Law Office of Nicklaus Suino: Real Estate Broker and Client

The relationship between real estate broker and client is fundamentally the same as any agent and principal relationship. The broker owes a strict fiduciary duty to the principal, and must fully disclose all relevant facts to the client, may not act on behalf of any other person or entity without fully disclosing this to the client, and may not participate in a transaction in which he or she has an interest that is adverse to the client's.

Usually the details of this relationship are determined by contract. A listing agreement spells out the various rights and obligations of both parties, including the amount of the sales commission and any special duties to be undertaken by the broker. The length of the agreement (i.e., how long the client is obligated to pay the commission if the property is sold) is a critical factor, often leading to disagreements if the property is sold close to the end of the contract period.

In Ann Arbor, Michigan, Oxford Companies and Bluestone Realty Advisors are major players in the commercial real estate arena. More information can be obtained at www.oxfordcompanies.com and www.blueadvisors.com. For assistance in reviewing both commercial and residential real estate contracts, visit Attorney Nicklaus Suino at www.suinolaw.com.

An Ounce of Prevention...

Our attorneys' experience with collecting debts has shown us that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. There are a variety of tactics that Ann Arbor businesses can use early in a relationship to help ease the process of collecting payments later, including: personal guarantees, researching financial histories, good contract language detailing defaults and remedies, and quick legal action when late payments start.

Our lawyers encourage Ann Arbor business clients to adopt a strategic collection procedure that starts from the inception of the buyer-seller or landlord-tenant relationship. We help advise service-oriented businesses, retail businesses, and commercial landlords on how to structure their client relationships to ensure an efficient collection process. We create or revise contracts and other documents to maximize the benefit to our clients, often later resulting in significant savings in litigation costs.

Independent Contractor Agreement

Our attorneys recently drafted an Independent Contractor Agreement for one of our Ann Arbor business clients. By paying careful attention to the details of the relationship between the business and the contractor, we were able to improve our client's position in several ways.

Our business lawyers included language that helped to limit our client's liability in case of a financial disagreement between the parties. We were also able to address our client's concerns about trade secrets and competition from the contractor. We were also able to increase our client's protection against assertions by the taxing authority that the contractor was an employee - an often overlooked area in legal agreements with independent contractors.

Evictions

In the current business climate, many good tenants become late payers or non-payers. Our attorneys remind our real estate clients to keep a careful eye on their tenant accounts to spot signs of trouble early.

We've had a string of successful evictions recently, encouraging difficult tenants to move out so that our clients can move better paying tenants into their commercial properties. Our three-pronged approach of notification, litigation, and follow up usually results in the premises being quickly vacated. Our lawyers then doggedly pursue any unpaid balances the tenants may still have on their accounts.

Personal Guarantees

Our attorneys advise business clients in Ann Arbor to try to obtain a personal guaranty for virtually every business agreement. Besides providing a legal backup in the event the business client fails to pay, the guaranty usually helps to focus the guarantor's attention on payment, making default less likely.

There are many subtle but important aspects of a personal guaranty that are best learned through the experience of litigation. In the heat of a legal battle, issues that seem small or unimportant can become significant. Because of our experience in collecting debts for our business clients, we know what information should be requested for a personal guaranty, and what contract language should always be written in.

Law Office of Nicklaus Suino

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Real Estate Broker and Client

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The Law Office of Nicklaus Suino

Law Office of Nicklaus Suino, PLLC

An Ounce of Prevention...

Businesses of Note

Independent Contractor Agreement

Michigan locations where our clients live and work:

Evictions

Personal Guarantees