Top 5 Questions
What Every Owner Should Ask
Before Choosing a Commercial Real Estate Broker
What you need is an experienced commercial real estate broker in your area who specializes in your property type.
Download the guide now to interview potential commercial real estate agents. Your deal deserves an expert. Doing your homework will help you make the smart choice.
1
Marketing
Find a commercial real estate broker who will market the property aggressively through multiple channels, personal connections and compelling online listings.
2
Communication
Choose an agent who will communicate with you regularly and provide you with all the market data you need to make smart buy/sell decisions.
3
Large Deals
Partner with a commercial real estate expert who understands the tax implications of large deals, and can steer you toward the most advantageous timing for a closing, and/or guide follow-on transactions if they are in your best financial interest.
4
Connected
Rely on a CRE broker with a respected reputation and strong network of professional connections.
1. How long have you been in full-time commercial real estate sales?
This question is more complicated than it looks.
There are a lot of real estate agents who work anything they can get their hands on, but they’ll take on a commercial listing here and there and tell you they are a “full-service broker.”
Be wary and ask for numbers.
There are also a lot of retired folks out there who are getting into commercial real estate brokerage as a second career. That may be great for them, but it isn’t necessarily great for you when you have a high-value commercial property to sell.
How many commercial real estate transactions have they handled in the past 15 years? Past two years?
Commercial real estate is very different from other real estate.
You need an expert who can get you a proper valuation, considering everything from market performance to rent rolls. You also need a commercial real estate broker who can steer you around the common obstacles that can derail a high-value commercial real estate deal.
2. The property I’m selling is located at [address]. How well do you know the market in that area?
When a commercial real estate broker has experience in a particular geographical area, they know the little things that make all the difference.
- Are there any re-zoning possibilities under discussion?
- Are there business owners in the area who might have their eye on this building?
- Is there anything particularly good or bad about the traffic patterns around this location that might affect the valuation?
- What shifts and trends have been happening in that neighborhood the past few years?
- Are there local investors who are looking for a property like this?
3. Do you have an area of specialty within commercial real estate?
Look for depth of experience
When you hear an agent say they are “full service” and can buy or sell any type of property for you, be careful. Sometimes that kind of experience is a mile wide and an inch deep. When you have a high-value commercial property to sell, you want an expert with experience that is a mile deep.
Generic formulas will get you generic valuations, and that’s not what you need to sell a specific type of commercial real estate property.
Smart buyers know the market.
When you work with a commercial real estate broker who has years of experience with properties like yours, you save time and money so you can get on to your next deal.
4. How do you communicate with your clients about the status of their listing?
It’s your property.
You should know what is happening with the listing. A system of regular updates not only keeps you informed, it ensures your commercial real estate broker is actively marketing your property.
Find a broker who has a consistent system for keeping you updated.
- How many inquiries are coming in, and what sort of questions are being asked?
- If lots of inquiries walk away without making an offer, why is that happening? And what changes need to be made in the marketing to get more traction?
You don’t want to be in the dark while your property is on the market.
Have similar properties in your area sold recently? Have any new properties been listed in your area? How do they compare to your property?
5. How many people are on your marketing list for receiving notifications of new property listings?
You want your listing to be seen by as many people as possible, right?
Ask your commercial real estate broker this question to find out who they communicate with regularly about their listings.
Commercial properties don’t sell themselves. A “for sale” sign out front won’t do the trick. You need an aggressive marketer who has a trusted reputation — and connections — in the local area. That’s what sells a commercial property.
Schedule a Conversation with MANSARD Today
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Get direct help with your most pressing questions about
selling your property.
Ultimately, very few resources have the expertise to ensure the successful sale to the right buyer at the right time.
MANSARD was named one of the largest commercial real estate selling brokers in Massachusetts in 2018 by the Boston Business Journal.
88.9% of MANSARD’s recent deals closed on time and at our client’s accepted offer price.
That’s because at MANSARD, we deliver engaged buyers who close, guarantee experience and knowledge, and outrank our competitors by average sale transactions per broker.
Case Studies
40,000 SF Office Building Sold for $5,500,000
Situation – Acquired as a 3 year reposition, this 41,000 SF office building located at 41-55 North Road in Bedford, Massachusetts underwent nearly $2M in capital upgrades and was leased to 80% occupancy. The time had come to return capital to the investors.
Process – We undertook a public marketing process with a priced offering at $5.5M and a bid deadline. We generated 5 offers that topped out at 90% of the asking price until we began the negotiations.
Result – The property sold for 100% of its asking price within 60 days of going under contract.
Coldwell Banker Retail Property: Sold
Situation – A 40 year investment partnership sought to sell, requiring top value and assurance of close. During the marketing period, Coldwell Banker vacated, followed by a title issue that prevented a sale.
Process – We conducted a national search, registering 49 buyers. 8 cash bids were received and negotiations resulted in a winning offer, 60 day cash close. We coordinated an attorney to clear the title, working with the buyer’s title company and legal team for 3 months.
Result – Property is under contract with a clear path to close.
Privately Marketed: Sold for $3,900,000
Situation – Family office requested a discrete, private sale of the 100% net leased near term medical office and retail property located at 1069 Broadway in Saugus, Massachusetts.
Process – We conducted confidential outreach to our database of qualified buyers combined with owner profiling calls to area investors inclined to acquire this property type, resulting in 12 buyer-seller meetings at our office. In the interviews, the sellers gained insight into market demand for the property and focused on the right buyer.
Result – 4 offers were generated and the property was ultimately sold for $3,900,000.
The Choice of Successful Investors
Thank you for everything you did in completing the leasing and sale of our building at 580 Main Street. You did a wonderful job working with all of the personalities involved. We look forward to working with you again in the future.
Richard Tambone
TAMBONE INVESTMENT GROUP
MANSARD was a partner through the whole process. From the initial leasing of a temporary space to the acquisition of our own building. I like the personal touch and sense of expertise that came with working with MANSARD.
Norbert Johnson
GLOBUS MEDICAL
We used MANSARD to help us reposition, lease and sell a small suburban commercial office building. They were fantastic, well read in the market place and helped us realize our projected returns. Would highly recommend their services.
Bob Macnamara
CB EQUITIES
Get started working with MANSARD
Step 1: Schedule a Phone Call
Before we begin, we will hold a 20 minute phone conversation to ask each other some questions. Together, we determine what you would like the successful sale of your commercial real estate to do for you. If at the end of the conversation, you decide it makes sense to schedule a meeting, we will meet in person within the next 1 to 5 days.
Step 2: Hold an Initial 45-90 Minute Meeting in Person – What to Expect
We will first meet for 45-90 minutes at your place of business, the property or a convenient location for you. During this meeting, we will review our phone conversation and then gather more information about specific questions you have about the market, our proprietary investment sales process, your property valuation, and the costs to complete a sale with MANSARD. If at the end of the meeting you believe it makes sense, we will schedule a second meeting within the next week at MANSARD’s office.
Step 3: Hold a Second Meeting at MANSARD to Review the Sale Process
The second meeting will take from 45-90 minutes, depending on the amount of questions you have for us. We will review our expert underwriting and valuation of your property, discuss the composition of active buyers in the market and what they are looking for, how we reach them, and then how the transaction process will work from beginning to end. If at the end of the meeting you elect to go forward, we review and sign our exclusive engagement agreement and have the property on the market in the following 1-2 weeks.
To get started today, contact us at MANSARD at (617) 674-2043. We look forward to working with you.
Schedule a Conversation with MANSARD Today
Click
Get direct help with your most pressing questions about
selling your property.