When we last checked in with Jason Chmielewski, founder and managing attorney of JMC Law Group, in 2020, he was building out his team to help change the often negative view of attorneys through relationship building and exceptional communication. “As is evidenced by the number of bad lawyer jokes out there, lawyers have a bad reputation for impersonal service and for leaving clients hanging,” says Jason. Since then, amidst the constantly changing market and client expectations, his commitment to providing exceptional service has only increased.

“I know the key to success in business is communicating with your clients in a timely manner and building a relationship with them so they feel comfortable coming to you with any issues they may encounter,” says Jason. “It might seem like a simple thing, but I think a lot of attorneys fail to do this for their clients.”

This prioritization of his client relationships means he also places great emphasis on having strong partnerships with REALTORS®—to him, the two go hand in hand. Many of his referrals over the years have come from real estate agents who value his integrity, consistent and reliable communication, and positive results.

“As a real estate agent, clients will take your referrals without question,” Jason notes. “So be sure that the people you work with, such as attorneys and lenders, are high performers who truly care about their clients. Otherwise, it can sour the whole experience.”

Jason sees himself as a key protector and advocate for his clients throughout each engagement. That includes looking out for pitfalls that clients can’t see coming and watching out for details that may cause a deal to collapse in the end. 

“When sales fall through on a listing, an agent may have to re-list the property at a lower price.  That's one reason why there's so much value in keeping deals together. Keeping deals together in our current market is also one of our biggest challenges, but that's where I help my agents shine,” states Jason. 

In these cases, Jason stresses how crucial it is for all parties involved to work together, share information, and pull in the same direction. "If special assessments, inspection results, and other details are not shared openly, you risk losing a transaction at the last minute, and when a home has to go back on the market, it gets kinda tainted, albeit often unfairly,” he adds. Jason’s experience and ability to think outside the box often keeps even complicated deals together.

Here’s a great example: Jason was the second attorney to get involved with a seller who had a failed sale on their listing—things had fallen apart at the finish line—so the sellers were in a stressful situation. Jason’s firm reached out to buyers from the original pool of interested parties and encouraged them to rebid on the property. After five weeks under contract, however, the new buyer was denied a mortgage loan. That’s when Jason sprang into action.

“I got on the phone with my lender and worked with the buyer’s attorney to develop some options. We didn’t want the home to go back on the market a third time,” shares Jason. “I came up with the idea of seller financing for the homeowner, but after speaking with my lender, I felt confident that he could get the loan closed.” 

“This was all happening right before Christmas, so I worked to keep my clients calm,” he adds. “I knew that if the deal fell apart, they would lose about $100,000. In the end, we got the loan done and we were able to keep the deal together. My clients, my agent, and the buyers were thrilled.”

Jason says that in other instances, his vast network can also protect buyers from making uninformed decisions. A buyer client of his was under contract to purchase a vacant lot. The buyer was assured they could build on the property. For the location, the list price seemed to be a great deal, but Jason’s instincts told him that it looked too good to be true, so Jason dug into his knowledge base and resources, and confirmed his instincts were correct.

“It was a unique piece of property, so I was suspicious,” he says. “It’s not necessarily my job to do so, but I pulled in an architect to see if we could build on the lot. As it turned out, because of an obscure zoning rule, you could not build there.”

So informed, the buyer pulled out of the deal and was saved the disappointment of learning about this zoning rule after they had completed the purchase. Recently, a similar “too good to be true” deal had other clients interested in a property. Once again, Jason called on his resources and revealed that the adjacent lot was ineligible for building on. Jason’s instincts, previous experience, and knowledge helped steer his clients clear of this mistake.

“We don’t want our REALTOR® partners and our clients to have to resell their property ten times,” says Jason. “We also don’t want clients to purchase homes they regret. At JMC Law Group, we want to work smarter, not harder, so we bring extra skills, knowledge, and our network relationships to the table to get things done. It’s a win-win for everyone.”