After two years at Inventure Real Estate I recently made the switch from Real Estate Associate to Real Estate Advisor. As I looked back at the last two years some quotes came to mind that I have heard again and again at the office. I thought it would be beneficial to expand on them and provide my own take on what they mean and why they are important to understand for any person looking to buy, sell, or lease commercial real estate.
“No Two Deals are the Same”
At its core real estate revolves around sales. Although maximum client satisfaction stands as my most important goal within real estate, the core of it revolves around buying and selling. With a background in sales for a variety of companies/products, I can’t think of a more a complicated product than real estate. I first realized this when I was looking to quote, what I thought was, a simple lease rate for an interested tenant. That was when I was first met with, “no two deals are the same”. Although there are general numbers that get published in the marketing of various spaces, fine tuning that lease rate is subject to many different factors which in return further complicates that, “simple answer”. What’s the lease term length? How much square footage? What are the tenant improvement requirements? The same can be said when it comes to buying or selling real estate. There are countless external factors that can change the deal in the matter of a few minutes at any point during the process. Factors such as finding the results of a survey and having to deal with an easement issue, or financing terms changing overnight in the current rate environment. All of these everchanging factors solidify that no two deals are the same, but navigating the unique factors that make each deal makes getting a deal to the finish line that much more rewarding.
“Time Kills all Deals”
When I worked in hospitality I was used to my days running by the minute. People wanted what they wanted and they wanted it now. Real estate follows that same premise, but it is a balance of collecting all the proper information while constantly maintaining a timeline that leads to a successful closing. If the timeline becomes mis-managed it is easy for a deal to falter before it gets the chance to take-off. Different groups that are willing to work faster may become interested enticing a seller or an interested tenant may become frustrated and move onto a different option. As an agent is vital to constantly be managing the deal timeline to ensure the deal gets to the closing table.
“There are Deal Makers and Deal Breakers”
Challenges come in many different forms no matter the industry someone works in. Real estate is no different and the idea of “deal breakers” come in many different forms. As mentioned above time and the variety of deals can both be things that hinder a deal from moving forward, but trying to understand someone’s motives in why they are selling, buying, or leasing is important to do when getting a deal to close. A buyer may be looking to 1031 Exchange into an existing property which may cause their timeline to close to be much quicker than someone else. A seller may be fixated on a price that is simply not within reason which can be from many different reasons. A landlord may only be looking to lease their property to a certain type of tenant causing them to be reluctant to anything else. Trying to understand the motives of everyone associated within a deal is a key piece in determining who or what the deal makers or breakers are within a transaction.
If you have any questions about potential commercial real estate investments or are looking for representation, please do not hesitate to contact us today for a free consultation.
Jake Cleveland is a Real Estate Associate at Inventure Real Estate and is an up and coming real estate agent in the Greater St. Cloud community. His professional background before getting into commercial real estate included varying sale and leadership roles and he holds a bachelor’s degree in management from St. Cloud State University. With a transaction history to prove itself in guiding clients through acquisitions, dispositions and leasing he is an asset to not only his clients, but also in providing resources to assist our team at Inventure.