This is THE FIRST post on FIND this SPACE. It seems apt that it should be centered on explaining why this site was created. There are trends in the real estate technology sector moving toward helping a real estate “seeker” find a property that suits him/her on their own. Interestingly, the real estate industry is not really structured to support this approach, and for those who know already or can be convinced, we aim to help potential real estate clients find a practitioner who is anxious to help them find the space that best suits their needs.
Real Estate law is normally structured so that both parties - the seller/lessor and the buyer/lessee - must have representation by a real estate professional except under very narrow circumstances (e.g. if you are an estate attorney). That said, there is a hole that many buyers/lessees fall through that is important to note. If you are seeking property and do not yet have this representation, any seller/lessor representative will call you a customer unless they can make you into a client. The difference is that a client is entitled to the fiduciary duty of his/her representative, whereas a customer should assume that the representative of the buyer/lessor owes their fiduciary duty to the seller/lessor. They must make their position in the relationship clear to you and treat you honestly, BUT you should NOT share information with this representative that you do not wish to share with the seller/lessor as it can seriously damage your negotiating position. Making sure you understand that you are a customer and not a client is the attempt of regulators to notify you of this actual conflict of interest. Note that if you tell them at your first meeting that you do not have, but would like representation, there are provisions requiring them to eliminate this conflict of interest. You should still be very careful what you say until your representation and representative are established.
What I hope the above did was convince you to engage buyer’s/lessee’s representation. It generally costs you nothing, and brings you real advantages. This is important to protect your interests and to have someone in your corner. In some cases for a given location, we’ve already made a selection of a credible broker who would be willing to represent you. If we haven’t already made a selection in an area that you are interested, we will likely help you make a selection if you like. If you don’t see your area of the country in the “Localize” section, just request a property search or use “Get Answers” to make your request. I’ve developed, and continue to refine a process for this selection which I expect will be helpful to you.
In any case, what I hope is that we will provide you with lots of information to support you in your real estate transaction.
