Should I use a broker when making an unsolicited offer?

[Ken P.]

A small team including property management company owner, key principal, additional key person, and I are considering making an offer for one or more 100+ unit apartment complexes in our area that we believe are being operated far below potential.  As a team we have operational experience in managing complexes of this size, and in raising funds, but no one on the team has made offers to purchase anything off-market before.   

My question - would we be wise to involve a local commercial property broker when we prepare our LOI and PA, and, if the recommendation is to do so, what do you see as the benefits of involving a commercial RE broker in the purchase process?

It's clear when the broker is listing a property what value they bring to the transaction, but when we are approaching a seller who hitherto had no plans to sell, it's not clear (at least to me) what value the broker brings besides a BOV.  A BOV alone doesn't seem like enough to justify paying a broker standard fees, but if there are other benefits to having one involved then we'd be willing to pay to have them be part of the transaction.

[Account Closed]

The LOI is really not binding. You should have the key deal points negotiated in the LOI. If you are comfortable with the LOI, the contract is what is used to get all the details down and your attorney will help you with that. If you think you know what you are doing due diligence wise then, it should be pretty straight forward. No real value add to having a buyer broker in my opinion.