About
I am a Real Estate, and contracting expert with an MBA, from Cornell University and have a Real Estate Brokers license and a General Contractors license. I am also an active real estate broker representing buyers and sellers in transactions, and I manage and lease properties. I have a California brokers license for 33 years and a California General Contractors license for 30 years. I have testified in hundreds of lawsuits as an expert for 29 years.
Most real estate lawsuits involve buyer claims of undisclosed property defects. My business background, combined with my real estate experience and knowledge of construction are invaluable in being able to properly analyze these cases.
My many years of experience as a manager with major corporations has given me the ability to thoroughly prepare for depositions and trial, to find and articulate the key points in the case, and to effectively present my opinions verbally and with visuals, including power point presentations and clearly written reports.
I have written eighteen articles for the National Association of Realtors, under the "Law" section of REALTOR magazine, the monthly magazine of NAR, sent to over 1,000,000 agents in the United States. I am the only Broker and expert, asked by NAR to write an article defining "Standard of Care" (see attached). The other seventeen articles I have written for NAR are dealing with Ethics, Red Flags, Stigma, Property Inspections, Documentation, "Ten Ways to Land in Court," Agent Property Inspection, Liability and Injuries at Properties, Dealing with Repairs and Credits, Transactions with relatives, Disclosing Distress (foreclosures and short sales), Steering Clear of HOA Risks, property and boundary disputes, Issues with Short Term Rentals (Airbnb) and negligent referrals. I have also authored the book "The No Lawsuit Guide to Real Estate Transactions," published by McGraw Hill in 2007.
I have special expertise in disclosure, Standards of Care, data research, presentation, damage valuation, property inspection, construction/materials, broker's opinion of value, agency duties, duties of buyers and sellers, duties of escrow, HOA duties, injuries at properties and landslide/geotechnical, mold/fungus/water intrusion for residential, and commercial property.
I provide evidence development and evaluation, expert witness consultation and litigation support. Please visit my website at www.BarbaraNichols.net