We represent property owners
We advocate exclusively for property owners, not insurance companies.
Owner-side construction and insurance law
The damage should be fixed. The responsible party should pay.
Owner-side construction and insurance law for serious defects, underpaid claims, repair-scope disputes, hidden defects, and commercial property losses.
No fee unless we recover money for you.
Available on accepted matters.
Property owners only
No carrier-side work
No fee unless recovery on accepted matters
Why property owners hire us
No carrier-side work
We do not perform work for insurance carriers or third parties.
No fee unless recovery
We only get paid if we recover money on accepted matters.
Construction & insurance focus
Our background in construction and insurance law helps us win complex cases.
Who We Help
We represent owners, not insurance or construction companies.
Choose the path that sounds closest. The legal category can be sorted out after the facts are reviewed.
Residential
Residential Owners
Serious home repair, construction defect, hidden-defect, inspection, and underpaid insurance disputes.
Review a Serious Home Repair or Insurance Dispute
Commercial
Commercial Owners & Developers
Commercial property losses, underpaid claims, rent interruption, project delay, and repair-scope disputes.
Request a Commercial Property Claim Second Look
HOA / CIC
Boards & Associations
Exterior defects, envelope failures, insurance disputes, and repair decisions affecting multiple owners or units.
Board Recovery Triage
Attorneys / Advisors
Referral Counsel
A defined owner-side role for attorneys, fiduciaries, consultants, and advisors who need a focused property-loss review.
Referral-Safe Short Review
How We Work
A selective review path for serious construction and insurance disputes.
The first goal is not to bury you in process. It is to find out whether the facts, documents, amount at stake, and recovery path justify deeper work.
1
Send a short summary.
Tell the Firm the property location, who is involved, what went wrong, and the rough amount at stake.
2
Initial fit review.
The Firm looks for the dispute type, practical stakes, possible responsible parties, coverage path, and any urgent deadlines.
3
Document request if warranted.
If the matter appears to justify closer review, the Firm may ask for estimates, claim letters, reports, photos, timelines, contracts, policies, or communications.
4
Recovery assessment.
The review considers whether the proof, repair scope, amount in dispute, timing, and leverage support meaningful construction or insurance recovery work.
5
Accepted matter, diagnostic, referral, or decline.
The next step may be representation, a narrower diagnostic review, a referral path, or a candid explanation that the matter is not a fit.
6
Proof-building.
Accepted matters are organized around causation, scope, pricing, coverage, responsibility, deadlines, and the money needed to fix the property.
7
Demand, negotiation, or litigation if justified.
The firm pursues the path that fits the evidence and economics, from focused demand work through litigation when the facts and stakes justify it.
What We Handle
We focus on the issues that drive value and recovery.
Construction Defects
Defective design, materials, workmanship, water intrusion, and failed repairs.
Insurance Recovery
Underpaid, delayed, denied, or wrongfully narrowed property insurance claims.
Hidden Defects
Latent or concealed defects discovered after closing or after construction.
Inspection Negligence
Inspection misses, reports, and failures to identify costly property defects.
Large Property Losses
Substantial residential and commercial losses where the recovery number matters.
Repair-Cost Disputes
Disagreements over scope, quality, repair sequence, pricing, and real cost.
Matter Fit
Not sure whether your issue fits?
A serious construction or insurance recovery matter usually has three parts: a real loss, a responsible party or coverage path, and evidence that connects the problem to the money needed to repair the property.
Start with a short summaryA real loss
Repair cost, delay, lost rent, reduced value, business interruption, or an underpaid claim.
A recovery path
Builder, contractor, seller, inspector, insurer, consultant, or project participant.
Evidence
Photos, reports, estimates, contracts, claim letters, emails, timelines, or expert findings.
Why This Firm
Built for property disputes where facts and money both matter.
Former estimator and superintendent
Construction background
Practical construction experience helps evaluate repair scope, sequencing, and cost.
Scope, value, and claim pressure
Insurance recovery focus
Built around underpayment, delay, coverage position, repair scope, and recovery strategy.
