TIC & Condo Dispute Resolution & Mediation Services

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. When hiring a mediator, the most important consideration is his/her dispute resolution skills. Does this mediator sound like he/she can win not only my trust but also that of the other party in the dispute? Is he/she demonstrating a style and presence that can get us out of this dispute and back to a place where our relationship as cotenants or condo owners is stabilized and functional so we can each enjoy our respective living environments?

Remember also, when you're hiring a mediator, you aren't hiring an attorney to represent you in a litigation. (That may become necessary if the mediation fails.) Mediation is a first resort -- an opportunity for a win-win resolution before things possibly become very ugly and very costly.

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. There really aren't any secrets to share. Mediation is a proven and highly effective process that's adaptable to a very wide range of disputes. When clients allow a skilled mediator the time and space to guide them through the process, there's a very high likelihood that they will achieve a resolution. A few hours invested in mediation can make an enormous difference to the quality of their lives as cotenants or condo owners.

Q. What questions should a consumer ask to hire the right service professional?

A. Besides basic questions concerning experience and years of practice, I recommend prospective consumers to quiz mediators about how they might handle certain challenges (e.g. an obstinate party, an emotional/volatile party, a party who hasn't read the TIC Agreement or CC&Rs, etc.). In this way, the consumer can develop a sense of the substantive skills that the mediator will bring to the process. Without those skills, the mediator is unlikely to be effective.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. I enjoy people. It's rare that I don't find something likable in my clients. I also enjoy getting up to speed quickly with sometimes complex and intricate relational or financial issues and figuring out what are the antecedents (roots) of the conflict. My challenge then moves to one of guiding the parties through to a resolution that they each believe is fair and appropriate.

I use various methods to this end, usually applying skills such as summarization and validation within a facilitative or narrative mediation process. All in all, it's intellectually very stimulating -- and emotionally very gratifying when people walk out of the room, palpably relieved at having resolved an issue that was undermining their peace and tranquility in their home environment.

Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?

A. Associates told me that I had the natural presence of a diplomat and peace-maker. That, combined with my graduate studies in alternative dispute resolution, induced me to train and (later) practice as a mediator.

Q. If you have a complicated pricing system for your service, please give all the details here.

A. We don't charge any retainer (i.e. up-front fee). The mediation fee is on a pay-as-you-go basis, at an hourly rate chargeable in 10-minute increments, and payable at the end of each mediation session.

My preference is for the mediation fee to be divided equally between the parties because this ensures an equal monetary commitment to the process. However, occasionally, one party will pay a greater proportion or even all of the fee.