Finding Commercial Deals

[C W]

In terms of getting commercial deals, esp. apartment buildings, what are the best ways to get deals?

I'm planning on doing direct mailings, but any other ideas? Broker relationships are good too, but ideally I'd like to get to the sellers before they hit the market.

[Will Barnard]

If you can find an experienced broker to work with, they often getr "pocket listings" or know of properties from several soucres which will be for sale, but are not currently listed. That is one way.
Another is to generate lists of property owners who have a 50% or less financed ratio to property value and send them a mailer. You can also look for notes coming due and send them a mailer.

Word of mouth. Tell everyone you know you are in the market for commercial apartment buildings. You never know when someone will knock on your door.