Happy New Year!

Happy New Years Eve!

2014 has been a fantastic year for the Hogan Land Services team.  We are thankful for our great clients, amazing staff, and everything in between.

Cheers to a successful 2014, and best wishes to all as we enter 2015!

See you on our next view from the field!

Hogan Land Services Team

#hoganls

Update from our Santa Cruz Office

Hogan Land Services' Santa Cruz location is running full steam ahead!  Meeting other local businesses and supporting the Santa Cruz community is creating excitement for the future as we continue to grow into our new home here.  

Santa Cruz is a thriving community full of opportunity and potential projects.  The connections and relationships we are forming today will lead to a successful collaboration to help you improve the value of your property.

Offering all of the same services, Hogan Land Services is eager to get our foot in the door with all different types of projects.  Whether you have a property out in the country or are looking to remodel a home situated right downtown, we can help ensure your project is managed correctly, built to code, and ultimately turn your vision into a reality. 

We had an amazing sneak peak at a fully collaborative project that is nearing a successful completion.  The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) invited us to view the La Selva Trestle along the County's Branch Rail Line.  This project involved multiple Engineering firms and a rigorous permit processing period.  Now, the end result is a full improvement for the County, the Santa Cruz community, and the Regional Transportation Commission.  Below is a picture from our site visit and everyone agrees, not much beats an office day spent at the beach!

To find out more about our Santa Cruz office, visit our website and click on the "Santa Cruz" tab.

See you on our next view from the field!

Hogan Land Services Team

#hoganls

Top Ways to Improve Your Property Value - Part 2

Time for another installment of "Top Ways to Improve Your Property Value".  In this segment we are reviewing a topic that is difficult for many homeowners to manage on their own.   And in many cases, property and homeowners may not even know a problem exists on their land.

Un-permited work whether done by you, or the previous homeowner can lead to violations against your property, decreasing value until the work is remedied!  This can be in the form of grading or earth movement, un-permited barns or accessory dwelling units, to a deck add-on or sunroom that did not go through the County regulations and process.

While some of these items may look like they increase your property value, unattended violations negatively impact your assets and even the re-sale value of your home.

Hogan Land Services has dealt with many violation resolution projects, and we know they come in all shapes, sizes and circumstances.  

If you are a new homeowner, and are unsure about some work done on your property, give us a call and we can review County records and reports to determine if the work was done legally or not.  If the latter is true, we can help develop and plan and process to get your violation corrected and legalized to County standards.  Even if the violation has not been reported yet, it is important to address the issue and work through solutions to have the work legalized.

The team at Hogan Land Services is determined to come up with creative, cost-effective solutions for all of your property needs.  We know that resolving a violation that you may not have even had a part of is frustrating, and thats why we are here to help!  Even if you are not ready to go through the entire legalization process, knowledge is power - and the experts at Hogan Land Services want you to know everything about your property.

  

See you on our next view from the field!

Hogan Land Services Team

#hoganls

The Napa Earthquake - A Look Back

The earthquake on August 24, 2014 will be remembered by people in Napa and Sonoma County for years.  The 6.0 registered quake occurred at about 3:20 A.M. and many were awakened by the jolt.

As Civil and Structural Engineers, the team at Hogan Land Services sprang into action.  For two weeks after the quake, we offered a free site review of your home, workplace, or property to assess the damage, and determine accessibility.  We received an enormous response from homeowners all over Napa and Sonoma County.  Some were unsure if their property had been affected, while others reported obvious damage.

The level of reported damage ranged from minor to severe, but we treated every case with extreme care and caution.  Structural damage is a serious issue!  We helped property owners determine the extent of structural movement or damage, and advised how to remedy the issue.  Our goal was to ensure your home, workplace or building was safe - and provide recommendations on how to proceed.

We were happy to support the community in a time of need, and our team of Engineers rose to the occasion with site visits nearly every other day in September.  Below are a few images from the structural damage we witnessed.

                            

Although it has been months since the Napa Earthquake, it is always important to do a visual check of your home 2-3 times a year.  If you have witnessed any movement or cracking in your home, please call us for a site review!

See you on our next view from the field!

Hogan Land Services Team

#hoganls

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

We want to wish you all the warmest Thanksgiving wishes from our team to you! 

See you on our next view from the field!

Hogan Land Services Team

#hoganls

Introducing... HLS Santa Cruz!

Being a part of the Hogan Land Services Team, there is one thing we all know to be true, "the only constant is change".  Whether this relates to County protocol, civil design modifications, or even adding personnel to our office, we are always in a state of change.

It has been an extremely successful year thus far, and we have recently created change that will open the door to a new County in order to offer our services to the greater Northern California community.

We are pleased to announce the opening of our second Hogan Land Services office, located in Santa Cruz County!

Hogan Land Services, Santa Cruz will offer all of the same services such as Land Surveying, Civil and Structural Engineering, Septic and Wastewater Design, and of course, Permit Processing.

We are very excited to branch out to Santa Cruz County, and help you develop your dream beach home, or fix-up an older mountain cabin.

For more information, visit our website and click on the "HLS Santa Cruz" tab.  Or call us anytime at 831-419-4051.

See you on our next view from the field!

Hogan Land Services Team

#hoganls

Top Ways to Improve Your Property Value - Part 1

Real estate is often our most valuable asset, and nothing feels better than crossing projects off the home improvement list.  Aside from the honey-do items, what about the assets that your property has, but didn't know could be improved?  That's where we come in.

Over the next few months we will be posting Hogan Land Services' "Top Ways to Improve Your Property Value" and provide tips and tricks for understanding more about your property, and what you can do about it.

This week our post features how to find out what you can do with your existing property.  Can  you build a second unit on your parcel?  Is there potential for commercial use?  Is it zoned for agricultural use?  Did you know you there are ways to change your zoning?

These questions have readily available answers, and once you have the information on what you can do; then you can determine what you want to do!

The land service professionals at Hogan Land Services will explain to you all the allowable uses for your property, and help modify it to maximize value.  If you've been curious about the assets your property may contain, give us a call!

See you on our next view from the field!

Hogan Land Services Team

#hoganls