The Ivy Group recently completed a complex, multi-party, dual agency sale in Hayward, California, involving a multi-tenant retail / office property and an adjacent vacant parcel.
The deal required managing high expectations and reaching consensus among five owners of the same property on the seller’s side, two decision makers on the buyer’s side, fair and ethical dual agency representation of both the buyer and the sellers, and coordinating across more than 20 stakeholders — all while resolving decades old environmental contamination issues and building internal teamwork at the Ivy Group.
Tim Vi Tran, SIOR, CCIM, led the project, and client communication and negotiation, Sandip Jariwala coordinated environmental updates and vendor management, and Diego Cervantes handled city research, marketing, and tour / inquiry activities. Together, they managed over 20 stakeholders, including lenders, tenants, contractors, 3rd party vendors, property manager, and city officials, ensuring consistent messaging and progress toward closing.
The Ivy Group guided both buyer and sellers through constant communication, managing realistic expectations, resolving challenges, negotiating unexpected cost splits, and keeping momentum alive during two months of additional environmental testing.
By ensuring fairness to both sides through skillful and transparent communication, the three-agent team at the Ivy Group tackled multiple seller exit strategies, tenant transitions, tight lender requirements and timeline, environmental due diligence, to navigate the deal to closing after six months in escrow.
The property was sold at a market price that all five sellers agreed on and happy with, and the daycare buyer got the green light to move in after consulting with the city and architect.
It was one of the Ivy Group’s most intricate and complex dual agency deals of the year.
This complex transaction stands as a blueprint for how to navigate multi-party deals ethically, transparently and successfully, and as a prime example of dual agency done right. It is a testament to the power of teamwork, communication, and managing high but realistic expectations.
The property was sold at a market price acceptable to all sellers, after resolving environmental concerns to the satisfaction of the buyer and lenders. The Ivy Group strengthened client relationships and set the stage for future transactions.
“When you represent both sides, you must tread carefully. Fairness, transparency, and constant communication are key, without favoring one side over the other.”
“What motivated us to take this project was more than just earning the commission, given its complexity. We took it because we knew we could solve their challenges. They chose us for our credentials (SIOR and CCIM) and track record. We saw the potential for a long-term relationship and to add value.”
When The Ivy Group was called to sell a multi-tenant retail / office property in Hayward, they didn’t just take on a listing — they took on five sellers, each with different priorities, plus a daycare buyer who asked for dual agency representation.
In November 2024, The Ivy Group received an unexpected phone call from a licensed real estate agent in Chico, California. The agent called because of a property that is outside his market expertise. He has a family connection to a multi-tenant retail / office building in Hayward and wanted to know whether The Ivy Group is qualified and experienced to take on the listing.
That agent’s mother was one of the five owners, and the family wanted to explore selling this commercial property. They had researched commercial real estate brokers in the Bay Area with SIOR and CCIM credentials — designations signaling advanced local market expertise and transaction experience.
“They looked at our bio and other brokers,” recalls Tim Vi Tran, SIOR, CCIM. “Our credentials were the deciding factor: They wanted a broker with SIOR CCIM designations. That was the deciding factor and is what landed us this client.”
The seller group — three siblings and two outside partners — each had different priorities, ranging from completing a 1031 exchange to executing a straightforward sale. Some were initially resistant to selling at all. From the outset, success depended on managing expectations and building consensus among all seller stakeholders.
As marketing began, the Ivy Group attracted interest from a daycare operator — a perfect fit for the property’s zoning, layout, and expansion location. The buyer then asked the Ivy Group team to represent her as well, creating a dual agency situation.
Dual agency representation is legal in California but requires heightened diligence, especially in transactions with multiple sellers and complex dynamics. “When you represent both sides, you must tread carefully,” Tim explains. “Fairness, transparency, and constant communication are key without favoring one side over the other.”
Dual agency has its critics — but when handled transparently and ethically, it can be the most efficient way to close a complex deal. Tim acknowledges that it can be unethical if mishandled: “It’s unethical if you force it,” he says. “We always give buyers three options: bring your own agent, represent yourself, or have us represent you. The choice is theirs. The wrong approach is cornering someone into dual agency by withholding offers, as I explained in one of the family trust property cases.”
In this case, both sides voluntarily agreed to dual representation, and the Ivy Group committed to keeping all parties equally informed — ensuring accurate, timely, and critical updates for all parties. The Ivy Group navigated the dual role with documented disclosures, full consent, and a commitment to fairness.
From the time the contracts were signed, the Ivy Team skillfully handled all communications among 20+ stakeholders, managing expectations across seven different voices in the deal.
