Sarah Castor and John Gay began their boutique real estate company, Strictly Commercial, 30 years ago when there were few firms focused on protecting tenants. Castor’s husband, Craig Castor, joined them as co-owner and principal, and the company had been in business about 20 years when it merged with international commercial real estate firm Cresa
Cresa’s values aligned very well with those of Strictly Commercial. Both firms shared a desire to approach each interaction as ethically as possible while representing only tenants, instead of working from “both sides of the table” — a place where even the most well-intentioned might find themselves compromised.
“A typical broker has a fiduciary responsibility to the landlord, precluding a fiduciary to the tenant,” said Sarah Castor, principal of Cresa’s Orlando operation, along with Gay. “Therefore, protecting the tenant’s interests comes secondary to the landlord’s bottom line. It’s very difficult for a listing broker to tell a landlord, ‘I’m exclusively working on your behalf to protect your bottom line’ and then go out and represent tenants and tell them honestly, ‘I’m going to get you the best deal possible.’ It can be a real conflict.”
Read the full article in i4 Business Magazine here.