All Forum Posts by: Cameron Maxey

@Chris Taylor one thing that works for me: I use a stock email that I send for first contact and I tailor slightly for each property. If their answer raises any suspicion of a scam or someone who might waste time - my response to them includes a good bit of real estate slang instead of using common terms. I’ve found that scams or those who are just putting it out for attention will not answer.

You can’t avoid it though Chris, just embrace it and use that time to get a good laugh in.

@Chris Taylor I use CL a good bit, and have found some great properties through the site. I’ve also wasted a lot of time with non-motivated sellers.

It gets easier to snuff out the “time wasting posts” with experience, just be prepared to have some very uneducated conversations and have people waste your time at first. I say it’s a good source though if used correctly

@Angela Russo thanks for sharing!  I like what you said about targeting where they live instead of just where they work, we'll give that a try next round.

I need some help BP Family...especially from the agents/brokers/marketing directors out there.  I'm looking into using GoogleAdWords & Facebook marketing to get more exposure for some of my listings.  In specific, I'm thinking about all of the listings I have that are for medical use.  

My question - has anyone ever used these marketing platforms to reach medical users/doctors?  If so, what are some keywords I should think about using, and how are you going about structuring the marketing when setting it up?  I've had success with these two platforms in the past, but for some reason I'm not getting any traction when I use it for medical related properties.  One reason for this I believe, is the fact that many doctors/physicians live rather far (over 30 min drive) from their workplace, so targeting them by location isn't reaching the audience I intend to reach.  

If you have any other suggestions on how to get in front of these users that would be greatly appreciated as well!  Thanks in advance, any insight is greatly appreciated.  

Communication.  

I have witnessed this in deals I have been apart of, as well as deals where I represented the landlord from a brokerage position.  Communication between the members of an ownership group can lead to, in my opinion, the biggest headaches and the biggest "expense".  They say the most expensive vacancy on the market is the vacant space YOU have in your own building.  I have been apart of/acted as broker for ownership groups that have so much tension and lack of communication, that by the time everyone can agree on a given issue (say...agreeing on the extent of buildout they are willing to counter-offer a prospective tenant who has submitted an offer to lease)...that tenant has usually moved on, leaving their space vacant for additional time.

This can all be avoided very easily, but when lines of communication weaken...the bottom line usually follows suit.  

@Shane Craig 

1. It will take longer, on average, to lease a commercial space.  Typically 6-9 months is what I advise clients, it can happen sooner or longer, but this is a good rule of thumb.  I am going to elaborate on the tenants in the next answer

2.  I HIGHLY recommend meeting with an attorney and have them draft a "base lease" document that you can "plug & play" with all of your tenants.  You need a lease that is tailored to your comfort level as an owner, as well as one that is in line with the financial goals you have for the property.  With multiple types of leases available in commercial, you need to make sure that the lease you are using for your tenants is doing what you thought it would do when you did your underwriting on the property.

Commercial tenants can be great, but not always.  If you are providing any extra buildout as an incentive to get a longer term lease, I'd recommend having the prospective tenant sign a "personal guarantee" for a minimum amount of the unamortized Tenant Improvement expenses that you provided as the incentive to get them into your building.  They can be great tenants, if you find the right one you'll have them as a tenant for a long time, but on the flip side they can be just as bad as the horror stories you hear about residential tenants.  Building a good relationship with your tenant goes a long way.

3. I've seen success with "loft style" apartments.  Use a split-system HVAC unit that hangs on the wall to handle all the heating & cooling, it's very cost effective and they work great for open layouts, you can hide these easily.  (Would also recommend these for the commercial space downstairs and the garage...can cut out on putting in full on HVAC units.

Don't out kick your coverage (competition) when it comes to the finishes.  Spend $ to make it look nice, don't go the cheap route, but also don't over extend yourself here and stick to your budget.  If you start seeing that you have to go above budget to make the space rentable...then that's either not the best use of the space, or the property just isn't right for you

4. Look and see if it is eligible for historic tax credits at the State or Federal level...they offer incentives for rehabilitating certain older properties

5. Study the market, find out what is working and what isn't.  Don't try to reinvent the wheel, commercial is simple as long as you don't try to take shortcuts or overthink.  

"If you were a tenant looking for new space...what would you want?" - Put yourself in their shoes so you understand both sides.  Hope this was helpful