In Real Estate: Look for Other People’s Headaches

by Diana Britton in Yield of Dreams

While many managers may talk about finding high quality, diamonds-in-the-rough-type investments, for managers in the commercial real estate space, the best finds are those that have been tossed aside—the fixer uppers you might say. Distressed real estate was a hot topic and a popular strategy touted by real estate managers at the Commercial Real Estate/High Net Worth Investment Conference on Thursday, produced by WealthManagement.com and its sister publication National Real Estate Investor.

“We love deal fatigue,” said David Cohen, CEO, CIO and co-founder of Karlin Asset Management. “We like to buy someone else’s headaches.”

Cohen said his approach to investing was opportunistic; he looks for distressed sellers or a dysfunctional sales process, where the auction doesn’t go well and the property is re-marketed in a different way. About 30 percent of Karlin’s deals are in the office space, while 25 percent are retail properties and the rest are multi-family homes and land deals.

For example, one of the firm’s distressed deals involved a fractured condominium transaction in Florida. There were originally 300 condo units up for sale; 100 of them sold, but the other 200 got trapped in bankruptcy. The bank took them back, and they were fully leased. Karlin was able to buy those 200 at very attractive prices. The building was built at $300,000 per unit; they bought the 200 for $61,000 a unit fully leased. That represented a 16 percent capitalization rate when it was an 8 percent cap market, Cohen said.

“Someday we think they’ll be worth more, but if they’re not worth more someday, we’re getting a terrific return.”

Real estate itself is not distressed, Cohen said; the capital structure, or the pricing of the properties, is what is distressed. The capital structure gets fixed, however, in the first six to nine months. The firm will go in and get the building out of bankruptcy, put improvement dollars to work to fill up the building, and price it at the right price.

Savanna, a real estate manager, has completed 30 to 40 joint ventures in the distressed real estate space over the years. Nicholas Bienstock, managing partner of Savanna, said his firm buys older buildings, remodels the façade and improves the infrastructure for tenants. New York City, for example, is one place with an aging infrastructure, with the average age of a building being 80 years.

Origin Capital Partners takes a different approach. Michael Episcope, principal of Origin, said his firm moved into higher quality investments as the markets normalized post-crisis. These investments provide downside protection when the markets decline, he said.

As opposed to the distressed approach, they’re focusing on a strategy that’s portable in all market cycles, Episcope said. In particular, they look for buildings in great locations and job centers—properties that have good economic drivers behind them.

 

Don’t go it alone

A major problem with representing yourself in court is when your spouse’s attorney decides to tell you things like; “You don’t need to show up” or “The judge is just going to sign documents…”. THAT LAWYER IS THE OPPOSING ATTORNEY AND YOU SHOULD NOT PUT YOUR FUTURE IN THEIR HANDS.

Child custody cases and marriage dissolution can set the standard for the rest of your family’s life. Do not do this alone. And do not rely on advice from friends not even mom or dad. They are your support group, they are not your legal team!

At least get a consultation – many lawyers will give you a short consultation for free. Do it for your loved ones and yourself. You all deserve it.

Perron Law Group – Family Law

Pro per vs. AMATEUR?

One of the silliest things to deal with is the spouse who wants to punish their soon to be ex – and does NOT have an attorney. It would be humorous if there was not so much devastation and pain, especially when kids are involved. 

Like when the hubby claims to be insulted on Thursday by the insinuation that he is trying to hurt his wife and Friday the wife learns he called the authorities in an attempt to have her (and their child) put out of the temporary shelter provided by family members.

How about the guy who claims to be “working without pay”! You know it is bad when the “pro (amateur) per” spouse has divided his own family down the middle. We have all seen the folks who make it clear that everybody will pay for this… but beware of the ones that can look you in the face and insist that you should believe them and not your own eyes and ears. 

What is probably the worst would be people who spend a little bit on an attorney, ruin lives by lying to their attorney and then behave high and mighty until they get in front of a judge who sets them straight. Of course the damage has been done and the fool (a person who represents himself has a fool for a client) goes on and on about how they have been betrayed.

