The counselor
& the closer

One reads every clause. One gets every deal signed. Attorney Kristen King Jaiven and broker Ben G. Schachter break down real estate the way it actually works. From contracts to negotiations and the market, we explain it all.

The Counselor & The Closer — hosts Kristen King Jaiven, Esq. and Ben G. Schachter, Broker

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Meet the Hosts

Two sides of every deal

Kristen King Jaiven, Esq.
The Counselor

Kristen King Jaiven, ESQ.

Real Estate Attorney

Kristen King Jaiven, Esq. is an attorney that focuses her practice on the representation of small businesses, including real estate brokerages and other related business ventures. Kristen has experience with DBPR investigations, Board of Realtor complaints, commission disputes, and brokerage compliance matters. She also assists with commercial leasing, corporate operations, and implementing robust marketing plans for various types of business ventures.

Kristen currently represents the 4th Appellate District on the Florida Realtor-Attorney Joint Committee and serves as Co-Chair of the Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Section’s (RPPTL) Residential Real Estate and Industry Liaison Committee. Kristen also serves on the Florida Bar Consumer Protection Law Committee and on the Board of Directors of Signatures Gives Back, Inc.

Previously, Kristen served as the General Counsel and Vice President of The Signature Real Estate Companies – one of the largest privately-owned real estate brokerages in the state of Florida – and as in-house counsel for American Tower Corporation focusing on commercial real estate. During law school, Kristen clerked for the South Florida Water Management District focusing on environmental enforcement matters. Prior to becoming an attorney, Kristen had a rewarding career as a paralegal and regulatory compliance specialist with Hilton Grand Vacations.

When not working, Kristen enjoys beach days or hiking with her son and husband and spending time with her dogs.

Ben G. Schachter
The Closer

Ben G. Schachter

Broker

Ben G. Schachter is the Real Estate Broker and President of Boca Raton-based The Signature Real Estate Companies.  Ben’s role is critical to Signature’s day-to-day operations and long range goals and his unique and extremely effective hands-on management style ensures top down quality control and proper delegation of tasks for an extremely diverse organization.

As an undergraduate at The University of Florida, Ben majored in Political Science and gained valuable experience working part-time at a Gainesville real estate brokerage.  He quickly concluded that real estate was his passion. Upon graduation in 2000, Ben relocated to South Florida, where he became an integral part of his family’s mortgage banking business.  He continued his real estate career, concentrating on the luxury and ultra-luxury real estate markets as well as commercial real estate development, which allowed him to develop valuable experience working hands-on with sophisticated customers from around the world. In 2006, Ben joined The Signature Real Estate Companies and soon became President and one of the firm’s owners. Under Ben’s leadership, Signature has grown to 16 residential and commercial real estate brokerage offices with over 1,500+ Real Estate Professionals!  Signature’s exponential growth is evidenced by its approximately 5,000 annual resale and rental transactions, which ranked Signature as the #1 Real Estate Brokerage in Boca Raton for transaction volume, #2 in all of Palm Beach County for transaction volume, and #4 in all of South Florida for transaction volume according to the 2022 Real Trends 500 Report.

With Ben’s guiding hand, Signature has also successfully ventured into several other real estate related industries, including Signature Title Group, LLC, an attorney-owned and operated title insurance company, Signature Gives Back, a 501(c)(3) which organizes a myriad of volunteer and fundraising events for the local communities, Signature Choice Mortgage Group, LLC, providing homeowners with the best real estate financing programs available, Signature School of Real Estate, LLC, a fully-accredited real estate licensing and educational school, Signature Photography, LLC, , your one-stop-shop real estate marketing and creative company, offering premium quality photography, videos, Virtual Tours, and much more, Signature Commission Advance, LLC, allowing agents to get same day funds on transactions,Signature Insurance Advisors, LLC, a full-service insurance agency, Signature Moving & Storage, LLC, a privately owned and operated company that has been helping families and businesses with their moving needs, throughout Florida, since 2009, Signature Background & Screening, LLC, offers all of the parties to a real estate rental transaction the ease of determining the best fit between person and home, Signature Home Warranty, LLC, lowering your risk when it comes to surprise appliance and system breakdowns, Signature Construction Company, LLC, your source for quality construction with over a decade of experience serving Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties, and Signature Senior Placement, LLC, a senior community placement service.

Ben is a Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker, Real Estate Instructor and Property Manager and has earned the prestigious Graduate REALTOR® Institute (GRI)® designation. With unrivaled passion, a constant hunger for success, an unmatched support for his co-workers and an aggressive plan for growth, Ben is taking Signature in a very positive direction by focusing on the firm’s industry-first, “Agent Centric” culture that can be seen throughout the organization.

Ben is a loving husband and proud father and lives in Boynton Beach with his wife Jodi, two sons, Max and Brody, daughter, Sloane and the family’s two dogs, London and Aspen.

About the Show

Real estate, from contract to closing table

Kristen and Ben sit down with the questions South Florida buyers, sellers, and agents actually ask and answer them from both sides of the table: the legal side and the deal side.

Browse the archive

Contracts & Closings

What's actually enforceable, what's negotiable, and where deals go wrong.

Negotiation

Real tactics from real deals. How to ask, when to hold, when to walk.

Market Trends

Straight talk on pricing, rates, and inventory. No hype, no filler.

Client Q&A

Real questions from listeners, answered by the counselor and the closer.

Never Miss a Deal

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