Re: Robert Louis Stevenson
Have you ever been sitting at a breakfast with a group of good friends, and one of them is having some serious “real life” problems?
Next thing you know, the hothead (every group has a hothead) pipes up and almost screams “You should sue his #$$!!!”
That is usually not the best advice to give someone.
You know you have found a good attorney when they tell you to do everything you can to avoid a lawsuit. No one really wins when things go that far.
Most of the time, a simple conversation will go a long, long way.
Robert Louis Stevenson (famous writer of Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde) summed up our May WREIA topic best when he said
“Compromise is the best and cheapest lawyer.”
He’s right.
If you haven’t had a legal problem in this business you haven’t been doing it long enough.
The older, experienced, gray-haired folks at WREIA will also tell you Mr. Stevenson is 100% correct.
At some point, you will have a problem. We all have.
At the beginning of a problem let’s reflect on words from the Dalai Lama:
“When we meet real tragedy in life, we can react in two ways – either by losing hope and falling into self-destructive habits, or by using the challenge to find our inner strength.”
But before we get too sappy, sometimes, we need to go beyond finding our inner strength and find a strong lawyer.
But where is the line?
When is it time to end the conversation and get representation?
At no point have I ever felt good walking out of a courthouse. (Except years ago when I was searching tax records for property owners – but we do that online now.)
For instance – something as simple as a speeding ticket. If you go to court to ask for a little leniency from the judge – it is NERVE WRACKING. The judge is in there sending people to Jail minutes before your name is called. Feels a little silly to step up and ask for the fine to be reduced, but yeah, I did that.
The easiest advice I can give you is this – don’t get caught in a bad situation to begin with. Good communication and good contracts go a LONG way in our world.
Our WREIA speaker this month is going to give you real-life examples of mistakes that he sees new and old investors making over and over and over again. Those preventable mistakes are usually what brings people to his practice looking for legal help.
This is a great time to learn from other peoples mistakes. It could save you some serious headaches and sleepless nights down the road. Not to mention – it could save you a small fortune in legal bills.
Join me on May 14th as we talk about real estate law.
Join us and learn:
- Case Studies – Including…. Real Estate Partnerships Gone Wrong
- Financing “Loopholes” or Traps?
- Money Problems In MD Transactions
- Beware of these “legal speed bumps”
- Contractors – Buckle Up or Go Broke
- When financing goes bad – a few stories you can learn from and avoid
and more - Bring your questions for the Q&A section. Our speaker is a local attorney and long-time WREIA Member with extensive experience working with investors across the DC area.
Save a few dollars and reserve your seat early. Then, come join us at WREIA – Monday, May 14th. It will be a great meeting to finally start the spring season, get you motivated, and get some momentum for the rest of 2018.
Join us as we talk about Real Estate Legal Problems and Lawsuits.
Meet real people doing real deals in real estate – right here in the DC/Baltimore area.
Reserve your seat at this link.
John Peterson
Founder, Washington Real Estate Investors Association