Maybe more attorneys should point out that after the children grow up and can compare the fool to caring and honest parents, the kids will know who the bad guy really is. 

How Attorneys Can be More Productive and Increase Billable Hours

A constant question in the mind of many attorneys is ‘how can I increase my billable hours while completing all these other tasks on my ‘to do’ list?’ – this is not a simple question to answer but there are a number of solutions that can be implemented into every practice to ensure more billable hours and more staff satisfaction at every level of the practice.

Delegate – to some this is a hard concept to grasp but when attorneys embrace the concept of delegation everyone benefits. Many staff want more responsibility and variety in their daily work tasks. By delegating different projects and tasks, support staff enjoy an increase their interest in their roles and feel more satisfied.  Delegation of regular occurring tasks, scheduling, administration, follow up and routine activities frees up time for attorneys allowing more billable hours.  Delegation is a learned skill; it does not come easily to most and must be handled in a way that both parties trust the process and each other. When delegation is practiced within a law firm it ensures career paths are created and skill sets are increased, this is beneficial for any growing firm.Â

Review – implementing monthly and annual reviews with all members of the law firm will allow every partner to keep a firm grasp on performance and activity of every staff member including paralegals, secretaries, technology support, communications and marketing staff. A monthly review may include a 30-minute meeting with each direct report to check performance against targets, outstanding issues, and project updates and staff morale. By checking in on a regular basis both partners and employees can recognise future opporunities and identify potential issues. An investment in annual reviews with each employee will also create career progression opportunities, identify training needs and help support staff feel more valued in their role. It is recognized that recognized and valued employees are more productive employees.

Happy Hour – conducing a regular ‘happy hour’ with your team members weekly or monthly will allow both parties to review tasks, projects and identify potential productivity challenges.

Measure – productivity can be measured by every practice through increased billable hours, increased client satisfaction ratings, increase in new cases and a feeling of more ‘control’ for partners.  Support staff will measure their own productivity a number of ways. Firstly by their feeling of ‘completeness’ of all activities and tasks in their everyday ‘to do’ list. Secondly by the feedback from their superiors, feedback is an essential element to boost productivity in all staff members. Thirdly through their own job satisfaction. When a support staff member enjoys their work and environment they will be more productive.

Use Downtime – unfortunately we can’t eliminate downtime but we can be productive in times where things are not in our control. Being prepared for downtime will allow you to make the most of every opportunity. This simply means to be prepared. When you are waiting in offices, waiting for decisions to be made, waiting for communications, this can be frustrating. Eliminate the downtime and the frustration by regularly having a file of “down time to dos” – this file might include articles or journals you have been wanting to read, completing non-urgent paperwork, reviewing or editing documentation and replying to correspondence. Always carry a file in your briefcase that is filled with non-urgent tasks so you can make the most of these times.  Get into the habit of taking this file with you when you leave your office, travel on public transport, attend meetings, arrive at appointments – keep it with you.

Systemize – many activities in each practice can be documented and systemized. This initial investment of time and resources to achieve this may seem difficult, but the long-term rewards far outweigh the initial costs. If your team doesn’t have this skill set internally, consider outsourcing this to a Productivity or Organization Expert. These people can quickly identify tasks and activities that can be systemized; they can document the processes and train the staff on how to implement them.

Be flexible – implement a company policy that rewards not only good performance but productivity as well. Identify within each role in your practice where people can be productive, this will be different for each role and each team member. Some people are more effective working early mornings and others late at night. Investigate if some of your team members can have flexibility in their work environment to really maximize their performance. Identify if there may be opportunities for them to be measured on their outcomes rather than the time they sit at their desk or cubicle. Flexibility is great recognition for high performers: it rewards productivity and outcomes rather than office hour attendance.

Reward – consider implementing a reward system for high profile or long-term cases. Within each practice there are opportunities to share the rewards. Many support staff will increase their productivity when recognized for their efforts. These rewards do not always need to be monetary (although that is always appreciated) but can include gift cards, time off, gifts and praise. Take time to recognize your support teams.

Educate – one of the most effective uses of your resources is to invest in productivity training or workshops for your support staff (and partners). Many experts can give practical solutions and tips in short workshops that are designed to maximise the skills and efforts of each of your team.