No carrier-side work
Owner-side only
The firm represents property owners, not insurers, builders, sellers, or inspectors in these disputes.
Accepted matters only
Contingency alignment
No fee unless money is recovered on accepted matters, subject to a written fee agreement.
Representative Matters
Serious disputes where recovery and accountability matter.
Representative matters are examples only. Every matter depends on its own facts, evidence, timing, contracts, policies, parties, defenses, damages, and applicable law. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
Representative high-value matter
Commercial water-intrusion and building-envelope dispute
- Pressure on owner
- The owner faced extensive water intrusion, repair-scope questions, tenant impact, and meaningful exposure tied to both the physical building and the income stream.
- What the firm evaluated
- The work focused on building-envelope evidence, destructive investigation, repair sequencing, code-compliant reconstruction, expert cost analysis, coverage issues, and loss documentation.
- Why it mattered
- Examples of matters we evaluate may involve major repair-cost exposure, income-loss pressure, and disputes over whether the real scope has been recognized.
Representative building-wide defect matter
Condo exterior-defect and repair-scope dispute
- Pressure on owner
- The owner group faced repeated leaks, damaged exterior assemblies, interior damage, and disagreement over whether the problem was isolated patch work or a building-wide defect.
- What the firm evaluated
- The recovery strategy centered on defect mapping, expert analysis, construction sequencing, full-scope repair pricing, and a record showing why piecemeal repairs would not solve the problem.
- Why it mattered
- These matters often turn on whether the owner can prove that the full repair picture is larger than the narrow response being offered.
Representative disputed-coverage matter
Commercial property-insurance underpayment matter
- Pressure on owner
- A major loss created a gap between the insurer's number and the actual cost to restore the asset, including scope, code, tenant, and time-element issues.
- What the firm evaluated
- The matter was built around policy language, repair pricing, contractor evidence, accounting support, the restoration timeline, and the economic impact of delayed or incomplete payment.
- Why it mattered
- Commercial insurance disputes may involve repair funding, code upgrades, business interruption, loss of rents, and other categories that need to be documented together.
Representative post-purchase matter
Hidden-defect matter after a property purchase
- Pressure on owner
- After closing, the owner discovered serious water intrusion, prior repairs, concealed damage, drainage problems, or other expensive conditions that were not understood during the purchase process.
- What the firm evaluated
- The review focused on disclosures, inspection materials, listing information, contractor evidence, timing of symptoms, and proof showing what was known or knowable before closing.
- Why it mattered
- In serious post-closing disputes, the practical question is whether the repair burden should have stayed with someone else.
FAQ
Questions property owners usually ask first.
Do I have to pay hourly legal fees?
For accepted matters, the firm generally works on a contingency basis. No fee unless money is recovered for you. The exact fee and cost arrangement is explained in a written fee agreement before representation begins.
What types of property disputes does the firm review?
The firm reviews serious construction defects, underpaid insurance claims, hidden defects, inspection problems, repair-scope disputes, commercial property losses, rent-loss issues, and related claim recovery matters.
What should I send first?
Start with the property location, who is involved, what went wrong, the rough amount at stake, and any important dates. You do not need a perfectly organized file to begin.
Does submitting the form create an attorney-client relationship?
No. Submitting a form or leaving a message does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send privileged or highly sensitive documents unless requested.
Do you represent insurance companies?
No. In these disputes, Northwest Construction & Insurance Law represents property owners, not insurance companies.
Do you handle Oregon and Washington matters?
The firm is based in Portland, Oregon. Oregon matters are handled directly. Washington matters are handled with local Washington counsel where required or appropriate.
What if I am not sure whether the problem is construction, insurance, or hidden-defect related?
That is common. Start with the short version. The legal category can usually be sorted out after the firm reviews the repair problem, the parties involved, and the available documents.
Start Here
Start with a short summary.No fee unless we recover money for you.
Send the short version for review. Accepted matters are handled under a written fee agreement.