As our President just gave his big State of the Union speech, it is a good reminder of the need to manage your own "unions" or joint ventures or partnerships. Our office helps investors put joint ventures together, but we also help two or more partners when disputes arise, either to resolve those disputes amicably or, if necessary, through mediation, arbitration or court. In these financially-troubled times, unfortunately, we're seeing an increase in such disputes.
Recently, I appeared on "The Real Estate Guys" radio show to discuss this very topic. The show summary is below and you can click here to listen to that show now.
"Like marriages, partnerships can be beautiful or disastrous. On this broadcast, The Real Estate Guys talk to a practicing attorney who says there are things you can do to prevent problems before it's too late!
The parallels between marriage and partnerships are many, including the statistic that most break-ups are caused by financial pressures. With so many properties down in value and funding for projects nearly impossible to come by, many partnerships are in trouble. But in the midst of the carnage, are there lessons to be learned? After seeing many promising partnerships hit the skids, Attorney Jeff Lerman shares his front line experiences with The Real Estate Guys.
Jeff reveals the #1 mistake most partners make and tells us exactly how to avoid it. Like many things in life, the right things are easy to do, but they're also easy not to do. Unfortunately, the price of neglect can be very high.
Jeff also shares his #1 tip for working through challenging times with your partner(s). Some issues can be avoided. Others simply have to be dealt with. Jeff describes what he calls "the most important factor" in diffusing partnership tensions. He also shares several of the red flags he looks for in order to avoid getting into a problem partnership in the first place."
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Now it's your turn. What's the single most important lesson--positive or negative--you have learned from your personal experience about doing business with partners? Comment below.
