Interviewing your Commercial Realtor – It isn’t as scary as you think

When you call up a Commercial Realtor, there is going to be some give and take. You are going to have your list of questions that you want to ask, and they are going to have theirs. As long as you are prepared to answer their questions and you are professional about the questions that you ask, you will be better able to assess if this is a relationship that will work or if you need to call the next Realtor. You would never just interview one person to be your property manager, why would you just interview one Commercial Realtor? Your Realtor is one of the key players on your power team, you want to make sure that you get a good one.

Your Realtor is going to want to assess your level of investing and whether or not you are qualified to purchase the properties that you are interested in. If they feel that you are not able to purchase self-storage investment opportunities, then they may be unwilling to put in the time and effort that you need to get the best deals out there.

You need to be prepared to answer these questions when your Realtor asks. Know what your price limit is or what you feel that you and your partners can afford. If you know that you can afford anything then tell the Realtor that as long as the numbers look good you are interested. However, if you know that you have a price limit that you are comfortable with, let them know. You do not want them wasting their time or yours with properties that you are not willing to purchase.

If they ask about your past experience but you do not have any commercial experience, pump up your residential experience. Let them know that you will need their guidance as you enter into this new realm of investing. You do not always have to be a pro. Everyone is new at some point in their career.

When you are interviewing them, start by verifying their area of expertise, there is no reason to spend a lot of time answering their questions if they don’t even work in self-storage. Be direct, “Do you work in self-storage?” “How many self-storage properties have you sold?” “What kind of current inventory do you have?” You want to get a feel for their experience level. Make sure that you feel comfortable working with them. If you are new, make sure that you feel that they can help mentor you in your current market.

Your Realtor can make a huge different between your success and your failure. Make sure that you take the time to find someone who can not only help you find properties, but that can help mentor you through the experience. If you would like additional help, our mastery programs and mentoring allow people to reduce the risk of their investments by using our knowledge, our network, and our experience. And we have been helping self-storage storage investors to achieve their goals for over 15 years. As always, happy investing.