The seller group was less than 100% unified. Three siblings and two outside partners — formerly married to each other — each held varying ownership percentages and different objectives.
Before accepting the listing agreement, Tim and his team made individual calls to every partner. “We asked each person: What’s important to you? What’s your timing? What’s your motivation?” says Tim. “We needed to understand everyone’s priorities up front to start building consensus.”
This careful approach to managing expectations was essential to keep the transaction moving forward.
Then came the environmental surprises.
The asset included the Foothill Boulevard building but also an adjacent parcel the City of Hayward had “gifted” to the owners many decades earlier. That “gift” came with its risk, cost, and complication: soil contamination from historical land use.
During the buyer’s due diligence, the environmental report from Phase 1 testing revealed a challenge: the adjacent vacant parcel — included in the sale — showed signs of past contamination. This triggered a more invasive Phase 2 investigation and additional air & vapor testings.
Phase 2 meant drilling soil samples, analyzing them in a lab, and eventually testing air vapors because the buyer planned to operate a daycare — a use with heightened safety requirements.
“The good news was that the contamination had dissipated over time,” says Tim. “It was still there, but at a level considered acceptable for daycare occupancy by the environmental guidelines.” This favorable environmental report removed a hurdle for the lenders.
The process delayed escrow by more than two months and added additional $25,000 in unexpected due diligence costs — ultimately split between buyer and sellers after careful negotiation. This solution required teamwork and ongoing consensus-building by the Ivy Team.
Internally, teamwork was essential. The Ivy Group’s three-agent team assembled for this project worked like a well-oiled machine:
“We internally discussed the project at least once a week — often more,” says Tim. “Before sharing anything externally, we made sure our team was aligned so the message to clients was consistent and agreed to.”
This internal teamwork ensured all communications with clients were accurate, timely, and supportive of managing expectations.
This transaction involved extraordinary coordination. On the seller’s side alone, there were five decision-makers. On the buyer’s side, a husband-wife team. Add in five tenants, two lenders (including the SBA and another commercial bank), environmental consultants, architect, inspector, appraiser, contractors, city officials, and The Ivy Group’s own three-agent team — and there were 20+ active participants.
The building was fully leased at the time of sale, but one tenant was month-to-month and expected to vacate for the daycare’s arrival. This added risk: if building contamination was unresolved and the buyer walked away, the sellers would be left with vacant space without an immediate replacement tenant, losing critical monthly income since the space earmarked for the daycare use is the biggest space in the building.
At one point, as environmental delays mounted, there was a real possibility the buyer might withdraw. Negotiations around extensions became delicate, with sellers understandably wary of prolonged uncertainty and additional costs.
After more than six months in escrow, countless conference calls, multiple environmental tests, and a collaborative split of unforeseen costs, the deal closed at a price all sellers and buyer happily accepted. While slightly below the initial asking price, it reflected market realities and the property’s unique environmental challenges.
“What motivated us to take this project was more than just earning the commission, given its complexity. We took it because we knew we could solve their challenges,“ Tim reflects. “They chose us for our credentials and track record. We saw the potential for a long-term relationship and value added opportunities.”
Indeed, a new long-term client relationship was born. The sellers own other Hayward properties, and conversations about future listings are already underway.
“Congratulations to all of you, finally at the finish line, closed and money in our respective accounts. As sellers’ representatives we had many hurdles to jump over and 2 phases of environmental testing to go through that required much patience and additional costs. In the end our team of Tim, Diego and Sandip were able to get us to the finish line.
I look forward to working together hopefully with your team, Tim, in the near future on another sale. First we take a deep breath and enjoy this sale and our accomplishments.”
This Hayward sale was a masterclass in dual agency, managing expectations, and high-level teamwork. Through meticulous communication, role clarity, and problem-solving, the Ivy Group kept everyone informed and on board, bringing the buyer and sellers together across a complex landscape of legal, financial, and emotional considerations — proving once again that expertise, trust, integrity, teamwork, and patience are essential in commercial real estate.
About The Ivy Group
The Ivy Group is a commercial real estate brokerage specializing in sales, leasing, and investment advisory and representation in Fremont, CA, Silicon Valley, and across the greater San Francisco Bay Area.
When you need to sell, buy, or lease a commercial property, the Ivy Group is ready to help you reach your goals with more than 100 years of combined experience in real estate, deep market insight, and professional designations including SIOR and CCIM. The Ivy Group delivers strategic solutions for complex real estate transactions with additional expertise in investment, technology and engineering. Contact us with your next real estate needs.
Copyright ©️ 2025 by Tim Vi Tran, SIOR, CCIM. All rights reserved.
