Why Would I Hire a Commercial Broker?

[Mark Hulsey]

Property Owner: “Give me one good reason to hire a commercial broker? I don’t know that you do anything I can’t do!”

Commercial Broker: “Hmmm. Great question. What do we really do? Well…”

We sort through all commercial data

We go in the dark vacant buildings

We build the Rent Roll

We figure out the disposition value

We write the PA

We wait for the Buyer who doesn’t show up

We calculate the Cap Rate

We negotiate the best terms

We verify rentable vs usable SF

We pick up the earnest deposit check

We meet the photo/video guy

We pay the photo video guy

We build the Pro Forma

We tour in -20 degrees

We over-pay for the commercial data

We work with the Lawyers

We meet the Inspector at the property

We write the LOI

We redline the LOI

We see the rat in the dry toilet

We market the property everywhere

We pay all marketing costs

We make the drone videos

We talk to all of the nonqualified buyers

We draft the Cancellation to PA

We order the Survey

We send the listing to all commercial brokers

We talk to the City

We get all the phone calls

We return all the phone calls

We pay for the For Sale signs

We install the For Sale Signs

We handle all emails

We open escrow

We write the second PA

We write the third PA

We pick up the Floor Plans

We draft the Amendment

We target buyers in other states

We save the deal

We get the Estoppel Certificates

We explain SBA financing

We review the Leases

We negotiate lender consent

We draft the 2nd Amendment

We show the property when you’re on vacation

We build the FF&E list

We verify inventory pre-closing

We handle the final walkthrough

We update the snowy pictures

We provide the tenant contractor names

We give the buyer our banker contacts

We meet the Appraiser

We challenge the appraisal

We study the P&L

We review the Balance Sheet

We handle all property tours

We verify the Certificate of Occupancy

We send the NDA

We structure the deal

We verify the CD terms

We calculate cash-on-cash return

We call the tenants before the tour

We pay for the premium listings

We order the CIC docs

We challenge the Tax Assessor

We talk to the Licensing Department

We get the Roofer access

We pay for the advertising

We update the As-Built plans

We meet with the Watershed District

We order the Wetland Delineation

We call FEMA

We call FEMA again

We verify Soil Borings

We coordinate the Septic Inspection

We talk to cops when the alarm goes off

We talk to the Lender about the Buyer

We check on all city permits pulled

We run the 5 year Discounted Cash-Flow

We email the property to our 26,000 contacts

We go to the Zoning Board meeting

We order the Phase I Environmental

We study & challenge the Phase I Environmental

We order the Phase I I Environmental

We process the Cancellation of PA

We talk to the angry neighbor

We talk to the nosey neighbor

We work on the encroachment issue

We deal with the agent at night

We explain the market trends

We order the Title Commitment

We review the Title Commitment

We pay for the property postcards

We pay to mail the property postcards

We slip on the ice after the tour

We build the 25 page OM

We verify the Settlement Statement

We show the damp moldy basement

We confirm the wire transfer

We make our Sellers a lot more money!

Property Owner: “Okay. Well, I’m still interviewing brokers. I’ll get back to you once I decide. “

Commercial Broker: “No problem. I’ll get docs ready. Talk to you next week.”

[Steve Morris]

Kinda optimistic, but I guess it's a list.  

As an example for Phase I, the seller needs to order/pay for them since he is the interested party.  As far as studying them, why would a broker have any expertise at all besides reporting them?  You're not going to tell someone to forget about the dry cleaner that used to be there for example.

I'm a broker and outside of calling right people at the right time, once they get a listing, a lot of them do the de minimus to make a deal happen beyond being a negotiating agent.

I'd also say, when they start asking 6% commissions, it's really hard to justify that in terms of actual actions.