Broker with a Cause
		In an industry where connections are key, David W. Lacy has taken relationship building to the next level.     The founder of Covina-based brokerage and consulting firm Senior Realty Advisors Inc. is so focused on his clients' needs that he will actually refer them elsewhere even if it means losing a commission for himself.  "We weren't formed just to sell people's property," Lacy says of his firm.  "We want people to understand that we're all about providing information services to take care of their needs."  Formed and incorporated two years ago, Senior Realty Advisors was created to provide "specialized and candid knowledge" aimed at helping companies and individuals with the seniors housing or long-term care industries with their decision-making processes.     Several months ago, the firm struck out on its own after nearly two years of working through Ramsey-Shilling, the Los Angeles-based commercial real estate firm.  Lacy had been working as the director of senior housing and long-term care for Ramsey-Shilling, but decided to fold that division into Senior Realty Advisors at the end of last year.  As a result, Ramsey-Shilling no longer has a senior housing division.  The decision was prompted by the fact that Ramsey-Shilling is restricted to Los Angeles, while Lacy works on a national level.     These days, Lacy's firm is looking to widen it's scope.  With an internal staff of just three, the company is currently working with a national marketing analysis firm based in Dallas and a national valuation company located in San Francisco.  The majority of Senior Realty Advisors' brokerage work occurs in California and Florida, where the firm is licensed, but consulting takes the company all over the nation.  Lacy's client base, however, continues to consist mainly of regional and local operators and owners.     Lacy says his firm's mix of consulting and real estate brokerage services has been a successful combination, "primarily because I stay away from the things I don't know anything about."  This willingness to refer clients elsewhere is exactly what ensures that they will return to Senior Realty Advisors for future business.  Lacy believes in giving his clients choices.  "If it means they go to a different firm for marketing and other services down the road, they will come back to us," Lacy says.  "We are very focused on relationship building," he adds.  "My belief is that my relationship with clients should be strong enough that I can give them advice and they work with it because they trust me, not because they are contractually bound to me."