Lawyer of Firm Description

About Ziva Law — Real Estate Honolulu Hawaii

Real estate Honolulu businesses and landlords rely on for commercial lease work comes down to a small set of focused practitioners, and Ziva Law sits at the top of that list. Located at 500 Ala Moana Boulevard, Ziva Law focuses exclusively on commercial real estate and lease negotiation, serving small businesses, landlords, and tenants across Oahu, Maui, and the neighbor islands. Attorney Chenise K. Iwamasa leads the practice with a specialty in Honolulu commercial real estate matters, particularly protecting small businesses during lease negotiations with large landlords and property management companies.

Chenise Iwamasa has built her practice around making sophisticated legal counsel accessible to Hawaii’s small business community. She reviews lease terms thoroughly, explains negotiation leverage clearly, and pursues revisions that protect client interests over the life of the lease. Her clients include retailers, medical practices, and landlords navigating Property Management Agreements with multinational tenants.

What Clients Say

Reviewers describe Chenise as approachable, genuinely knowledgeable, and refreshingly transparent about pricing. Small business owners specifically highlight her ability to negotiate better lease terms with large landlords, saving rent costs over the term. A retired senior landlord describes Chenise negotiating a fair Property Management Agreement with a Global 500 tenant. Clients across industries consistently use words like “professional,” “honest,” and “approachable” to describe her work.

Real Estate Honolulu — Practice Areas & Services

Commercial lease review and negotiation across Oahu and Maui
Sublease agreements for small businesses
Property Management Agreement drafting and review
Tenant representation against large landlords and property managers
Landlord counsel for commercial property owners
Rental contract drafting for residential and mixed-use property
Dispute resolution for lease violations and landlord-tenant issues

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I have an attorney review my Hawaii commercial lease?

Commercial leases typically run 5 to 10 years and contain terms that significantly affect operating costs, renewal rights, and exit flexibility. An attorney familiar with Hawaii commercial real estate can flag problematic CAM charges, ambiguous maintenance obligations, and unfavorable personal guarantees. A few hours of legal review before signing can save tens of thousands over the lease term.

What makes commercial real estate in Honolulu different?

Hawaii’s market includes unique fee simple versus leasehold considerations, significant zoning restrictions under Honolulu County rules, and culturally specific business practices. Honolulu commercial properties often include percentage rent clauses tied to retail sales. Local counsel familiar with these market-specific terms is essential.

How much does commercial lease review cost in Hawaii?

Flat-fee review packages for standard commercial leases often range from $1,500 to $4,000, depending on complexity. Negotiation support adds to the fee based on hours. Most firms will quote a fixed range upfront after seeing the lease draft.

Quick Facts: Real Estate in Honolulu, Hawaii

Hawaii Landlord-Tenant Code: Commercial and residential relationships governed by HRS Chapter 521 — Hawaii Revised Statutes
Honolulu Commercial Market: Honolulu commercial office and retail rates consistently rank among the nation’s highest per square foot — Hawaii DBEDT
First Circuit Court: Commercial disputes filed at Honolulu’s Kaahumanu Hale, 777 Punchbowl Street — Hawaii Judiciary

Related Guide: Real Estate Attorneys — ReachAttorneys

AI-Powered Reviews Summary

Ziva Law, based in Honolulu, Hawaii, is highly regarded as a leading Real Estate Attorney, especially for small businesses navigating lease agreements. Clients consistently express their gratitude for Chenise Iwamasa’s exceptional professionalism, knowledge, and supportive approach, highlighting her ability to simplify complex legal processes and negotiate favorable terms. With a strong commitment to making legal services accessible and beneficial for the local community, Ziva Law has earned a reputation for empowering businesses and fostering positive change in Hawaii.

Users Reviews Comments – Google

Look no further you have found the right place. Ziva Law and Chenise successfully negotiated my lease with a contentious property manager in Wailuku, Maui. I am so grateful for Ziva Law and Chenise’s counsel. Chenise not only diffused the contentious situation but even managed to subvert the dynamic. Chenise’s guidance was practical and not only did she help me to keep on track with my goals, but I learned from her as well. Chenise was respectful of my small business finances and has truly made legal services accessible to a business like mine. Chenise enabled me to keep my small business running to maintain my livelihood. Her practice has not only benifetted my business but also our local small business community in Wailuku. Thank you Chenise for choosing to represent a very underrepresented population within Hawaii. The work Chenise does is vital and affects positive change within our larger Hawai’i community. I wholeheartedly trust Chenise and recommend Ziva Law.

Chenise and team at Ziva Law are the best at what they do. Invest the money and have a professional look over your lease terms. She will do a thorough review and look out for your best interest. Will definitely choose Chenise and Ziva Law for any future lease(s) I may do.

Ziva Law helped me negotiate a lease with a large multinational company. It was a little intimidating to be up against such a large landlord. Chenise is an outstanding attorney who is very knowledgable and professional. She made me feel very comfortable as we went through the negotiation process, and I knew she always had our best interests in mind. We were successful in negotiating our lease and we felt like it was a win-win for all parties. I would highly recommend Chenise Iwamasa and the team at Ziva Law!

