G.E.T. Commercial! Property Outlook and a Developer’s Perspective

LISTEN TO THE PANEL DISCUSSION

YPN’S G.E.T. (Grow. Elevate. Thrive.) breakfast series continued at Manny’s with a panel on multi-family properties, property management, and the developer’s perspective. Deena Zimmerman, SVN, moderated a panel featuring Maurice Hampton, Centered International Realty, Kevin Rocio, @properties and Jonathon Fixler, Barnett Capital, Ltd., who shared their experiences on developing property, connecting with your community and up and coming neighborhoods.

ADDING VALUE TO PROPERTIES

Fixler stressed one of the key factors to value-adding is knowing your market. A developer should be sensitive to current tenants and strive to give inherited tenants the best home and compensation possible when developing a new space. He also said that a better rehab comes from doing your research on the area and recognizing what aspects would better serve the community.

UP AND COMING INVESTMENT PROPERTIES

All three contributed simple ways to guarantee success in new developments. The first is to follow the lake. The water always attracts renters and buyers and new neighborhoods along the lake will continue to grow. The second is to look for mass populations of people that need housing. For example, hospitals are guaranteed to have a large number of employees with a certain income who don’t want to travel far for work. The last is to follow the train line. Stops along these routes will guarantee renters and buyers easy access to transportation anywhere in the city. Rocio offered the simple advice of, “Go where everyone else isn’t going.”

RELATIONSHIPS WITH ALDERMEN

Aldermen are extremely important in the development process and can easily help or hurt your projects. Hampton said building a relationship with local officials is extremely important. An easy way to do this is to get involved in and invest with RPAC. Rocio’s main advice is to be cordial. One will likely encounter the same aldermen continuously throughout their career, having a courteous relationship ensures successful collaboration on future projects.

GETTING TO KNOW DEVELOPERS

Networking and utilizing your time wisely is key to meeting developers. Rocio said going to developer openings is a great opportunity to meet developers and begin to build relationships. Hampton reminded everyone that building relationships with developers is a long-term investment and should be treated as one. Make yourself seen by developers and show your enthusiasm. Fixler said easiest of all is to be yourself. As a developer, genuine REALTORS® who want long-term relationships will be the people developers turn to first. He says know which developers you want to work with and plan from there. All three agreed that putting in maximum effort will give you the best results. Developers won’t fall in your lap, relationships need to be built and nurtured. Zimmerman added a tip following the discussion reminding REALTORS® to make themselves available and eager, whether that’s meeting for an early morning coffee or rearranging plans to get that meeting you want.