All Forum Posts by: Aaron Xie

I am looking for PM in Indianapolis/Greenwood Area. My current one just changed the management team and is not responsive recently. Thank you.

I am wondering if anyone here has experience of taking the California Class B contractor license exams (both trade and law exams)? And how did you prepare for the exam? Any share of experience, studying material or courses will be appreciated. 

Thanks. I know that everything in commercial brokerage is negotiable, but I did not expect it to be so different from residential brokerage. For instance, now I think it is too risky to advertise as a commercial broker specialized in buying (instead of listing).  But if I am a buyer in the commercial world, where can I find a reliable buyer broker, if I am too afraid to talk directly to the seller or the listing agent?

@Joel Owen, it must take many years of experience of you to focus on buying instead of listing in the commercial world? Would you mind sharing how you end up being specialized in buying commercial? Did you start as a residential broker, and then switch to the commercial side?

Thanks, Mike. But don't you think this commission structure limits the exposure of the listing to the potential buyers? Even if I know someone who would be interesting in this property, I do not have any incentive to show him this listing. 

Thanks for all the replies! Maybe I am wrong, but I still think that, like in the residential world, the selling (buyer) agent is valuable in that s/he brings the buyer! And I assume buyer is more rare and hard to find in commercial than in residential, so to some extent, I think the buyer agent deserves a higher commission than the listing agent does. Whoever brings the buyer is more important to me the seller.

If I am the seller of a commercial property, I would definitely ask my listing agent to split the commission with the other agent who brings the buyer. Of course, if my listing agent brings the buyer, I am ok paying him the full commission. But again, how can I prevent my listing agent from showing my listing to only his/her clients by intention in order to get double paid? 

I just found out that more than 80% of commercial real estate transactions have no buyer brokers. That means buyers are not represented or protected in commercial transactions! 

Is there a reason for that? Is it because the buyer broker won't be paid a commission, so no one is willing to represent the buyer? 

I know that in commercial real estate transactions, the listing broker is entitled to a commission of 6%, but will that be shared with a buyer broker? 

Hi, BPers, I am wondering how many of your deals are found through random search on MLS and how many are found through private networks. Since all the listings and price related information are publicly and freely available nowadays on platforms, such as Zillow, I am wondering whether building and maintaining a private network is value-added, and if so, where the value is. Any though on this is appreciated.

Hi, BPers, I am finally officially moving to Orange County now. I am looking for a place to rent for a year for my family with a one-year old baby. I am seeking recommendations on areas to consider and areas to avoid, especially in Irvine, as that is the place eventually I will buy in for my family. And hopefully in a year I will be familiar with the local market and have formed my own preferences on local communities. Any recommendations are welcome!