All Forum Posts by: Nicolette M.

@Nicolette M.

In general its a good idea.  I know with being an agent, it can be disadvantageous to list your own properties.  You lose that "one degree" of separation between you/owner and the other side.  I see being similar to a lawyer representing themselves in a legal matter.  Am I listing my own properties?  Yes, albeit with some disadvantages...

In NJ, you legally have to declare if the owner is a real estate agent.  Its in our purchase contracts.  The "classic" argument of where agents have some sort of unfair advantage or are looked on as doing something sneaky supposedly can come into play.  I personally don't get it other than people are generally suspicious when it comes to real estate transactions.

For the home inspector, one thing that comes to mind is conflict of interest.  You generally use the home inspector report to justify repair requests.  I know no idea of what sort of investments you are doing.  So, your investment scenarios may not make it that much of a problem.

I hope this helps.

It could definitely help, but you have to be careful of a couple of things. If you guys are new to REI, then you are probably new to all of the knowledge as well. The effect this could have is a lack of experts involved in your first transaction. Even though you took the RE class and got licensed and your boyfriend took the steps to be an inspector doesn't mean you know real-world scenarios as that takes many years. So even if you do get them, I would still use an experienced home inspector on your first REI purchase to learn from and adjust to.

You, as the agent, are open to a claim for fraud for anything your boyfriend misses.  I'm an attorney in Illinois, and this is a classic conflict of interest.  There's a controlled, pre-existing relationship (likely of a sexual character - but I don't know you and I'm not assuming) between the agent selling the property and the inspector who assesses its quality.  Both of you should act in the best interest of the client, but due to your relationship are going to be presumed to be acting in the best interests of each other.  You're in a position where you're much more liable for breach of fiduciary duty, consumer fraud or professional liability claims if either of you messes up on a deal. 

Personally, if I knew about your relationship with the inspector, I wouldn't hire him if you were my agent.  Since a reasonably shrewd investor might feel that way, there is also a question if you need to disclose this during your recommendations process.  It's kind of a mess all around, and you're eventually going to get sued.

With that said, the liability of suits might be less than the value of your relationship professionally, so maybe it works for you to continue your relationship.  If you lose one suit every 2 years for $30,000; but the relationship is worth $10,000 per year, then it's probably worth it to do this.  Personally, though, I would absolutely disclose in writing that I'm in a romantic relationship with someone to whom I refer business.