Apply any or all of these tips today and you will definitely notice an increase in the support staff productivity, billable hours and increased client satisfaction.

About the author

Neen is a Productivity Expert: by looking at how attorneys spend their time and energy – and where they focus their attention – Neen helps you develop productive business development strategies and increase performance.  A dynamic speaker, author and corporate trainer, Neen demonstrates how boosting your productivity can help you bill more hours. With her unique voice, sense of fun and uncommon common sense, Neen delivers a powerful lesson in productivity.www.neenjames.com

REAL ESTATE LAW: Option to Extend May be a Mirage

Originally posted

By Bryan Mashian, Esq.

When negotiating a lease extension option, parties may be uncomfortable agreeing on a specific rent amount for the option period, especially in a lease with a long original term where the option term starts far in the future.  The parties sometimes want to defer establishing the rent amount until the option term rolls around and avoid bearing the risk of interim fluctuations in market rent.  But how the parties express this intent is very critical since merely stating that they agree to agree on the rent amount at a later date may be fatal.  If the lease does not provide an ascertainable standard for determining the future rent, the option may be unenforceable.

Commercial tenants routinely request one or more options to extend the lease term to be sure they can continue their business at a particular location.  Likewise, landlords benefit from retaining tenants by avoiding costs of a turn over, such as paying brokerage commissions for a new lease, paying for new improvements, providing free rent to the new tenant, and avoiding a vacant building. If the parties establish a specific rent for the option period and this rent ends up being higher than the market rent, the tenant simply will not exercise the option, and will either renegotiate or relocate.  But, if the agreed upon option rent turns out to be lower than market rent, the tenant is more likely to exercise the option.  A below market option to extend is a valuable right for the tenant, which conversely reduces the value of the landlord’s property.

The parties can legally decide to defer setting the rent amount until the option term is exercised, but for such an option to be enforceable, the lease must provide its essential terms.  Typically, the option is part of the lease which provides that if the option term is exercised, then terms and conditions of the original lease apply.  So, the original lease agreement supplies most of the material terms, but not the actual rent amount.

An option at a rent “to be mutually agreed upon,” however, is usually too uncertain for enforcement, although there is a split of authority on this issue.  The traditional rule in California with regards to agreements to be made in the future is that if an essential element is reserved for the future agreement of both parties, the option does not create a legal obligation until the parties in fact do reach such agreement. Courts have noted that “Since either party by the terms of the promise may refuse to agree to anything to which the other party will agree, it is impossible for the law to affix any obligation to such a promise.”

In a California case, a lease provided for an option to renew the term of the lease on the same terms and conditions as the original lease, except that the rent would “be determined by mutual agreement.” The court held that the renewal option was unenforceable because there was no standard of measurement in the lease for determining the rent to be charged during the renewal term. It concluded that a provision for renewal of a lease at a rent to be determined in the future is not enforceable unless there is an ascertainable standard for determining the rent.

In contrast, another court enforced a renewal on terms “to be mutually agreed upon.”  In this case, tenant leased an unimproved lot for five years, and had a right of first refusal for an additional term, with rent and terms to be mutually agreed upon at that time. The tenant spent tenant’s own money to turn the lot into a trailer park. The lease provided that upon termination, the landlord would have the option to purchase these improvements at 50% of their salvage price, or the tenant would be responsible for the removing these improvements.

When the tenant exercised the extension option, the landlord refused to negotiate and stated that she wanted her son to take over and run the trailer park. In this case, the court held that the renewal option was enforceable and reasoned that it was not making a new contract for the parties but merely compelling the parties to do what they contemplated at the time they initially contracted.  This decision has been heavily criticized, however, and may have been motivated by unique facts.  In this case, the court noted that if the lease term was not extended, the tenant would be required to remove the improvements, the cost of which was “prohibitive,” while the salvage value of these same improvements was “nominal.”

In conclusion, to ensure that a renewal option is enforceable, the lease should provide a an ascertainable standard for setting the future rent.  These standards can be fair market rent to be determined by arbitration or appraisal, or by reference to similar properties at the time of establishment of the future rent. Although there is a split of authority in California, prudent parties would include in the lease an ascertainable standard to ensure that the option would be enforceable.

