Commercial Real Estate Investing Mentor
Developer · New York, NY · Member since 2018 · 19 posts · 14 votes
Good morning Bigger Pockets,
I want to utilize our platform as I'm seeking mentorship in the Commercial Real Estate Investing space in New York. I have experience in residential sales, acquisitions, and developments; and now I'm looking to transition into commercial.
It'll be greatly appreciated if we can schedule a call via direct message. Looking forward to connecting.
Best,
Jabari B.
Looks like you already have a lot of experience but still going to start from ground zero.
1. Use the lookup with my name and find the post. What happens if you die?
2. Go to the starting out forum and look up posts. Mentor1. Thru mentor11.
So now we are to Commercial which can be anything. Hair cut salon building to 100 story skyscraper.
3. Commercial industrial is more about purpose/zoning and relationships than in SFH. If you're wanting to discuss MFH steer me there.
4. Get your city county zoning ordinances and learn. Get their zoning map. Get their Planned zoning map.
5. Develop your team. You need to add value to them. Hvac, electrical, plumbing, legal, zoning, flooring, painting, SFH realtor, carpenter, etc. etc. Also add landscapers, snow removal, and lawn care. These are your primary lead people.
6. Learn the special use and variance process. Attend some meetings.
7. Scale. You’re not getting into the 50 story club. Size your playing field for the next 5 years and build your team around that size.
8. Read my development posts on Journeys end subdivision and our Selfstorage locations.
9. Look on loopnet and find some properties. Do 5 deal analysis and post on here. The first deal I don’t want you to get it Right. Want you to do it in 4 hours. Wherever you have a question or don’t know put question marks. Post on here and ask for input.
10. You need to learn about the things that will kill your projects. Utilities, storm ponds and storm sewers, zoning, fire systems, fire hydrants, epa, flood zones. Etc
11. Recommend you specialize in two areas of expertise. A. Nasty properties, B. Medical plazas. As examples. Do other commercial also but be the go to person at least two fields. Could be school buildings for sale or churches.
12. Financing, NNN, CAM, insurance, leases, due diligence,
Take all of the above and make a list of topics to learn. Keep adding to it. Don’t read another post, watch a blog, or read a magazine until you have done the above.
13. Relationships. You need to start building relationships or channels for relationships. If you pick medical plazas then you need to develop channels to “new” dentists, chiro, foot, etc. Old professionals will already be set. Clubs, etc.
This is part of your path. Keep adding to it.
How can I assist you? Would rather keep on this post so others can benefit.
Looks like you already have a lot of experience but still going to start from ground zero.
1. Use the lookup with my name and find the post. What happens if you die?
2. Go to the starting out forum and look up posts. Mentor1. Thru mentor11.
So now we are to Commercial which can be anything. Hair cut salon building to 100 story skyscraper.
3. Commercial industrial is more about purpose/zoning and relationships than in SFH. If you're wanting to discuss MFH steer me there.
4. Get your city county zoning ordinances and learn. Get their zoning map. Get their Planned zoning map.
5. Develop your team. You need to add value to them. Hvac, electrical, plumbing, legal, zoning, flooring, painting, SFH realtor, carpenter, etc. etc. Also add landscapers, snow removal, and lawn care. These are your primary lead people.
6. Learn the special use and variance process. Attend some meetings.
7. Scale. You’re not getting into the 50 story club. Size your playing field for the next 5 years and build your team around that size.
8. Read my development posts on Journeys end subdivision and our Selfstorage locations.
9. Look on loopnet and find some properties. Do 5 deal analysis and post on here. The first deal I don’t want you to get it Right. Want you to do it in 4 hours. Wherever you have a question or don’t know put question marks. Post on here and ask for input.
10. You need to learn about the things that will kill your projects. Utilities, storm ponds and storm sewers, zoning, fire systems, fire hydrants, epa, flood zones. Etc
11. Recommend you specialize in two areas of expertise. A. Nasty properties, B. Medical plazas. As examples. Do other commercial also but be the go to person at least two fields. Could be school buildings for sale or churches.
12. Financing, NNN, CAM, insurance, leases, due diligence,
Take all of the above and make a list of topics to learn. Keep adding to it. Don’t read another post, watch a blog, or read a magazine until you have done the above.
13. Relationships. You need to start building relationships or channels for relationships. If you pick medical plazas then you need to develop channels to “new” dentists, chiro, foot, etc. Old professionals will already be set. Clubs, etc.
This is part of your path. Keep adding to it.
So looks like you’re in New York. Realize that can mean many types of situations and neighborhoods. I always like to go after strengths and weaknesses.
Remember above I said I like nasty properties? Can also be nasty situations. First thought why nasty? Right now everyone is looking for that great deal on a great 3/2 SFH, or a great deal on. 12plex. You have to bid against them. Plus the prior owners have already tried value add on it.
No one is chasing nasty properties or situations or very few. And most people are not creative solution solvers, they are financial investors.
What are some of the nasty or negative things I have heard about New York. Realize there are many facets to New York, but I want money deals.
A. Hear there are no grocery stores in bad neighborhoods.
B. Hear the subways can be bad.
C. Rent is super high for a little space. I mean little.
D. Rent control.
Take these negatives and make money off them Build a Business model around them.
@Brian Plajer
Thanks for the vote. Looking at your background it made me think I missed the most important lesson about Commercial/Industrial properties. The property themselves aren't the value.
See that you're a pharmacist or have a pharmacy background. I always say use your strengths or property weaknesses or both. Or look for Nasty problems- The population (technical portion) of the US is getting smaller. Thus, there won't be as many pharmacists, nurses, dentists, PT, etc. Especially with all of us Baby Boomers leaving the work force and REI. Don't buy an Existing Pharmacy, no value creation.
Recommend you take a look at building a business model around "House Hacking/BRRRR" pharmacies. Just like our Self Storage model:
1. Find a Hole in a market area. No/little pharmacy presence, but customers. Few access points due to zoning, cost of building, etc for competitors to come in. See @Jabari Bell above. If he does Grocery stores, you partner and do Pharmacies there. Two magnet stores.
2. Find an empty building that has been on the market for a while, that fits the bill. Drive through if needed, plenty of parking, security, etc.
3. Develop a business model, insurance, POS systems, shelving, floor layout, payroll system, inventory system, etc.
4. Get it up and running. If you bought the building correctly, you just added $1mm to its value.
5. Find a Pharmacist coming out of college or ready to start on their own and want their share of the profits, versus just being salaried.
6. Develop a purchase plan for them with financing already located.
Transitioning to commercial has a few differences but lots of similarities as residential. The most important thing to figure out is how you want to structure your deals. Are you going to buy them on your own? Partner with someone? Raise money to buy it? Those will all play a role in how you go about the process.
Welcome, I think there is plenty of good advice already. Consume as much as possible to learn about different asset classes and deal structures. I post on YouTube for industrial real estate as its my personal investment niche.
Hey @Jabari Bell I'm in the same boat as you and what's helped me the most if putting myself in an environment where I'm surrounded by others focused on commercial.
For me, this meant switching to a brokerage that does a lot of commercial deals. I'm not directly involved in their deals, but orbiting that social circle has helped me pickup on a few things and even gain traction on my 2nd commercial deal.
Good luck and shoot me a DM if you have more questions.
You might also want to attend my next meetup on Thursday March 23rd. It's a small round table of investors that attracts people from different backgrounds. Last month we had a newbie commercial investor attend who was able to shed some light on how his world was different than that of residential.