Is Buying with Commercial RE Agent Really Important?

[Nir]

Hi All,

I understand some RE agents are certified Commercial RE agents.

Is it really important to work only with Commercial RE Agents when
buying an apartment building (say 10-plex) or is it actually not that important at all?

Is it required by the banks? (for some reason I don`t think so)

THANKS.

 

[gwasser]

QUOTE (investmart @ Dec 27 2009, 02:57 PM) Hi All,

I understand some RE agents are certified Commercial RE agents.

Is it really important to work only with Commercial RE Agents when
buying an apartment building (say 10-plex) or is it actually not that important at all?

Is it required by the banks? (for some reason I don`t think so)

THANKS.

If you feel that a commercial or any other realtor is not worth the commissions that you pay then why use one?

To obtain a mortgage, you may want to use a mortgage broker, but that is your choice. I think that the real value a realtor offers you in general is advise in a real estate purchase, help in locating the appropriate property, help with negotiating an appropriate price and finally help with closing the deal. If you can do that all by yourself and it is worth your time, why would you need a realtor?

In case of residential real estate, you can use the public MLS system to identify appropriate properties. A realtor who pays for and through his real estate board owns the MLS database will of course have access to more data including that of past sales. But if you don`t need that data for purchasing a property than why use a realtor?

In case of commercial real estate, there is a database as well like the MLS but it is far from complete. If you have the information, expertise and contacts to locate a suitable commercial property, why would you would need a commercial realtor?

So to answer your question do you really need a commercial realtor? No... not really, unless...

 

[Nir]

Thank you Godfried.

Sorry if my question was not clear. I actually know I want to hire a realtor. My question is should I look for a commercial realtor or does it not really matter?

In other words, investors who buy apt. buildings with help from a realtor - do they usually work with a certified commercial realtor or with a regular RE agent in most cases? How important/common/significant is it to hire a commercial specialty trained realtor for the purpose of purchasing an apartment building?

(I`m guessing it is not that common/important but not sure.)

Regards,
Neil.

 

[markl]

Hi Neil,

It is not about a specially trained realtor. I think what you would like is to work with a realtor who is also an investor himself in that type of product. Buying commercial buildings is all about connections as the majority of them never get to the MLS system. If you would like a realtor who invests in these types of properties and helps others to buy as well send me an email and I will give you their contact info.

[email protected]

Regards,

 

[Nir]

Thanks Mark. based on the responses so far, it sounds like this "commercial certification" I asked about does not even exist or not worth the paper it is written on since
investors do not care about it.

 

[Thomas Beyer]

QUOTE (investmart @ Dec 27 2009, 02:57 PM) Hi All,

I understand some RE agents are certified Commercial RE agents.

Is it really important to work only with Commercial RE Agents when
buying an apartment building (say 10-plex) or is it actually not that important at all?

Is it required by the banks? (for some reason I don`t think so)

THANKS.

it is not required .. but knowledge is always helpful !

to my knowledge there is no "sub-class" certification for realtors as in
"certified in apartment buildings" or
"certified only in townhouses" or
"industrial lease expert"

Hence many a realtor thinks he knows everything about ANY asset class.

Pick a realtor that KNOWS s.th. about the asset class in question, be they trailer parks, industrial, apartment buildings ..

Some realtors are great assets to have on your side .. but many are often just a drag and want their commission even if they almost screwed up the deal !

 

[brentdavies]

A commercial realtor is not required for a purchase of 10 suite. A good realtor with lots of experience can be a help on the purchase of a 10 suiter. As the purchaser, you don`t directly pay the commission.

There is 40 steps in buying a commercial property, and the average residential realtor will have dealt with only 20 of the steps. For a 10 suite building, skipping a few critical steps is okay, but when buying 50 units projects, it can be an investor killer.

As an investor and REALTOR who owns both single family and multi family apartments, I discovered there is 2 approaches for investing in real estate.

