Jenifer Levini, Attorney at Law

END OF THE YEAR MUSINGS & WISHES My professional philosophy is summed up by a sign in my office, Work Hard and Be Nice To People. People wonder how that’s possible when you're a lawyer which is an inherently adversarial job. It’s possible because I choose clients who are trying to do the right things, to solve problems, to build businesses and generate great real estate deals. It’s possible when lawyers treat each other respectfully as adversaries or colleagues. It’s possib...le when I take the role of putting out fires instead of adding fuel to each fire. It's possible by working even harder when the going gets tough. I want to thank all my clients, colleagues, friends and supporters who have made it possible to practice law with dignity, empathy, and honesty. 2020 has been a challenging time for everyone including me. We came through it. There’s light at the end of this tunnel (before we get into the next tunnel). May all of you find moments of peace, respect, kindness and joy. May you have great health, wealth, and happiness in 2021. Cheers to a new year! See more

Congratulations to Levini Law Clients! In the past few months we have: 1) closed some extremely difficult escrows selling property and solving family ownership disputes, 2) resolved neighbor disputes without litigation, 3) fixed Landlord-tenant problems, 4) rewritten easements to end hostilities, clarify private road maintenance responsibility and water rights...and more! These were in City of Santa Cruz, #santacruz County of Santa Cruz, City of Monterey, County of Monterey, #monterey County of Santa Clara, #santaclara and County of San Diego #sandiego. Woo hoo!! #winning

SPECIAL DAY Wishing you all a very happy Happy Hour Day. https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/2020/11/12/

IS IT LEGAL? I'm often asked if certain parts of a home are legal. For example, is this window legal? is this stairway legal? is this bathroom legal? While every jurisdiction (city or county) can adopt their own building codes, most in California have adopted the California State's Residential Codes, which are themselves an adoption of the International Building Codes. Here is the link to the codes so you can look up your questions and save all those potential legal fees. https://up.codes/viewer/california/irc-2018

40 5-STAR REVIEWS on YELP! I recently used Jenifer Levini for a Real Estate transaction. She was incredibly responsive, personable, professional, flexible and knowledgeable. Excellent, timely communication. Best Real Estate attorney I have ever worked with. I will most definitely use her services again. Highly recommended! Fran F. 9/20/2020 Jennifer is everything you need from an attorney during stressful situations. She is responsive, analytical, articulate and gives you excellent, objective guidance. She is by far the sharpest person I've worked with in a while. I would work with her again and recommend her in a heartbeat! Sal D. 9/4/2020 Thank you for sharing the love! https://www.yelp.com/biz/levini-law-santa-cruz

EMAIL FROM REAL ESTATE TRANSACTION CLIENT "Jenifer; You are BY FAR our favorite attorney ever. Thank you for being so clear, speedy and responsive. We’ll be leaving a glowing Yelp! review when this party is complete. Thank you so very much for making this process painless. With Deepest Gratitude, F & P"

EVICTION STATUS as of SEPT 1, 2020 Many people are asking about California's five-month extension of the moratorium on evictions. Under the new legislation, which went into effect Sept. 1st, tenants who pay at least 25% of their rent from Sept. 1 through Jan. 31 will be protected from eviction. However, those who fail to meet the minimum rent payment could be removed beginning Feb. 1. To qualify for the protections, tenants are required to sign a declaration affirming a COVID...-19 hardship. To help landlords, the bill extends some foreclosure protections to owners of rental property of four dwellings or fewer that also meet "certain criteria, including that a tenant occupying the property is unable to pay rent due to a reduction in income resulting from the novel coronavirus." Here's the link to the legislation. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/fa/billTextClient.xhtml See more

SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA ISSUES STATEMENT ON EQUALITY AND INCLUSION "In view of recent events in our communities and through the nation, we are at an inflection point in our history. It is all too clear that the legacy of past injustices inflicted on African Americans persists powerfully and tragically to this day. Each of us has a duty to recognize there is much unfinished and essential work that must be done to make equality and inclusion an everyday reality for all. We ...must, as a society, honestly recognize our unacceptable failings and continue to build on our shared strengths. We must acknowledge that, in addition to overt bigotry, inattention and complacency have allowed tacit toleration of the intolerable. These are burdens particularly borne by African Americans as well as Indigenous Peoples singled out for disparate treatment in the United States Constitution when it was ratified. We have an opportunity, in this moment, to overcome division, accept responsibility for our troubled past, and forge a unified future for all who share devotion to this country and its ideals. We state clearly and without equivocation that we condemn racism in all its forms: conscious, unconscious, institutional, structural, historic, and continuing. We say this as persons who believe all members of humanity deserve equal respect and dignity; as citizens committed to building a more perfect Union; and as leaders of an institution whose fundamental mission is to ensure equal justice under the law for every single person. In our profession and in our daily lives, we must confront the injustices that have led millions to call for a justice system that works fairly for everyone. Each member of this court, along with the court as a whole, embraces this obligation. As members of the legal profession sworn to uphold our fundamental constitutional values, we will not and must not rest until the promise of equal justice under law is, for all our people, a living truth." Sincerely, Tani Cantil-Sakauye Ming Chin Carol Corrigan Goodwin Liu Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar Leondra Kruger Joshua Groban See more