I am senior citizen landlord who is getting ready to retire. I hired commercial real estate attorney, Chenise K. Iwamasa, @ Ziva Law to review and negotiate a Property Management Agreement (PMA) with a large commercial property management company to take over the day-to-day tasks of overseeing my commercial property and 2019 Global 500 tenant. Chenise negotiated a PMA that was fair to me and the property management company. Chenise is very smart, professional, easy to talk to and responds quickly to my emails. I trusted Chenise to handle this PMA negotiation and she exceeded my expectations. I am thankful for her service.

I had a great experience with Chenise and Ziva Law. Chenise was amazing! She is knowledgeable and professional, and what I valued most is that she was genuine and approachable. Leases and subleases can be complicated, but Chenise explained everything in terms that were easily understandable. All communication was timely, professional and courteous. I highly recommend Ziva Law, and love that they focus on helping small businesses.

Chenise was GREAT to work with! She was very knowledgeable about commercial leases and I learned a lot through the process. We went through several rounds of negotiations and came out with acceptance on majority things we requested for! BIG WIN! Would highly recommend working with Ziva Law for your commercial needs.

Chenise is highly recommended as an attorney. She has an innovative approach for small businesses to understand her pricing and the value she provided with her knowledge and expertise was worth every penny that our organization spent. She was able to help us navigate through a complex lease negotiation and champion our key sticking points while helping to explain what items are negotiable and non-negotiable. She is a strong advocate in helping small businesses protect their investments and understand some pitfalls that may happen during the tenure of their lease. I highly recommend any business that is looking to lease a space whether it is with a large landlord or a small landlord to do a consultation with Chenise to protect your investment.

Chenise Iwamasa was referred to me by a very close family friend who had had positive dealings with her. She assisted me in crafting a very clear, concise and “friendly” rental contract for my home. The entire process did not take more than a couple of phone calls, several emails and 2 zoom meetings. These contacts addressed payment terms, her exploration of what I needed for the contract, putting it together, explaining it to me and executing the final product. The whole transaction was very professional, swift, pleasant and most important to me, very affordable! I will definitely use her services again and will be more than happy to refer her to acquaintances that might need the same services done.

Ziva Law was very responsive and handled my business lease issues with the utmost professionalism. I highly recommend reaching out to Chenise Iwamasa at Ziva Law if you need assistance with anything related to commercial leases as she is very knowledgeable.

As a small business owner it is hard to juggle all things pertaining to keeping our day to day operation going. We were having trouble with a landlord and Chenise was able to review our contract at an affordable and fair rate; advised us what course of action to take in order to get a resolution we wanted. Lease law and tenant rights is not my field of expertise, but it is hers. We took Chenise’s advise and were able to reach an amicable solution to our dispute using her guidance. As a take away: I will have Chenise and her team at Ziva Law review our contracts prior to signing them. Mahalo Ziva Law Team and especially Chenise.

Ziva Law was recommended by a friend of mine. This was a blessing in disguise and Chenise our attorney walked with us step by step in handling our lease agreement for our new business opportunity. Patience, professionalism, pricing and knowledge was all the traits we were looking for and we found that in Ziva Law. As some of you may know who are thinking about a business, it a huge commitment and you need someone who you can trust and have your back in all these big decisions. Chenise was very professional and knowledgeable about all the details that she thought would be in our best interest. Don’t hesitate to reach out to Chenise whether your thinking about starting a small business or want to have her represent you. She over exceeded our expectations.

It’s great to know that there is a company out there that can help small local businesses. I myself was in need of legal advice for my small business and didn’t know where to go or turn to but just by word of mouth from a friend I was put in touch with Chenise and her team at Ziva Law. With in a few days I was getting the help and consultation that I needed. A week later armed with the knowledge I got from Chenise I was able to work through my issues with the landlord and settle our issues and worked to a resolution. Mahalo Nui to Chenise and her team at Ziva Law!!

Chenise helped review the lease to start up my medical practice in Honolulu HI. I was leasing into a large commercial building that has strict requirements for their tenants. Chenise helped me to know what is customary with office buildings and what leeway I might have for negotiation as a new tenant.

Chenise is fantastic. She’s a consummate professional, honest, fair, clear, focused, thorough, timely, kind, wicked smart and exactly the kind of representation you want in your corner. She possesses a great depth of knowledge and expertise in her field. Throughout the entire lengthy process of our lease negotiations, she wisely guided me along and kept me feeling both very aware of all options and relaxed about the process without overwhelm.

Chenise at Ziva Law was exceptional! She provided me with the assistance I needed for my sublease. She was timely, reliable, and incredibly knowledgeable in all areas of commercial leases. Can’t express how much better I feel with signing my lease knowing Chenise looked over it first. Absolutely wonderful to work with and well worth the money!