I had a consultation with Michael regarding a landlord-tenant matter and found him to be very knowledgeable, patient, and thorough. He took the time to listen to my concerns and explained the legal issues in a way that was easy for me to understand. I had quite a few questions, and he was very patient in walking me through them. I really appreciate his practical and straightforward approach. I would recommend Michael to other property owners who need landlord-tenant guidance. read more

I worked with Michael a few times, once when I was renting out a property, then later selling that property and purchasing another. He was very personable, down to earth, practical and honest. He did an excellent job of clarifying issues that I had questions about, reviewing legal documents, and providing options so that I could make the best decision. He is great to work with and I would highly recommend him! His prices are fair and he is a great resource. read more

I hired Michael Notaro last November for an eviction case in Oakland. He was effective and helped us successfully regain possession of the property. Throughout the entire process, Michael communicated clearly, kept us updated, and explained our options. He also went above and beyond by offering practical advice and recommendations to help prevent similar issues with future tenants. I truly appreciated his professionalism and guidance. I would work with Michael again if I needed legal representation as a landlord. read more

Michael is really great mediator. He is really good at what he is doing, with professionalism, finesse and very good interpersonal skills in loaded situations. He assisted me with landlord-tenants issue. The mediation went for several hours non stop but he persisted through lunch break until he was able to achieve an agreement. I think he is good also and pointing the risks and benefits for each side and helpful in weighing in a decision. He is also very knowledgeable about the subject matter and you can see this right away. I really liked his style and would recommend him full-heartedly. read more

Michael NOTARO at NOTARO LAW is absolutely wonderful to work with. He helped me through my legal issues representing me as a housing provider, and I could not be happier. Michael helped me from point A to point B and got my case settled in a relatively short time frame. He's very personable and easy to work with, so I could not recommend anybody better than Michael to handle your case. read more

I spoke with Michael the attorney on the phone today. He was extremely informative and very friendly. He gave me an idea of the entire process and what kind of costs we can expect. He was very generous with the information he provided and gave me a much better view of our situation. Michael is absolutely knowledgeable and fantastic! read more

Mr. Nataro was very helpful providing me advice during his consultation period. He came to the meeting well prepared and quickly identified some of the key issues I would have taking the case further based on the other party's financial history, his own costs, and the damages involved. I appreciated his candor and would not hesitate hiring him as a lawyer if I was involved in a bigger dispute. read more

I contacted this office after my attorney recommended it. The call was returned extremely promptly, and even though he wasn't able to help, he did offer a recommendation. I wish we could have done business, but I do appreciate the call-back. read more

I reached out to him regarding my landlord issue. I think if you're a landlord this is your guy, if you're a tenant...you'll leave the conversation feeling beaten and bruised by this guy's attitude and cost. I hope for the attitude I got on the phone his lawyer skills are just as good. He was blunt, almost rude, and threw out a large dollar amount and told me "I don't see where you have a case." I ended up finding a lawyer I'm happy with, but I'm glad I didn't let this guy's attitude deter me from my search. Make sure before you call you're ready to be treated like dirt on the bottom of a fancy dress shoe. read more

I reached out via Yelp regarding questions I had about evicting a tenant. Although Michael was unable to help with an eviction due to the Covid Moratorium in Alameda County, he provided insightful information and was patient and understanding during the consultation without rushing or requiring a fee. This was greatly appreciated as other law offices replied requiring a $150 for their consultation. read more

I was impressed at first because he was willing to answer questions without me making a payment. But when we said we wanted to retain his firm he told me that his paralegal would get back to me within two days. When I hadn't heard from them in three days I called and was told,"we are not accepting new clients at this time." He should have told me that when we spoke so I would not have lost three days. Bad business practices. read more

Michael was a "God Send" to our family. Within one week we were faced with a tenant of over 20 years reporting us to the city for a very small matter and a diagnosis of Stage 4 Prostate Cancer. Needless to say, we were quite overwhelmed. Michael not only walked us through the steps of dealing with the city. But he did all the negotiating (which I might add, was not easy) with the problem tenant getting him to vacate with very minimal difficulty. In our family Michael Notaro is "Worth His Weight In Gold!" Thank you Michael for everything! read more

