The Importance of Driving a Market

Get Out There and Drive!

If you are a seasoned real estate owner, broker, investor or entrepreneur you know that the best deals in real estate both in residential and commercial never make it to the market.
The best deals are discovered through self-effort and discovery. The best deals are discovered by those who drive the markets they are pursuing and actively seek opportunity.
My most recent success this past year was in a town called Espanola, NM (picture). Espanola is unique in the fact that it is a very tight market that is controlled by a select few individuals. The town however serves as a main trade center for all the surrounding areas. There is a tremendous amount of money for retailers to make in this market however there is hardly any suitable retail space in this town.

I was working with a developer and had two national companies in tow for development. The developer was having difficulties from other property he was pursuing. He was trying to make a project pencil with a land cost of 1.3 million for 3 acres. In short, there was no way to get this project to be profitable at that price point. He was telling me about this situation and gave me the challenge of find an alternative.
Being the broker I am and following this principal, I hit the road and traveled to the town to drive every crevice of the market to see what opportunity I could discover. About half way through the day, I drove past an old shut down gas station that had broken windows, torn up facade and looked abandoned. I approached the gas station and discovered there was still a sign from a previous business owner with a phone number on it. I called the number and surprisingly the gentleman picked up the phone. He informed me of the owners name and told me that the landowner also owned the land directly across the main road that was situated directly by the Walmart. Coincidently the retailers that I had in tow for development wanted to be directly next to the Walmart.  
In short, the land owner agreed to sell the 4 acres of land for $800,000 with a 10% commission. I found the developer more acreage for $500,000 less than the deal he was previously pursuing.
I made a net of $40,000 off of this transaction by simply driving the market and discovering opportunity.
Now, go out there and make some money. If you are pursuing opportunity in markets that are out of reach, get in touch with a aggressive, hungry real estate broker ( like myself) that will do this exercise for you.

Happy Investing,
Clayton King
NAI Maestas & Ward
Albuquerque, NM 87109
Cell- 505-263-8531