One is to do it yourself, without the help of professionals and learn the process by the school of hard knocks. The lone wolf approach.

The second method, is to use the right professionals and learn from them. The seasoned real estate investor approach.

Your choice.

 

[gwasser]

QUOTE (investmart @ Dec 27 2009, 10:10 PM) Thank you Godfried.

Sorry if my question was not clear. I actually know I want to hire a realtor. My question is should I look for a commercial realtor or does it not really matter?

In other words, investors who buy apt. buildings with help from a realtor - do they usually work with a certified commercial realtor or with a regular RE agent in most cases? How important/common/significant is it to hire a commercial specialty trained realtor for the purpose of purchasing an apartment building?

(I`m guessing it is not that common/important but not sure.)

Regards,
Neil.
Hi Neil,

Yes I misunderstood your question. As you may have noted on my e-mail sign offs, I am going through the process of getting my realtor license. After investing for a number of years in real estate and for many years in the stock market, I now have the time to look at the otherside of the fence (not necessary behind the curtain though).

As part of my realtor morphosis, I just learned about commercial realty which (amongst others) deals with full fledged apartments (those things 10 stories and higher or possibly a small 10 door building). When you are in this market you definitely want to work with a realtor with lots of experience in that field and they call themselves Commercial Realtors or something like that. They are not having a special license and often they are not a member of the local real estate board (because they usually don`t use the MLS). So yes in two or three weeks, with my new license, I could sell you a nice apartment building but...

Really, you wouldn`t want to work with me, because big aparments are true hard core investments with many details to understand, you need to be like Thomas, a real estate investor extraordinaire. For a four-plex or 8-plex most realtors that understand your objectives will do. The key here is "understand your objectives". Because your objectives as a REIN member are probably beyond many run of the mill realtors.

If you don`t have one yet, just start here on the REIN forum and ask explicitely for a realtor in your area with expertise in investment properties. I would even post what specific type of properties you have in mind.

Because, that is basically what every realtor tries to do, to help you find the property that fits you. So the clearer you are in your mind about what you want, the better your realtor can help you find the property that matches your needs.

 

[RobertDiMatteo]

In Ontario all real estate agents selling residential real estate are able to sell multi-family and apartment builldings including any industrial and commercail real estate.
I would encourage you to use an agent that has experinece in multi family/ apartment building sales as this would be an incredible asset at time of offer presentation and negotiation.
Robert Di Matteo

 

[Nir]

Thank you everynoe for the great advice!

 

[Mike Milovick]

QUOTE (ThomasBeyer @ Dec 28 2009, 11:52 AM) to my knowledge there is no "sub-class" certification for realtors as in
"certified in apartment buildings" or
"certified only in townhouses" or
"industrial lease expert"

There are actually certified commercial realtors. I am one. They are certified by CREA.

Other professionals choose to expand their commercial real estate education though CCIM and other programs. The CCIM designation is the internationally recognized "MBA" of Commercial Real Estate.

For most people, going to their general physician works out great. Doctor hears their concerns and prescribes some sort of strategy to address problem. For more elaborate needs, specialists are required. Same thing for realtors.

Both realtors being equal, if I had, as a consumer, a choice between a certified commercial specialist and a regular realtor, I would probably look at the certified specialist as the more qualified candidate with the bigger toolbox to help me with my purchase.

Mike

 

[kir]

Are there any REIN members belonging to any of the CCIM chapters?

 

[housingrental]

Hi Kir,

Realtor Mike Milovick the above poster might be if you want to email him. (I`m not sure he reads the forum often)

 

[Thomas Beyer]

QUOTE (investmart @ Dec 27 2009, 02:57 PM) ..

Is it really important to work only with Commercial RE Agents when buying an apartment building (say 10-plex) or is it actually not that important at all?
useful: yes .. required: no

QUOTE (investmart @ Dec 27 2009, 02:57 PM) ..
Is it required by the banks? (for some reason I don`t think so)
no