How to be Taken Seriously as a RE Developer/Investor?

[Sam Starbuck]

Hello, All. New BP member here. Hope to contribute as much as I take away from this site eventually. With that being said...

Want to get into retail real estate development in the Midwest. I've been watching and studying my local real estate market and retail industry for a few years now. Based on comps, it looks like real estate developers in my area are developing to 10-15% CAP and selling national IG tenants/leases for 5% CAP. In other words, they're literally doubling and tripling their TOTAL investment. Emphasis on TOTAL, because that includes borrowed capital and other people's money. Otherwise they're getting 5-6x return on equity (which seems to be 15-20% per project). I'm aware there are risks involved, but they can be mitigated/minimized, and the reward is definitely there.

There have been a few properties I've been interested in for STNL deals, but it feels like no one is taking me seriously. While I may not know EVERYTHING, I still know a A LOT. But every time I call or e-mail brokers and tenant reps, I'm mostly ignored. Its slowing chipping away at my confidence. Is it because I'm a sole prop (i.e. no firm) with a yahoo.com e-mail address? A couple of tenant reps have thanked me for my submission so quickly that I doubt that they seriously looked into it. Do they have some kind of algorithm or software that spits out a YES or NO answer? Some brokers have asked me "what my plans are for the property?", but I'm not sure if its a good idea to share with them. What's to stop them from just moving forward with my idea without me?

Doing my best to "fake it till I make it", but I don't want to be misleading either. I'm pretty good at figuring out what's missing in an area and what would be a great fit based on site specifics. While I don't have a ton of money to invest, I'm sure lenders would be willing to finance projects if a solid tenant is committed to a site (signed lease, strong DSCR, the RE would obviously be collateral, etc.).

 So far, I'm telling tenant reps they can represent me too, as way to entice them (no commission split) and to streamline the overall process. Do you guys have any suggestions? Should I hire a landlord rep to act on my behalf?

Any tips/pointers are welcome. Thanks everyone for the help and guidance. 

[Michael Jones]

Hey Sam - I'm on the verge of selling my first deal for $2.85M that I bought raw land for at $385,000. Basically just the scenario you laid out above. Happy to connect on this. You can do it. You'll swing and miss, but it's likely that they're not ignoring you outright.