Conflicts of Interest with “Coming Soon” Marketing

By Michael Repka One of the fundamental problems with the real estate industry is that the interests of the sellers are often in conflict with the interests of their agents. The 100% commission-based compensation system employed by most brokerages,…

Caltrain Electrification Sparks Appreciation

By Michael Repka Over the past 15 years, we have seen a shift in buyers’ preferences away from remote estates located far up into the hills and towards fine properties closer to city centers. While no group is ever homogenous, many tech buyers…

Q&A Seminar 6/11: Your Real Estate Questions Answered

Resolving Real Estate Disputes

By Michael Repka, Esq. After obtaining my first law degree back in 1999, I took and passed the New York and New Jersey bar exams. In both states, real estate agents help clients buy and sell real estate, but they do not delve into all of the legal,…

Pending IPOs Spark Confidence

By Michael Repka Although the end of 2018 and early 2019 revealed material weakness in the Silicon Valley real estate market, there is some reason for optimism. Recently completed IPOs, coupled with expected upcoming IPOs, seem to be breathing a sigh…

So Your Home Didn’t Appraise, Now What?

by Michael Repka, Esq. When a buyer submits an offer on a home, they need to decide which, if any, contingencies they will include in the proposed contract. Naturally, the more contingencies, the better for the buyer, but an offer with fewer contingencies…

The Chinese Trade War’s Impact on Silicon Valley Real Estate

By Audrey Sun Currently there is a lot of concern and consternation about the potential looming trade war with China. While there have been numerous scholarly articles addressing the current geo-political environment, this article will focus on…

Global Real Estate Trends – Part One: Russia and The UK

by Ken DeLeon First you master the game, then you change it! For the first 10 years of my career, I practiced real estate under the traditional model and became the #1 ranked agent in the nation by REAL Trends Inc. as published in the Wall Street…

Fixing a Decedent’s Mistakes After Death—The Heggstad Petition

By Michael Repka, Esq. It is well publicized that the DeLeon Team provides clients with access to real estate and tax attorneys as part of our standard listing agreement. To our knowledge, we are still the only major brokerage in Silicon Valley…

Deductibility of State Taxes and Interest Under the New Tax Law

By Michael Repka, Esq. (LL.M. (Taxation) NYU School of Law '01) On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into legislation public law 115-97, more commonly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 ("TCJA"). The majority of commentators feel,…