How Do You Find Your Power Team?

As you start networking, you are going to find friends, family members and coworkers who know someone in the real estate industry. This is fantastic. The best introduction you can get is from someone you know.

Your friends and family want to help you. They want to see you do well. They also want their other friends to do well too. If they can facilitate a situation where they are able to help both of you, that is satisfying for them. In addition, if they call up their friend who is a commercial Realtor and say, “I have a friend who is looking for self-storage, can you help them?” That is a great introduction. This is a way for them to take you seriously.

When you find a commercial Realtor, understand that the first agent may not be the right fit for you. You may have to work with several agents before you find the perfect agent. You may find that you work with multiple agents. If you are in a large enough area, you can’t have a Realtor that specializes in everything. You will need agents that specialize in each area of self-storage. If you don’t like an agent, don’t burn the bridge, you never know when you will be making an offer on one of their properties. This is a small world.

You also need to find a great commercial lender. While you might have several commercial Realtors, you will probably only have a few commercial lenders. You want a lender that specializes in SBA loans so that you can get into these properties with a minimal down payment. You are going to work with lenders who have more creative options out there for you and your partners. You are going to want a local lender that understands your market. Each of these lenders brings something different to the table. Having someone you know vouch for you is a great start to a relationship with a lender.

Another crucial member of your power team is your title company. They are going to help you with the research that needs to be done on the properties that you find. Find out what services your title company offers. Many of them will provide you with mailing lists.

In addition to knowing people in the commercial real estate world, they may know builders, roofers, plumbers, electricians, and other people who can help you if you need to convert or fix up a property. These are also potential leads for repairs to the property.

Don’t be afraid to talk to the people that you know. They are a wonderful resource for finding the people that you need. They can introduce you to wonderful contacts who can introduce you to other wonderful contacts until your power team is completely full. As always, happy investing.