Real Estate Attorney in Salem, Oregon
More than thirty years of transactional real estate law across Salem, Keizer, and the Willamette Valley, from commercial buildings to the farms and vineyards this valley runs on.
A real estate attorney handles the legal side of owning property: the Purchase and Sale Agreements, deeds, leases, easements, and water rights that determine what a property is worth and what you can actually do with it. Paluska Law does that work for business owners, investors, and agricultural operators across Salem, Keizer, and the Willamette Valley, with documents drafted for the specific transaction rather than pulled from a form library.
What transactional real estate law covers
Transactional real estate law is the non-litigation side of property: the purchases and sales, the leases, the easements, the deeds that transfer ownership under ORS chapter 93, and the water rights held under Oregon’s appropriation system in ORS chapter 537. It is the work that puts ownership on paper correctly so it holds up later. Michael Paluska handles the transactional side. When a property dispute needs a courtroom, he can refer you to litigation counsel and continue handling the documents.
One credential sets this practice apart. Michael is an attorney and also an Oregon Principal Real Estate Broker (license #201219516), and he operates a separate company, Paluska Real Estate, for his clients who need a real estate broker instead of a real estate attorney. His legal advice on a property comes from someone who also closes transactions in this market, so the review of your Purchase and Sale Agreement or your lease reflects how deals actually close as well as what the law requires.
The four areas a real estate attorney handles in the Willamette Valley
Paluska Law covers property transactions across the Willamette Valley through four practice areas. Each links to its own page with the process, the pitfalls, and the questions clients actually ask.
Commercial Real Estate
Buy or sell commercial property with the documents done right. Michael drafts and reviews Purchase and Sale Agreements, runs the legal side of due diligence, and works with your broker, lender, and title company through closing.
Agricultural & Vineyard Real Estate
Farm, vineyard, and winery transactions across the Willamette Valley: purchases and sales of agricultural land, grass seed ground, orchards, and vineyard property, with the water rights and land use questions that come with them.
Commercial & Farm Leasing
Commercial leases and farm leases, drafted and reviewed before you sign: office, shopping centers, stand-alone buildings, retail and industrial leases, ground leases, and farm leases and vineyard leases common to Marion County, Polk County, Yamhill County, Linn County, and Benton County.
Easements & Water Rights
The rights that decide what a property is worth: access and utility easements, boundary questions, and Oregon water rights, reviewed before you buy and drafted correctly when you grant or obtain one.
Forming an entity to hold property, or selling the business that goes with it, lives under the firm’s Business Law practice.
What happens when property work is handled wrong
Property problems rarely announce themselves at closing. They surface later, when the property is used, financed, or sold.
- Due diligence that never happened. An unrecorded easement, a boundary that does not match the fence line, or water rights that lapsed years ago can surface after closing, when the price is paid and the leverage is gone. The time to find these is before you sign.
- A lease no one read closely. Maintenance obligations, renewal options, personal guaranties, and assignment clauses decide who pays and who is stuck. Owners often discover what their lease says the first time something goes wrong.
- Rights that were never written down. Handshake access across a neighbor’s land, an irrigation arrangement everyone honored for decades, a driveway shared for generations. When ownership changes, unwritten rights have a way of disappearing.
Who this is built for
This work is for clients who buy, sell, invest in, and develop property in the Willamette Valley.
That includes the business owner buying the building instead of renting it; the investor placing property into an LLC; the farmer or vineyard owner buying, selling, or leasing agricultural land; the landlord and the tenant negotiating a commercial lease; and the family deciding what happens to land it has held for generations. Many clients come by referral from their CPA, their banker, or their broker.
What working with Paluska Law looks like
Every engagement follows the same path, whether you are buying a building or leasing farm ground.
A short conversation
You describe the transaction. Michael confirms the scope and gives you an estimated fee range, so you know what to expect before any work begins.
The documents
Michael drafts or reviews the Purchase and Sale Agreement, the lease, or the easement, prepared for your transaction rather than pulled from a form library.
Due diligence
Before you are committed, the legal review covers title, easements, and access, and for agricultural property the water rights, so surprises surface while you can still walk away or renegotiate.
Closing
Michael works with the title and escrow company, your lender, and your broker so the documents signed at closing match the deal you actually made.
Counsel you can call
After closing, the firm stays available for the lease question, the boundary question, and the next transaction.
Pricing
Real estate matters are quoted as an estimated fee range after a short conversation, once the scope of the transaction is clear.
The actual amount will depend on the parties, the documents, and the complexity of the transaction, and government recording fees are public amounts stated plainly as part of the estimate.
Real Estate Law FAQ
What does a real estate attorney do?
A real estate attorney handles the legal side of property transactions: drafting and reviewing Purchase and Sale Agreements, leases, easements, and deeds, checking title and water rights during due diligence, and making sure the closing documents match the deal. Paluska Law does this work across Salem, Keizer, and the Willamette Valley.
Do I need an attorney to buy commercial property in Oregon?
Oregon closings run through title and escrow companies, but those companies do not represent you and do not negotiate your agreement. An attorney reviews the Purchase and Sale Agreement, the title report, and its exceptions before you are committed, which is when problems are still fixable (see Commercial Real Estate).
Should an attorney review a lease before I sign it?
Yes. A commercial lease often runs longer and costs more over its term than the purchase a client agonizes over, and its maintenance, renewal, guaranty, and assignment terms decide who carries the risk. A review before signing costs a fraction of what one bad clause costs later (see Commercial & Farm Leasing).
What are water rights and why do they matter for Oregon farmland?
In Oregon, the right to use water is separate from owning the land, and a right that goes unused can be lost. For farm and vineyard property, the water rights often decide what the land is worth, so they are reviewed as part of due diligence before any purchase (see Easements & Water Rights).
What is an easement?
An easement is a recorded right to use land you do not own, such as a driveway, utility line, or irrigation ditch crossing a neighbor’s property. Easements run with the land, so they affect value and use for every future owner, which is why they are checked before you buy and drafted carefully when created.
Is Michael a real estate broker as well as an attorney?
Yes. Michael Paluska is a Salem attorney and an Oregon Principal Real Estate Broker (license #201219516), and he operates a separate company, Paluska Real Estate, for clients who need a real estate broker instead of a real estate attorney. Legal work and brokerage work are separate engagements, and his legal advice reflects experience closing real transactions in this market.
How much does a real estate attorney cost in Salem, Oregon?
Paluska Law quotes real estate matters as an estimated fee range after a short conversation, once the scope of the transaction is clear. The actual amount depends on the parties, the documents, and the complexity of the transaction, so you know what to expect before the work begins.
What areas does the firm serve?
Paluska Law serves Salem, Keizer, and the surrounding Marion and Polk Counties, and routinely handles property transactions across the wider Willamette Valley, including Dallas, Independence, Monmouth, Silverton, Stayton, Woodburn, Albany, Corvallis, McMinnville, and Newberg.
Service area
Paluska Law is based in Salem and handles property transactions across Salem, Keizer, Marion County, and Polk County, and routinely works with clients throughout the Willamette Valley. See the Service Area page for the full list of communities the firm serves.
The content on this page is for general information only and is not legal advice. Contacting Paluska Law through this site does not create an attorney-client relationship. For guidance on your specific situation, please consult a licensed attorney.
Buying, selling, or leasing property in the valley? Start with a short conversation.
