No, it's not a typo. It's an important lesson to learn in transacting business in real estate. When you deal with good people you usually end up with good results. It sounds simple enough, but you'd be surprised how often brokers, tenants and buyers don't take the time to get to know the people on the other side of the deal. I learned long ago that you never want to rely on the legal terms spelled out in a document. The best deals are when the parties sign the documents after robust negotiations and never have to take them out of their files because everything goes along smoothly and the intentions of the parties plays out. Once one party feels like they aren't getting what they bargained for, the documents come out, the attorneys get involved and everyone usually loses.
So, what I am suggesting is that you spend time getting to know the party on the other side of the transaction. Talk about life, family, hobbies, politics and anything you feel will give you a sense of the values, mindset and ethics of your future partner. Yes, I said it. Partner. Well, you're going to sign an agreement with this person stating that you have rights and responsibilities and so do they. Sounds like a partnership to me. Don't you want to be able to trust your partner? And if you find out in the process that you're really not comfortable with the other party, why commit yourself? Find the right party to work with. This actually applies to every phase of a transaction and every professional you choose to work with on the transaction. You really need to trust these people because they should know more then you about the subject for which you hired them and you should be able to accept their guidance without questioning their motives.
I know when I have earned the title of trusted adviser with one of my customers both of us end up completely satisfied. When I am just pushed into a role and my customer could care less about me, doesn't really trust me and certainly doesn't confide in me, it is so much harder to give good advice and in the end, neither party is usually very happy, even if I collect a nice fee for the deal.
Just remember, money can be spent but respect can only be earned. In other words, respect stays with you forever, while money comes and goes.
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