, and the law, to successfully guide parties with different positions and interests toward some kind of common ground and a settlement of the conflict.
I save people time and money by helping them solve and settle their real estate related disputes.
Services
Real Estate Centric Mediation (Alternative Dispute Resolution)
Focused on California, but available nationwide
Real Estate Brokerage Standard of care expert witness and consulting litigation support
Why Us?
I read everything a client can give me, and then we talk about it. A lot. The nuances of a claim that haven’t been apparent, can be found in discussion.
Sometimes those nuances are a good thing, sometimes not. Better to think about them- in advance.
Subject - Matter - Expertise
My team and I are ‘experts’ in real estate.
10,000 hours – isn’t that what Gladwell says is required for expertise? I have 44+ years = 86,240 hours experience in the real estate industry (based on an 8 hour day, 49 weeks a year). From early career work (7 years) as an Advisory Title Officer in the title insurance industry, to a middle-career (13 years) as a real estate broker (both residential and commercial – I’m a CCIM), and a second career (25 years) as a real estate trial lawyer, my focus has been solely on real estate.
I’ve tried, arbitrated and mediated real estate matters involving almost every aspect of the industry: Boundary lines, Easements, Breaches of Contract, Non-Disclosure of Known Defects, Family Partition Actions, Partnership Dissolutions, Broker Negligence, Fraud in the Formation, Homeowner Associations, Loan Workouts and Renegotiations, Foreclosures, Commercial Evictions, Title Insurance Claims, you name it.
And I’ve worked for E&O insurance companies; so I understand how the claims defense and settlement process works. (I’ve sued insurance companies to compel them to provide coverage to brokers too…)
AND, I’M *NOT* A RETIRED JUDGE.
Why is that a “good thing?” Because retired judges as mediators, are often .. terrible.
Judges are generalists. They have overseen all kinds of cases, and among them, maybe, a smattering of real estate claims. And, judges are used to giving “Orders.” Many (not all mind you) simply are not good at being less than the center of attention. I believe a good mediator is a catalyst – added to the mix, then disappearing with no trace. After all, a settlement must be about the parties and their interests, not about the judge and his/her “presence.”
WE CAN "DO" A MEDIATION - ANYWHERE IN THE US
“Back in the Day” attorneys and their clients were limited to mediators from their local areas – even if there wasn’t a mediator with the kind of expertise they really needed. Technology has changed that – forever.
Using Zoom – we can, and do, conduct mediations anywhere in the US. Our focus has been on major metropolitan areas like Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Salt Lake City, Chicago, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami, Tampa, Houston, Dallas, etc., but we are available to help settle real estate conflicts anywhere in the US.