FIRE DEVASTATION Our hearts go out to our many friends and clients who are evacuating and/or have lost their homes and businesses. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

FIGHTING OVER INHERITED REAL ESTATE One of the more frequent problems that I work on is the situation when several people, usually siblings, inherit property. In the most common scenario, the parents leave the family house to their grown children. Unfortunately, the heirs (who are adults by this point) all have different life and financial situations which leads them to fight with each other about what to do with the home. One wants to sell because she needs the money. One wa...nts to keep it as a vacation home or to hold it to pass along to the grandchildren because she doesn’t need the money. One wants to convert it to a rental to create monthly income. One wants to live in it. There are lots of variations on this story. The law is very clear. If someone wants to sell, the property must be sold. Or, the others who do not want to sell must buy out the person who wants to sell. It’s not quite that easy. There are lots of steps in this process to protect everyone. But finally, that’s what will happen, whether people do it voluntarily or after a lawsuit by court order. If this battle is going on in your family or with your business partners, rather than hate each other and destroy all your relationships, call Levini Law to help you through the process. See more

https://www.marketwatch.com//housing-finance-regulator-to-

LEGAL STRATEGY The last few weeks have been quite a rollercoaster for my clients and me. We have persisted. We have won. Winning doesnt always look like a big victory in the legal world. Sometimes it looks like dragging something along and creating distractions until the Statute of Limitations has passed so my client is protected from litigation.

WINNING NEVER GETS OLD. Another victory for a Levini Law client against a lying, law breaking neighbor. Those years playing college sports made me really competitive.

REAL ESTATE INVESTORS BEWARE Yesterday, I reviewed a potential real estate investment for a Facebook employee. The company seeking investors claimed to buy a fixer-upper house in Beverly Hills with the potential of about $1M profit after modernization. My first clue that it was a scam came from reading the contract. It was riddled with legal errors. While the average person might read this contract and think it’s ok, any contract lawyer should know immediately that it was not... written by a lawyer. It seemed like legal clauses were just pulled from all sorts of random sources and thrown together in an illogical way. It even contained that disclaimer that lawyers have at the bottom of their email in case it is sent to the wrong person in error. Another problem was that the contract forbad the investor from recovering any damages if the investment went wrong for any reason. Basically, once you give them your money, you have to kiss it goodbye. Then, the contract indemnified (protected) mysterious investment partner companies without explaining their relationships. Among other glaring problems, when I pulled the title, this company did not even own the house that they claimed to own and to be fixing up. There was no explanation of who owned the home and the relationship between this company seeking money and the actual homeowners. Anyone want to invest in the Golden Gate Bridge? TAKE HOME MESSAGE - Before you give anyone your hard-earned money, please have a lawyer review the contract and fact check the details. The popularity of Fix ‘n’ Flip TV shows has made it juicy pickings for people to believe that there is lots of money to be made in rehabbing real estate. Then scammers are looking for those believers seeking passive income to take advantage of this belief. (Dusting off my Super Lawyer cape later today.) See more

SUCCESSFUL -COMPLICATED- REAL ESTATE SOLD Jenifer Levini worked with a home buyer and seller to close a very complicated home sale in Santa Clara, CA. The seller was the landlord who had a bunch of tax liens against this house from foreclosures on other properties, and other serious problems on title. The buyer was a low-income couple who were tenants in the home and not sure they would qualify for a loan. Both were suspicious of each other and dragging their feet which creat...ed more suspicions and apprehension. They had been through a few realtors and another lawyer who weren’t able to get this deal closed; instead created additional complications with owner financing and neighbor disputes over the septic system. Levini Law successfully solved all these problems and got the deal closed. The new homeowners are extremely excited to own their first home. The sellers have all their tax problems paid off and are free from managing real estate. The total legal fees were about 10% of the price of using realtors for the transaction. Everyone is very happy. See more

VICTORY Another big win for a client of Levini Law. This matter involved both a neighbor dispute and problem with the State of California, Department of Transportation (Caltrans) that took two years to resolve. We were able to solve it without litigation in quite an elegant way using easement and encroachment law and historical analyses. This picture is my visit to the property yesterday. It's rolling green fields blanketed with California poppies, lupine and undulating grasses took my breath away.

This is a tough time for everyone. Let's be kind to one another.

SANTA CRUZ’S RENTAL PROTECTION ORDINANCE IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19 Landlords & Tenants have contacted me for an explanation of the City’s new rules. Basically, if a residential or commercial tenant has suffered an economic hardship that makes it impossible to pay their full rent, the tenant must notify the landlord in writing and must include proof of the hardship. Proof could include a letter from their employer saying they are being laid off, have reduced hours, or the busine...ss is closed. The landlord can defer part of the rent until May 31. After the reduction period, the tenant must reimburse the landlord for the deferred rent. The repayment can be spread out over 6 months. Landlords and tenants are encouraged to work with, be flexible, and help each other through this pandemic. We are all going through this together. More info... http://www.cityofsantacruz.com/home/showdocument?id=79452 See more