Disclose, Disclose, Disclose... So the beat goes on. Last week, the federal government indicted eight more Enron executives charging them with "deception on a grand scale," including (I love this) "lying about the state of the company's technology." (New York Times, May 2, 2003) And five Wall Street firms agreed to pay $1.4 billion in fines after admitting that they paid other companies to write "research reports" on stocks that they had underwritten. Oops.

By comparison, the real estate industry looks squeaky clean. We generally do a good job disclosing potential conflicts. (See January 7, 2003, Dispatch, Are Broker-Owners Better?) Of course, disclosure doesn't necessarily mean that we all agree. One of the spirited exchanges at April's PikeNet Forum was between Michael Dow, CEO of CRESA Partners, and Steven Weinstock, Associate Director - National Multi Housing Group at Marcus & Millichap.

In describing Cresa Partners' business model, Dow outlined his company's "exclusive corporate space user representation" policy to support its "strategic, long-term advisory approach." "No way" could Cresa Partners ever represent a buyer and a seller simultaneously. "Way" shot back Weinstock, who described how he had recently presented multiple offers on a property, including offers in which he was a dual agent.

The key, according to Weinstock, is complete, timely, and accurate disclosure. Principals can then weigh all relevant factors and make a sound decision. The emphasis is not so much on counseling a client as on facilitating a free-market bargaining process. On the flip side, Dow sees counseling as the critical ingredient and argues that you simply cannot advise two sides simultaneously. It was a fun debate about the proper role of middlemen (and middlewomen!) in our industry.

--Peter Pike