Your Law Firm Website Is NOT About You

Are Lawyers Fascinating?

Last week, I was watching an interview with an expert on the science of fascination. She talked about what makes some people more interesting and captivating than other people. She talked about how being more fascinating can be good for your career and your business. Fascinating people attract people to them. They make connections and hold people’s attention. They’re intriguing and people want to know more about them.

And I thought to myself, are lawyers fascinating? And in my next breath the answer was a resounding “NO!”

Lawyers are fascinating on TV. Law dramas like the Law & Order franchise show attorneys as compelling characters. The type of attorney we’d want on our side if we ever found ourselves in need of a lawyer.
Unfortunately, lawyers in the real world don’t always come off as compelling or fascinating.
Individually I’m sure there are a lot of fascinating people who happen to be lawyers, but as a profession, on the whole, we don’t exactly fascinate.

Where this is especially apparent is on lawyer websites. I’ve spent a lot of time looking at lawyer websites for my next project.

After my not-so-scientific review of hundreds of lawyer websites most attorney websites are bland, non-descript self-promotion pieces that all look, feel and sound the same. No one stands out from the crowd.

Here’s what I see.

1. Every lawyer believes they provide high-quality, cost-effective, results-oriented legal services.
2. Most lawyers think they are special because they received an award or honor from an organization the client has never heard of listed alongside a list of journal articles they wrote that the client will never read;
3. There is actually only one standard lawyer bio that all attorneys share. Attorneys just fill in the blanks indicating where and when they went to law school, their practice area, and attach the obligatory year book photo;
4. Lawyers think a laundry list of practice areas makes an effective website page; and
5. Lawyers need pictures of gavels, law books, and a courthouse to reinforce the fact that they are indeed a lawyer in case the potential client missed all the other references.
6. Everything is completely lawyer-focused. It’s all “I”, “Me”, “My”, and “Our” and when you’re trying to attract people to you, talking all about yourself is pretty unappealing. (How would you feel if you were on a first date and your date talked about himself non-stop? It’s the same thing. There’s nothing fascinating about that guy.)

Basically, most lawyer websites say: “Hi. I’m a lawyer. I practice XYZ law. Call me.” Why exactly should they call you? What makes you different from one of the 10 other attorneys saying the exact same thing?

Your law firm website is a piece of your marketing campaign. If it says the same thing as every other attorney’s site, it doesn’t work. In order for your marketing to work, it must differentiate you from your competition.

If this is you, here’s what I suggest you do. You need to give the person searching for a lawyer a reason to call you.

Why are people on your website? They are on your website because they are looking for a solution to their problem.

When a prospective client is on your website they are thinking, “Can this attorney…

• get me out of jail,
• write my will,
• protect my invention,
• get me out of this marriage,
• help me keep my kids,
• get my insurance company to pay me…?”

The only thing the client cares about is that you are the right attorney to solve their legal problem.
It doesn’t matter who you say you are. They’re not buying you. They’re buying a solution to their legal problem.

So talk about their problem. Talk about how you have the skills and expertise to solve their problem. Tell them what you are going to do to help them if they hire you.

Start talking to your prospective clients about the things they care about, about what made them seek you out in the first place. Don’t be THAT first date. Make the reader want to call you and continue the conversation.

If you aren’t talking about their problem and how you can solve that problem, then you are missing the best opportunity to speak to your future clients.

About the Author

Kelli Proia

I am an attorney, an educator, and an evangelist. ATTORNEY: Throughout my 12+ year career, I’ve worked on patent and trademark prosecution, licensing and joint ventures, patent litigation, counterfeit goods, and a whole host of business agreements and policies, as well as many other corporate matters. EDUCATOR: I teach intellectual property owners what they need to know to take charge of their future, create value, and reduce risk. All it takes is a little focus — and some instructions! EVANGELIST: I am on a mission to end IP ignorance forever…one organization at a time!

What About Paralegals?

