Large (100+ Units) Apartment Complexes

[Garry Cutright]

Hello,

I'm looking for a broker resource that has done deals on large (100+ unit) apartment complexes.  I'd like to understand more about how these deals work and things I should be on the lookout for.

If anyone can help, I'd be greatly appreciative.

Thanks,

Garry

[Mike Dymski]

Originally posted by @Dan Schwartz:

@Mike Dymski interesting post. I've often wondered about this. So, who represents a buyer, especially a newbie, in a commercial transaction? Is it simply "better learn quick, kid, 'cause you're swimming with the big boys now?" Thanks in advance....

Hey Dan. Before I purchased my small apartment community, I wondered the same thing. My SFR agent was invaluable in my success for the 10+ years prior to that; so, I was originally thinking that I would target the same thing in commercial. After calling around and meeting brokers, I learned that was not the best approach. These brokers spend years marketing to property owners and establishing relationships with them so their phone number is the first one the owner calls when they are ready to sell. Most people think that commercial brokers spend all their time selling and they are right but much of that time is spent selling to owners rather than to buyers.

Many of the multifamily brokers work in teams; so, they are already carving up and diluting the commission.

Lastly, and most important, if a broker has multiple offers and only one of them has a buyers broker, who do you think is not going to get the deal?  In this market, it's not unusual for there to be numerous offers, bidding wars, and the brokers and sellers have their choice of a buyer.

The seller's broker represents the buyer too.  You have to establish a relationship with them just like you would with any professional and get them on your side, as with any relationship in life.  The brokers dance with both parties and, for the most part, get to pick their dance partners on the buyer's side.

Being a new investor is not problematic from a knowledge standpoint.  The hard part about real estate is not it's complexity...it's a simple business model.  It's not hard to figure out if a property is a good deal or meets your criteria or not.  The hard part is finding the property and the time commitment, patience, and persistence it takes to do that.