All Forum Posts by: Eric Odum

Try to check out the local  or State chapters of the National Apartment Association.  http://www.naahq.org/

If you are relying on CoStar to find deals, save your money.  What are they asking in terms of a commitment?  $500/mo with a year contract?  For listings that have been already picked over?  Seems like you could conduct your own marketing plan for less and tweak based on your needs...

Just curious, why aren't the realtors responsive?  Deals are pretty tight right now.  Curious if it is just a lack of deals relative to the pool of buyers.  

I was in Miami twice in the last 30 days...it is amazing the volume of investors/wholesalers in the market.  It always surprises me how relatively few Miami/South Florida folk are on Bigger Pockets.  I am not sure why this is.

Because of the lack of homogeneity in commercial properties, I don't run in to many (any?) wholesalers on the commercial side. I am interested to follow the responses in this thread.  

@Franklin Romine .....I just wanted to follow up and give people an update.  Your suggestion about security was the most effective.  We had security come 4 nights a week (randomly, so they could not tell a pattern) and eventually, they moved on.  We used the security for several months.

Skunk gel in the dumpster worked.  It only last for about 2 weeks though, so I had to place it a couple of times a month.  But, that seemed to be effective in keeping them out of the dumpster and dragging garbage out and leaving it in the parking lot.  (the garbage men threatened to stop taking our trash though, as they complained about the stench :-)  )  

It has been about 6-7 months since we last had the security out there, and might have to start again, as they are drifting back on to the property again.  But, a month or two a month of security does the trick. 

Thanks all for your suggestions !  

Check out the BP podcasts. Bruce Kirsch does some financial modeling...no need to recreate the wheel.  Have you considered partnering with an experienced developer?  Have you considered an Owner's Rep? They can bring their experience to the table for a flat fee to help you with some of the projections or they can partner with you...however  you want to structure.  

I am a broker...I can tell you, at least for our market (and I know other brokers outside of our market say the same thing), there is no reliable 3rd party data. We maintain our own data on sales for properties for which we are familiar. CAP rates are tough, because, there is so much fudging done on smaller deals. Even on institutionally held deals, the CAP rates aren't necessarily transferable (i.e. a large REIT might be able to drive down the cost of insurance considerably bc they are insuring multiple properties across multiple states and get lower costs on portfolios). CoStar is only as reliable as the data that is put in....a decent rule of thumb/guideline, but I would not bet my life on their data, particularly in thinly traded markets.

I am not trying to pump brokers, but @Jeff Greenberg is right.  Typically, brokers are the ones with the data.  They are the ones doing the deals and can paint a clearer picture b/c they have inside knowledge.  CoStar regurgitates what the brokers tell them.  They don't have intimate knowledge of the deals and frequently brokers withhold giving complete information to CoStar for various reasons. 

BOMA and ICSC both have developed coursework

http://www.boma.org/education/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.icsc.org/education/certification/csm-ma...

http://money.cnn.com/2015/07/15/investing/bank-of-...

Something to think about...I worry about Bank branches and some retail going the way of the dinosaur.  Walk in to any branch older than 10 years and they are usually serviced by one or 2 tellers when there used to be 7 or 8.  Banks do not need the number of branches they used to have.  If it is a first and main location, I would not sweat it too much.  You can probably find some other retail to take it (walkin clinic, restaurant, etc).  If it is a B location, you had better be compensated for the risk and have a good back up plan.