What we got together to discuss is a mutual project we are starting. However, the discussion turned to real estate, which isn't a surprise given he has heard my life story. He is in the early stages of investing and he was picking my brain for useful items so he could grow what he is doing. That's all well and good, but I am not his agent. His agent is Bryan--
someone else who's Venn Diagram of life keeps interacting with mine.
I explained to Robbie I wasn't giving him investment advice--though I was answering pointed questions with my knowledge and experience. So, call it what you will. We talked for an hour or so and hopefully he came away with a game plan.
My next call was to Bryan to tell him I talked serious investing with his client. Bryan was cool--I knew he would be (and I told Robbie I would be calling Bryan after we talked). But that doesn't change a perceived and potential breach of ethics if Bryan wanted to look at it in another way. I doubt I told Robbie anything Bryan hadn't said, which made it easy. However, I took a different approach than Bryan.
In the end, I suggested Robbie wasn't ready to jump into bigger and better. He needed another few units under his belt if he wanted to maximize his investments. Then, he gave me a great compliment, "I would have had to have paid more than $10,000 for this advice if I had gone to a seminar." True, but in this case, Robbie got what he paid for and I got a glass of tea, a great conversation and time with a friend.
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