Tip #4 How Do I Research Commercial Real Estate Online? - How To Get Started in Commercial Real Estate Series

Welcome to Commercial Real Estate Secrets. My name's Aviva. These first 10 episodes are about my top 10 tips to get started in commercial real estate. As the leading internet personality that talks about commercial real estate online, I've noticed that there's a huge desire to learn how to get ahead in commercial real estate, and only recently has the internet provided us to open the floodgates so and and really even the playing field so everybody can achieve wealth in their lifetime through commercial real estate. Now with that change opening the gates and access to learning about commercial real estate online this question comes up all the time. How do I

Aviva (01:08.61)

tell you about a time that I sold a property because a broker didn't know how to research commercial real estate online. I was doing a deal last year and I was representing the seller on the listing side and it was a tough building to sell and I showed it to a group. They liked it. They contacted me directly. We go in for a second showing they like it.

You know, they're telling me they want to put in an offer.

Aviva (01:44.591)

At that time, they have now engaged their friend who is a residential real estate broker. So you have to understand as a broker, it's really our job to work in the best interest of our clients. But also if you find the person for the other end of the table, you can act as a transaction broker and essentially be the only broker in the deal, which I should have been.

this the buyer decided at the last minute to engage a residential real estate agent. And I really have to I can't stress enough how important it is if you are buying commercial real estate to not use a residential broker and if you're buying residential real estate do not use a commercial broker for the following reasons aside from the fact that the person is not qualified. And then

in your life you want to work with somebody who's qualified. So the buyer engages this residential broker. Now the MLS, the multiple listing services in residential real estate, is where the main hub of where they put all the properties on the market. And commercial doesn't really have an MLS, but it

Aviva (03:13.01)

but it's really expensive annually. So commercial brokers pay for CoStar or their brokerage pays for CoStar. CoStar owns LoopNet, but everything on LoopNet is paid to play. So if you understand how the industry works and how postings online work, you realize that LoopNet is not the MLS. But I was having a hard time selling this property

Aviva (03:44.971)

for it to be on loopnet and that's where buyer's residential broker know, they had expressed so much off loopnet to put up another everyday costs money, I knew that they

Aviva (04:13.13)

take it off of our MLS I just took it off that advanced marketing

platform that you had to pay for. And all of a sudden I get a phone call. Phone calls from the residential broker. Is this property under contract? I knew what had happened. I knew I took it off Loopnet and now he couldn't see it on CoStar. And I said, no, I didn't lie, but I said, but I am getting a lot of interest, so I figured I'd take it off. What happened? I got a purchase agreement the next day

Aviva (04:52.95)

we closed. So it's really really important to a, hire the right person for the job just because a residential broker has a license doesn't mean they should be carrying through your commercial transaction and vice versa. But I get this question all the time, how do I research commercial real estate online? And there's no right or wrong answer,

Aviva (05:21.89)

Really the three best ways to go about researching properties if you don't know where to find them.

Aviva (05:34.65)

It's not supposed to be easy to find commercial real estate online, and it's not supposed to be easy to find residential online. I'll preface it with that. Now commercial brokers and brokerages and owners and professionals pay premiums to get premium information online from CoStar.

Aviva (06:04.89)

to be to pay for CoStar. Or there's a competitor to CoStar, Crexie. CoStar cost me about, for one person, seven thousand a year and then each additional add-ons about 400 a person per month. Crexie I found to be like $400 a month. Crexie is okay, CoStar is by far the best, it's just super expensive. If you don't

for CoStar, I get it.

Find a broker. They have CoStar. They'll provide you all this information for free as long as you use their services and keep them engaged. Brokers are not scary. They may be hard to get a hold of, but not if you keep calling.

So we've got costar, you know, paying for it yourself, hiring a broker. And then last, and I think people often overlook this, is if you see a property you like, Google it, find the owner and call them. And you say, owner person, I really like this property. I really want to buy it. Can I buy it from you? They say, yes, great. Let's get a lawyer.

I'll get a lawyer. Forget the commission. We'll negotiate this out mano-a-mano. I think people, you know, the phrase keep it simple, stupid. People have a hard time doing that when they could just pick up the phone and maybe the owner wants to sell. So you cannot rely on LoopNet to search for properties.

Aviva (07:52.59)

I would strongly suggest if you don't want to foot the bill for CoStar, butting up with a broker. Um, and if you just want to do it yourself, I know people who crush it, just picking up the phone and talking to owners. So what questions can I answer for you? DM me at Aviva Real Estate. Any questions I can answer for you. If you want my freebie on how to get started in commercial real estate, head to the show notes.

smash the subscribe button last

Next, as we narrow down the top 10 tips for getting ahead in commercial real estate, tip number two as we count down how to get your first commercial real estate client in 30 days. Actually, it's tip number three. First client in 30 days. See you soon.

Okay, Melvon, let's do the outro again.

Aviva (08:58.21)

What questions can I answer for you? Head over to my Instagram at Aviva Real Estate and DM me any questions you have. If you want my freebie on how to get started in commercial real estate, head down to the show notes.

click the subscribe button, leave me a five star review. And as we count down the top 10 tips to get ahead in commercial real estate, next tip, tip number three, we're gonna talk about how to get your first client in commercial real estate in 30 days. See you soon.