No matter what the issue, be it for commercial, industrial, or multiple residential, real estate, leasing or buying, choosing the “right” real estate agent by the client is essential. An example of this recently occurred with a property listed for sale.
The property offered for sale was a redevelopment property, which is a single family home on land zoned for office and commercial uses. The buyer was a professional seeking to build a new office location for his practice. The agent for the buyer was a strong and knowledgeable professional real estate agent. The complicating factor was that there was a time pressure with the impending expiration of an existing lease.
In our representation of the seller, we pushed for as rapid a performance of the buyer as possible and facilitated the development by having a boundary survey performed immediately and having current Level One Environmental information available. The buyer vacillated in terms of choosing his professionals and did not follow the advice of his agent who was capable of coordinating all facets of the development process. The client had a clear lack of knowledge of the issues and the process for development. The agent for the buyer advised the client to build in and structure additional time periods in order to follow an orderly process. This advise was ignored. The professionals hired by the buyer then addressed specific potential issues, but failed to set forth in a clear and well-documented form, the issues and cures to enlist the aid of the seller in facilitating the process and granting time to find solutions.
The transaction degenerated into hardened positions on both sides and ultimately failed in terms of the buyer performing per the agreement and the good will necessary to resolve the issues by having the seller working collaboratively with him. Our client lost time and the buyer lost both time and money. The buyer’s professionals failed by not providing the necessary structure and time to ensure their client the opportunity to achieve his goals. There were no winners, only losers.