I am a very busy health care professional out of state with real estate interests in Alameda County. An extremely challenging tenant issue was complicated with COVID concerns and county moratoriums. Michael defined the situation in expert detail and presented options that were very logical. He has extensive proven experience in communication and leadership skill at the international level. These attributes were notable during the process of relocation for a tenant. The entire process was quiet complicated and there were multiple hurdles. Michael gave us diligent attention and negotiated favorably for all parties. I personally acknowledge his kind nature and genuine interest in the well being of his client. We are so thankful and appreciative of his services and he is a 5++++++ review. read more

My family and I recomend the legal services of Michael Notaro. He is professional, kept us informed and, represented us well. We're very satisfied. read more

Was surfing yelp looking for legal services and sent an email while they were closed. Received a call within moments and was very helpful and even provided references for other providers. Very responsive and very professional. read more

I am an out of state owner of a house in Alameda. I decided I wanted to sell my house. My property manager suggested I contact Michael Notaro to help facilitate the process of asking my tenants to vacate. The City of Alameda requires homeowners to provide full disclosure and a relocation payment to tenants prior to the sale of the house. Michael provided excellent advice and administered all necessary paperwork and payments between me and the tenants Michael communicates clearly and in a timely manner. He also assisted the tenants gain info about the house they wanted to move to. read more

I had a civil real estate matter to discuss and he was a great value in terms of identifying liabilities or breaches of duty I had not even considered. read more

Michael was great to work with. He was responsive and kept me posted throughout the process. read more

I am an attorney in So Cal. I consulted Michael regarding a landlord-tenant matter in Alameda county. I was saddled with a tenant who had failed to pay rent for many months, offering excuse after excuse. Mr. Notaro explained my legal alternatives, their respective costs and likely outcome. He filed the eviction. The tenant tried to claim various defenses and road blocks to eviction to slow the process. Mr. Notaro knew how to best handle each situation; his services were swift, sure and professional. I can recommend his services without hesitation. I am very thankful I found him & bet you will be too. read more

Mr. Notaro responded quickly and efficiently when I emailed or called with questions. He also respected what was important to us and didn't push back when we wanted to give the tenants more time to move out than what he originally suggested. His hourly was lower than a big firm I had contacted when looking for an attorney, and he came in at the estimate he mentioned was the normal if all went well asking our tenants to move out. The invoice was clear and transparent. Also, I felt he went a bit out of his way connecting my with an insurance agent who helped me interpret a policy. Parking and his secure drop box was easy. I will recommend him to my friends and family in need of a landlord/tenant attorney. read more

Michael was able to help my family deal with a challenging landlord/tenant matter and relocate a tenant from a rental property in Alameda, CA. Michael was accessible and available to work through the challenges and negotiate a successful tenant relocation without the need for litigation. read more

We engaged Michael to help us with a difficult tenant as we were preparing to sell our home. We lived in the lower unit with the tenant in the upper unit of our old Victorian duplex. Michael was very effective in communicating with what had become a non communicative tenant. He guided us through various processes, and gave us super critical advice as we navigated a rather difficult period. Ultimately, the tenant vacated of their own volition and we were able to celebrate that event as a "WIN". We would highly recommend Michael Notaro for any landlord/tenant issues. He was always very timely in his response, and professional in his execution of services rendered. read more

I have worked with the Law Offices of Michael Notaro for many years, and Michael has assisted me multiple times with various landlord / tenant issues. Most recently, Michael helped me with a non paying tenant under the protection of the Oakland Eviction Moratorium. His guidance made sure that all relevant deadlines were met, and that all paperwork was properly submitted. He understands the big picture, and remains focused on his client's best interest. Having a professional and knowledgeable attorney is a necessity for any housing provider navigating tenant issues these days. Michael has proven to be a key ally for the difficult tenant issues that have arisen throughout the years. read more

