Commission disputes can involve significant sums of money - tens or hundreds of thousands, even millions, of dollars.  And legal fees for lengthy court actions and trials can cost exponentially more.  But it doesn't have to be that way. It is possible to resolve the dispute quicker than going to court. We handle litigation as well as transactions.  Whether you're a broker, a finder, or an investor dealing with a broker or finder, it is not uncommon to end up in a dispute over the commission.  We have helped brokers, finders and investors resolve their commission disputes quickly, through med ..read more

If you are a homeowner thinking of selling your home or rental home without a broker, read this.   Although most of our clients hire us to help them with their commercial real estate transactions and disputes, we also help clients with their residential real estate.  Many homeowners choose to sell their home without a broker.  They do that for a variety of reasons.  Perhaps the most common reasons are that they are selling to a tenant, relative or friend.  Regardless, our office receives many calls asking for our assistance to help guide these homeowners through what can be an intimidating pr ..read more

Perhaps the single most important lesson I teach investors is how they can avoid disputes and lawsuits with their partners.  Why?  Because the time, money and effort consumed by litigating partner disputes can be so significant.  Having litigated a number of those partner disputes, I can tell you that virtually every one could have been avoided if the partners had known what to do from the beginning of that "business marriage".    I was interviewed on this topic recently by Whitney Sewell of The Real Estate Syndication Show where I explained what every investor must know to minimize the ris ..read more

I was interviewed by Whitney Sewell of The Real Estate Syndication Show on the topic of "Joint Ventures: The Cheapest, Easiest, Fastest and Safest Alternative to Syndication".  Click here to access that on-demand podcast interview now.  Here is the description of the show and what you will learn:  A lot of us talk about joint ventures or “JV’s” and often assume that we, and the people around us, understand what they are and how they function. In this episode, Jeff explains what joint ventures really are, and why he believes they are the cheapest, easiest, fastest, and safest alternative to s ..read more

I was interviewed by Charlie Dobens of MultiFamily Investing Academy on the topic of joint ventures and syndication.  Listen to this interview and you will learn essential information that every investor MUST understand about JVs and why, in my opinion, they are the cheapest, easiest, fastest and safest alernative to syndication when it comes to building your portfolio using other people's money.   Click here to listen now. If you are entering a partner or joint venture relationship of any kind, whether it is an LLC, corporation, general or limited partnership, call us.  We can set it up t ..read more

Welcome to Part 11 in our 12-part series entitled "12 Warning Signs You're Headed for a Lawsuit with Your Partner".  If you missed Parts 1-10, click here to get to our Real Estate Investor bLAWg where you can find those and many other informative blog posts.  The eleventh warning sign is ... #11:  No "Glue" When I say “glue”, I’m referring to something that’s strong enough to hold your partnership together.  For example, if one of you brings most of the money to the deal and the other is the person who does more of the work (the “sweat equity” partner), that’s the glue that holds you togeth ..read more

Welcome to Part 3 in a 12-part series entitled "12 Warning Signs You're Headed for a Lawsuit with your Partner". The third warning sign is... #3: No Written Agreement Many of the partner disputes we have handled could have been completely avoided if the partners had a better written agreement from the beginning. A shocking number of joint ventures are done with no more than a handshake or a defective written instrument (everything from, literally, the back of a napkin to some form they pulled off the internet or a document prepared by a lawyer who dabbles in partnership agreements, but has ..read more

Welcome to Part 2 in a 12-part series entitled "12 Warning Signs You're Headed for a Lawsuit with your Partner".  If you missed Part 1, where I discussed what I believe is the #1 warning sign you're headed for a lawsuit with your partner (indeed, it may also signal your last opportunity to avoid a lawsuit before your partner files a complaint!), click here to read that. Ready for warning sign #2? #2: Lack of Money--When money gets tight, partners fight It is not unusual to have one partner who has less financial resources than the other.  However, when partners come together with the ..read more

Welcome to Part 10 in our 12-part series entitled "12 Warning Signs You're Headed for a Lawsuit with Your Partner".  If you missed Parts 1-9, click here to get to our Real Estate Investor bLAWg where you can find those and any many other informative blog posts.  The tenth warning sign is ... #10:  Sloppy books and records If your partnership keeps sloppy books and records (non-contemporaneous entries, lack of entries altogether, failure to properly characterize and document additional cash provided by one or both of the partners for the benefit of the partnership, commingling of funds, etc ..read more

A client recently asked me, “What happens to my frequent flyer miles when I die?”  With so many credit card companies giving up to 100,000 bonus miles just for opening the credit card account and charging on the card (yes, that’s true!), and then giving away additional miles for every dollar charged, people are accumulating tens of thousands of dollars of frequent flyer miles.  As the Points Guy says, “We certainly don’t want to think about that day when we’ll go the way of the Concorde and L-1011 TriStar, but it’s even harder to think about a considerable stash of loyalty assets going to wa ..read more