The California Litigator

 

A Look at California Rules and the Impact on Attorneys and Paralegals

February 22, 2012

By Barbara Haubrich-Hass, ACP/CAS

As published in The Bottom Line of the Law Practice Management & Technology Section of the California State Bar Association, MCLE On-Line Ethics Credit

 

Since the birth of the paralegal profession in the 1960s, it has evolved into an essential component of every successful legal team.  The role of a paralegal is fundamentally shaped by the legal ethics that he or she must follow.  When considering the ethical use of a paralegal, one criteria is to determine whether the paralegal is working in the capacity as an “employee” or a “virtual” paralegal.  Once the attorney has determined the capacity of the paralegal, the attorney is able to consider the ethical boundaries for the utilization of that paralegal.

Globally, every California attorney and paralegal shall adhere to Business & Professions Code (BPC) §§6450 through 6456.  There are no exceptions. There are additional ethical considerations for an attorney when contracting with a virtual paralegal.  This article will discuss BPC §6450, and the ethical use of “employee” and “virtual” paralegals.

 

A.   Why it is Important to Comply With BPC §6450

First and foremost, it is the law.  BPC §6450 defines the role of a paralegal and attorneys are required to comply with it.   BPC §6450 also provides consistency with respect to the qualifications, restrictions, and continuing legal education for paralegals providing legal support to California attorneys.

read full article at – http://www.thecalifornialitigator.com/getting-ethical-with-paralegals.html

“Barbara Haubrich-Hass, The California Litigator, publishes an e-zine that delivers simple discussions and strategies for the California civil litigation professional. Barbara’s discussions focus on common paralegal and law office tasks, such as pre-litigation document gathering, document preparation, filing rules, law and motion, discovery, arbitration, trial, deadline calculation, and post-trial procedures. More information is available at http://www.thecalifornialitigator.com

©Copyright 2012 All Rights Reserved

DISCLAIMER: Barbara Haubrich-Hass, ACP/CAS, is not an attorney. Any information derived from The California Litigator, and any other statements contained herein, are for information purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice or a recommendation on a legal matter. The information from The California Litigator is not guaranteed to be correct, complete, or current. Barbara makes no warranty, express or implied, about the accuracy or reliability of the information provided within this newsletter, or to any other website to which this e-zine/article may be linked.

The information contained on this site does not constitute legal advice nor is it a substitute for consulting with an attorney. Contacting Perron Law Group and/or reading material contained on this website does not create an attorney-client relationship. Readers are advised to seek counsel to review the circumstances in their individual case and advise accordingly.

Watch What You Say… And Consider Not Speaking Up?

When certain attorney’s forget who they work for and become battle prone, they sometimes put their foot in their mouth and may well give the entire industry a black eye (it’s a neat trick and easily done). Even well intentioned lawyers can upset a simple and fair settlement arrangement and end up on the losing end of a trial judgement with no payments to their client or to their own firm.

One client solicited sound and prudent legal advise that come with a warning – “whatever you do , don’t do try to fight this out or you will lose”. The client proceeded to consult attorneys until he found one that wanted to fight but also wanted to cut corners. Long story short, they lost, nobody recovered costs or fees, the “bad guys” got away and it took two years and permanently split a family.

EXAMPLES: (BASED ON TRUE STORIES – CHECK THE TRANSCRIPTS & DOCUMENTS)

During one particular nasty exchange an opposing counsel demanded to know from the plaintiff “When was the last time the defendant COMMITTED SUICIDE?” The look on the defendant’s face, sitting at the desk… priceless! The look on the judge’s face… pricey!

One well respected attorney cryptically but accurately advised a leading Los Angeles area city’s staff that a large federal grant would need to be returned if matters were not addressed during recent negotiations. The response? We have researched the matter and are confidant the funds were not misappropriated. The U.S. government   demanded the money be paid back! They already reduced the disbursement for this fiscal year by the amount owed. They may (or maybe not) consider themselves lucky that there was no audit.

A favorite construction firm of a certain local city council demanded payment for a disputed project and their plaintiff attorneys refused to consider that they may have no standing plus very, very little chance to collect, so they continued to fight (with more legal fees) – but the defendant’s attorney was proven right again – bankruptcy is such a harsh mistress.