We own commercial and residential property in Oakland area and we have engaged real estate attorney Micheal Notaro on multiple occasions. Each time he has gotten successful results for us. Most recently, we had a non paying commercial tenant during the pandemic who was damaging our building. Since the tenant made building alterations without our permission, we were very concerned. The commercial tenant was hard to work with and stopped returning my calls. We got Michael involved to help us remove the problem tenant. Since the pandemic made court evictions very difficult, Michael succeeded in crafting a tenant termination agreement. He was persuasive and effective in removing the tenant without a court action! This saved us money and time. We got our building back. Michael has good communication skills, and he is easy to work with. He is there to answer questions and returns calls promptly. He has " street smarts " which is worth its weight in gold, and his advice is on the money. We will use him again if we need a good real estate attorney. Sincerely, Steve dong read more

Michael Nataro was recommended to me as a great Landlord/Tenant Attorney, and he more than lived up to that reputation. I met with him earlier this year to gain his insights and he was super-helpful -- he is able to look at situations from different angles, and is thoroughly knowledgeable as to applicable laws and ordinances and the outcome of relevant cases. Also, he is up-to-date on changes that might be occurring in this area of the law. After absorbing Michael's counsel, I embarked on a course of action that spanned several months. Michael was instrumental in guiding the process from start to finish, and I am so thankful for Michael's involvement. He has my 100% endorsement. read more

We had a case for an HOA that was on the opposite side of the aisle from Michael Notaro. Micheal sized it up, gave his client good solid business advice, and made a clear and simple settlement offer at speed. The offer was far less than we could have gotten in adversarial litigation-but it was an expedient & equitable win/win for everyone involved. The HOA took Michael's offer, and the matter was amicably resolved in about 30 days total. That is lawyering skill. The HOA also had a good, fair, business minded attorney working for it. Equitable dispute resolution is often the outcome when two decent, well meaning and client focused attorneys, wholly uninterested in bloating billable hours, work together. Micheal is one of the good guys. If what he does is in your need range-call him. You'll see. Note: if we had hired him, the rating would be 5 stars. ;) read more

Mr. Notaro is very knowledge about real estate law. His expertise and his passion to be fair to both parties were admirable and very professional. My case was settled in mediation and I was very impressed by his steadfast guidance. I would recommend him greatly. read more

Apologies, I am remiss for not writing this review sooner. Upon our first meeting, Mr. Notaro provided a time period, range of price and level of difficulty to solve a tenant related problem. He successfully delivered precisely as predicted. A very experienced, knowledgeable, pragmatic, trustworthy and astute attorney who gets the job done in the face of rather difficult circumstances. Today, I have need of his councel again which triggered this post. If you will forgive my crude reference, the term "understated badass" comes to mind... ;) read more

Michael is a fantastic attorney, and I highly recommend his firm for real estate law related services. I hired Michael to substitute into my case to complete an eviction of a non-paying tenant. My first attorney provided me with no follow through and dragged on my case for months, with false promises that he would complete the necessary legal actions to move forward with my case. Michael was night and day compared to him, everything was done promptly and all documents were forwarded to me each step of the way. The entire process was incredibly transparent, and straightforward, without any legal jargon in between. Thanks to Michaels expertise I was able to avoid trail, and obtain a court judgement against my tenant and complete my eviction, all in a timely manner which exceeded my own expectations. I would highly recommend Michael Notaro to anyone and would not hesitate to suggest that he would be my #1 option, and I would gladly use him again. read more

We own a home in Alameda, and Michael came recommended as a good attorney to help us deal with a tenant relocation problem that surfaced as we prepared for sale. I am glad we contacted him. Michael investigated the matter and created a strategy to protect our interests. He was spectacular at negotiating a release agreement with the tenants. In the end, we achieved our objective of emptying the home, so we could sell at maximum value. I would recommend him if you need a stellar landlord attorney in Alameda. read more

Michael helped us through the gigantic mess that was (and still is) the Alameda county eviction moratorium. He was patient, thorough, knowledgeable, and helped us reach our goal after months of struggle and horribly frustrating tenants. Would absolutely recommend him to anyone with tenant trouble. read more

Michael helped us with a dispute regarding a cancelled home sale contract and collecting on earnest money deposit. He was very responsive, knowledgeable on the issues, professional, prices seemed fair, and, most importantly, he was able to resolve our issue more quickly than anticipated and in our favor. Highly recommend his services. I would certainly use him again if another need arises. read more

