All Forum Posts by: Mark Robinson

Matt, you can PM me and I can share our lease language.

I have dealt with other Mohr brokers from out of state and had similar experiences. It's not necessarily the broker (although yes, some are much better than others) but its also about the chain of command with the clients. A lot of these groups have a local broker, a "master broker" out of state, then a corporate contact who may also have their own chain of command internally. Essentially, you end up having so many layers of contacts, nothing happens in a timely manner and the story is never "straight". I just went through a similar situation in which I put a "deadline" on our offer and that put some fire on the deal and now I'm told we'll have a deal next week. I'd suggest that route if you can afford to risk the deal. Anything to get attention of the entire chain of command.

Devon, there are both national and local banks that will finance these properties. The most favorable financing terms will be with a long lease term left with a high credit tenant and as Joel mentioned, a solid financial statement from the buyer.

I'd be curious to hear who @Joel Owens thinks is best to finance such a deal. Any national recommendations?

Joel, I also operate mostly in retail properties, so take this with a grain of salt. My understanding is that operating expenses can average about 40% of gross income on office buildings. Like I said, I'm not in that space often, but what I've heard at least once or twice. Hopefully others can chime in.

I'd shoot for 4% on the sale. $4 per sq ft for leasing OR 4% of net rents over the lease term. That's here in our market, I am sure it's different everywhere. Good luck!

Become a member of ICSC, the International Council of Shopping Centers. Most retailers, developers, and brokers are. Go to the events including trade shows. A little late for the largest one in Vegas next week, but get signed up for the NYC show. Good luck!

Jeremy, you may have already found someone, but if not, I was born and raised in West Des Moines, and can point you in the right direction to either a broker or potential JV partner. PM me if you're still looking. Thanks!

Yes, it's taboo to go behind the listing brokers back and try to communicate, IF the listing broker is doing a good job communicating back to you or your broker. Not that it never happens. 

I think you should communicate to the listing broker you may have an interest in purchasing. If he is not willing or able to communicate that, look in tax records and on the internet to find the owner to contact them direct and ask if he'd sell. He may be relieved.

If you need the capital, bring in a local investor to JV with you. If it's a good deal as is and the investor has you as an additional tenant, it should make some good sense and finding an investor to JV with shouldn't be a problem.

Good luck!

I'd agree with Michael. Go to a big firm, where they will start you in research or if you're lucky, as a junior broker. Figure out beforehand if you can, what area you want to go into--apartments, retail, office, industrial, investment sales, etc. Once you've defined that category, go find the best team or individual broker in that segment and persistently ask for coffee or lunch. Show how bad you want it and why.

I would echo what @Allan Glass said. I'm working on a number of $10M+ deals and none have buyer brokers. Customarily if a buyer broker existed they would need to be paid by the buyer, and sometimes are. As for referral fee, typically this is 15%, but I've seen it go up to 50%, depending on how much value the referring party adds. Again, Allan has a good point there. Best thing you can do in these size deals is get the listing as the sellers agent.