EQUITY SAVER PLUS REALTY

Description of Work: Theresa Lobdell, the owner of Equity Saver Plus, was engaged to market and lease space in our commercial property in Cary, NC. She misrepresented true facts in her advertising of the property (which she was made to correct) and while did bring tenants to the building during 2012, she manipulated the negotiation process in what appeared to be deliberate attempts to withhold critical information from both tenant and landlord. Examples: 1) When pressed to produce a prospective tenant's business plan (a start-up) she refused to do so. The owners need critical financial information/projections before spending tens of thousands of dollars on upfitting a tenant's space, obviously. A broker's duty is to her client, yet Theresa would not produce this crucial data and instead ended the negotiation; 2) A non-conforming prospect was interested in leasing a larger space than current zoning allows. Theresa incorrectly stated the Town of Cary procedure and timeline regarding rezoning, either due to incompetence or intention. Either circumstance is unacceptable and unprofessional. Theresa insisted that leases be drawn up before the zoning procedure was clarified (when, in fact, it was already a known fact that the timing of any rezoning would prevent the tenant from leasing), costing wasted time and attorney expenses; 3) Theresa's commission split of 3/3 is not the standard adhered to by the majority of commercial real estate brokers. This was fine, since it is up to the brokers and clients to set their fees and splits. We only warned Theresa that she needed to make her unconventional split known to other brokers (who were likely expecting a 4/2 split) in order to avoid conflicts. She failed to do so twice and she was then instructed to get her commission arrangement put in writing before negotiations were undertaken. She again failed to do so with the next broker and stated that the ensuing problem was not hers, that she would not split 4/2 and that if the deal fell through because of her split, then tough for both parties. Ethics much? I could go on, but these are representative of 'working' with Theresa. We are currently in the process of reporting her negligence and breach of duties to the Real Estate Commission.