We will save the rest for another time. So watch what you say… because somebody may be listening.

Social Media: The Best Times to Post and

Social Media: The Best Times to Post and Why

 

By Liz Jenei 

Social Media has become an everyday norm. With platforms being flooded with millions of people live tweeting through their favorite TV shows, and posting pictures of what they had for lunch, it is critical to time your business content sharing for maximum views and engagement. 

Almost a half of the country lives in the EST Time Zone, with the next largest group of people living on Central time. It is important to keep this in mind when applying these suggested times written throughout the post.

Twitter

MediaBistro published a study that indicates the best time to post on Twitter as 1 p.m. 

According to by Dan Zarrella, the author of “The Social Media Marketing Book,” surrounding social media behavior data, Twitter has the highest level of re-tweets from 2-5 p.m., and more people use Twitter towards the end of the week than on a Monday. Surprisingly, more people read their Twitter feeds on the weekends than they do on a Monday or a Thursday. Want to post something on a Friday?  Posting before 3 p.m. is crucial because after that, Twitter traffic dips very low.

By using a scheduling tool such as Hootsuite you can compose and schedule tweets to be sent out over time. This allows you to tweet over the weekend without having to work on the weekend. But if you’re going to schedule your tweets, be sure to monitor in real time. You also want to ensure that what you have scheduled to post is innocuous – especially in the event of major breaking news that could taint the perception of others as to why you posted such a thing at that moment. There have been many faux pas posts that were scheduled and then posted at inopportune moments. 

LinkedIn

The Houston Chronicle states the best time to post on LinkedIn is in the evening.

“Early evening, starting between 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. is another great time of the day to publish content to LinkedIn, because you are catching users at the end of their work day.”

Zarrella says the best days to post are Tuesday through Thursday. Saturdays and Sundays are often high traffic days for LinkedIn, but not as popular as mid-week posts.  

Facebook

The problem with Facebook is that if you flood your friends’ or followers’ feeds too much, they will delete or unfollow you. It is easier to flood friends’ feeds on Facebook than it is on Twitter. Keeping this in mind, it is best to share Facebook links and posts every other day as opposed to daily.  

According to a blog post written by Mashable regarding the best time to post on Facebook:

“Links sent between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. get the most traction, with Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. being the best time to post on Facebook all week.”

Email

5-7 a.m. seems to be the time for the most open rates for emails sent and once a month corporate email frequency gets the highest click-thru-rates, says Zarrella.

People pay the most attention to emails sent on the weekends, but people are also inclined to unsubscribe more on a Saturday or Sunday than a weekday.  

Blog Posts and Google+

Blog posts and Google+ seem to have their highest traffic at 10 a.m. with the optimal time for engagement being between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.  Men are reported to read blogs in the evening and experts warn that Google+ engagement drops significantly between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. 

Comments spike on Saturdays and Sundays (probably because people have more time to comment) but blog views take an overall dip on Saturdays. 

Pinterest and Instagram

A study conducted in 2012 and published by MediaBistro indicates that the best time to post on Pinterest is 11 p.m. 

Statigram gives us the ability to determine the times and days that our Instragram photos get the most likes. The rates of usage appear to change depending on the audience targeted. Keep in mind, however, that Instagram is less of a corporate business tool than a photo social media sharing tool. 

Many marketers use Instagram as an easy way to cross promote images on Facebook, Twitter and other social sharing sites – since it can serve as a one-stop shop. 

When it comes to social media, every platform is slightly different as are the audiences who use those platforms and those that you target.  By making the most of user engagement statistics, you can enhance your social networking presence and engage more strategically. 

Law Firms and the Internet

LAW FIRM MARKETING NEWS:

Results demonstrate conclusively that professional firms who utilize online marketing grow much faster and are significantly more profitable than ones who don’t!

Researchers found:
-Firms who generate 40% or more of their leads online grow 4 times (400%) faster than those with no online leads!
-The highest growth firms obtain an average of 63% of their leads online, while typical firms average only 12%!
-The greater the engagement with online tools, the faster the firms grew!