Our problem tenant had not paid rent under the eviction moratorium for two years and we were stymied as to how to cut our losses, Neither our property manager nor other Alameda landlords had any ideas for us until an attorney friend suggested Michael Notaro. We were hopeful that since Michael's practice is geared toward landlords we might get lucky. And BINGO!, we did. Within three months he elicited the interest of the reluctant tenant to negotiations and then assured their timely departure. We couldn't be more pleased with his professionalism and negotiating skills.. read more

I recently consulted Michael for a tenant buyout agreement in the City of Alameda. The Renters Authority of Alameda adds an additional level of complexity for property owner's so finding representation that has experience in the city of Alameda specifically, was crucial. Mr. Notaro made the process easy, I felt supported and advocated for. The buyout agreement was a success and his services resulted in the best case scenario for me and my property. read more

There is no question that 2020 plus the first half of 2021 have been incredibly challenging times for everyone and especially for tenants and landlords. Particularly for landlords like us who own and rent out a single-family home in California. We needed help dealing with our tenants. We needed someone who has the in-depth experience of working on tenant/landlord issues from the landlord's perspective. We needed a lawyer who could help us navigate the quagmire of federal, state, county and city ever-changing regulations during the difficulty of the COVID-19 pandemic. We needed a professional who understands us and our issues, listens first then works with us on our options, provides prompt responses and legal documentation, and always communicates in a thoughtful and calming manner. We found Michael Notaro. read more

My husband and I decided to move out of state, and placed our three bedroom home on the market for sale. After a brief marketing period, we signed a purchase contract with a promising buyer expecting to close within 21 days. The buyer claimed to have "backup" funds which would preclude any delay from failure to close on their sale of another piece of property. However, the buyer was unable to close within 21 days, failed to access their "backup" funds, and asked for an extension and then another extension. We began to wonder if the buyer was capable of closing. We were locked in a residential home sale contract that seemed to go on and on. We got promises from our real estate agent, but they never materialized. Two months after signing the contract, we were still waiting for the buyer's funding to close. We contacted Real Estate Attorney Michael Notaro for help, and he was amazing. Not only was he consistently responsive and prompt, he was friendly and courteous, and explained our legal options in clear terms. He drafted letters to protect us and compel the buyers to perform under the contract. Michael helped get the sale back on track and negotiated the final closing. Our home sold for more than we expected with Michael's help. After this experience, we are recommending to our friends to never enter into a real estate contract (even though it is through a recognized agency) without consulting an attorney - and particularly, THIS attorney! Michael is a hard worker and dedicated to service. One night, he even stayed at his office late waiting for us to arrive to sign a closing demand. Not many attorneys will do that. Michael helped pull together our sale with his hard work, smarts and skill. If you need an effective and courteous real estate attorney, look no further than Michael Notaro. read more

After calling several Lawyers to help with a tenant eviction in Oakland, Michael took the time to listen to our situation where others would not give my wife and I the time of day. As first time landlords, Michael was personal, patient, informative and honest. Michael's knowledge of the law allowed him to guide us through the process, reducing the affects of our very stressful situation. Though we closed escrow on our property almost two years ago, for the first time we feel like we actually own the property. We are extremely thankful that we found Michael Notaro, he understood the challenges we faced as new landlords and navigated them to get our tenant out. Thanks Michael, we appreciate all your help. Curtis read more

Michael Notaro is always extremely helpful whenever I have any questions regarding landlords and tenants. He responds quickly to calls/emails. read more

I inherited my mother's house in Alameda. She had rented it out for years after my parents' retirement. Ultimately, that made me an "out of town" landlord wanting to sell the property. I hired Michael to help me navigate Alameda's Rent Control laws. He educated me on the various alternatives to terminate tenancy. In the end he negotiated a Buy Out agreement with my tenants. I found Michael to be experienced, knowledgable, approachable, and easily available. I highly recommend him to anyone who needs the backing of legal counsel in real estate matters. He is a true professional. read more

Michael represented me through a very difficult non-disclosure mediation and I was very happy with his performance throughout the ordeal. He was very communicative, easy to deal with and the final cost was in line with our original consultation. Hopefully my legal needs aren't frequent but I would work with Michael again. read more