Commercial real estate brokerage is the fourth highest paying profession in the United States. It is a very different field than residential real estate. It's not necessarily harder....it's just completely different. It's a completely different body of knowledge, and most aspects of it are different than the practice of residential real estate.
What most residential agents don't realize is that they can participate in the hefty commissions that commercial real estate agents make simply by asking their clients a few extra questions. After all, the people that you have been selling houses to are the same people that own and run businesses, or that make the decisions to relocate or to expand for the companies that they work for. Some of them also invest in commercial real estate...office buildings, strip centers, hotels, apartment buildings, NNN properties, etc.
Assuming that you have established one or more relationships with good, reputable, honest commercial real estate agents that you can feel comfortable sending your clients to, you need only ask a few questions of your clients that you normally wouldn't ask to begin making extra money. For instance, "do you invest in commercial real estate?" is a good start. Also, "are you the decision maker (or do you know the decision maker) for your company, and are you looking to expand or relocate?" is another good one. It's really not rocket science, and your commercial agent contact can give you further guidance.
I was referred a client from another agent recently whose wife was the decision maker for a sizeable company that needed 15,000 sq. ft. of office space in downtown San Francisco. That agent ended up sharing in my $120,000 commission for that lease transaction. I have a colleague in Minnesota that was just referred a client that needs 50,000 sq. ft. of office space in Minneapolis. The commission from that deal will be over $400,000. The residential agent that referred him that client will get a six figure check for just asking a few extra questions of their client, and for making a phone call to the commercial agent. The residential agent doesn't know anything about commercial real estate, and doesn't want to know anything about it. They are perfectly happy on the residential side of the equation. However, there's no reason for them not to take advantage of the tremendous opportunities on the commercial side simply by referring.
If you don't know any commercial agents, let me know. If you are out of the area, I can probably give you a good referral or two. I was with a large national REIT for many years as the senior attorney, and we had brokers all over the country. I also am on the national faculty and the national leadership council for KW Commercial, and I know KW ommercial agents all over the country. I won't make any money referring you to them. However, that's ok. I believe that what comes around goes around.
By the way, Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah to all of you.
Comments(1)