r/CommercialRealEstate • • 14d ago

Weekly CRE Broker Q&A CRE Broker Q&A – Career Advice, Deal Structure, and Strategy Talk

12 Upvotes

Welcome to the Monthly Commercial Real Estate Broker Q&A thread, your spot to get answers, give advice, and sharpen your edge in the business.

**Now MONTHLY too keep the conversation going**

Whether you're new to brokerage, stuck in the mud, or pushing through your first big listing, this thread is for you.

Use this thread to ask:

  • Career advice: Breaking in, making a jump, building a book, choosing a firm
  • Deal structure: Commission splits, LOIs, TI packages, creative leasing, 1031s
  • Daily grind: Cold calls, canvassing, CRM tips, time management, burnout
  • Market strategy: Specialization, asset class focus, territory management
  • Exit strategies: Going in-house, building a team, pivoting to ownership

Brokers helping brokers. No fluff. No guru talk. No pitch decks.

Reply directly to questions or drop your own knowledge. If you're asking a question, give context: market, asset class, experience level, help others help you.

Let’s keep it useful and keep it real.

Give this and any replies an Updoot to increase visibility.


r/CommercialRealEstate • • 1h ago

Development What are the best ChatGPT plugins for retail development?

• Upvotes

What are the best real estate data plugins that you use with ChatGPT? More so on the data side, like property information, permits pulled in the area, or even skip tracking.

I do single-tenant retail developments and I’m curious if there are any plugins that could help me with site selection and outreach.


r/CommercialRealEstate • • 19h ago

Brokerage | Leasing Why are sellers still stuck on pricing from 2020-2022?

17 Upvotes

For those on the brokerage side, curious what you're also experiencing.

So many conversations are resulting in owners referencing offers they had during this time period. And it's just creating a false expectation of what their property is actually worth.

And for the foreseeable future, given the current economic conditions, prices are more or less going stay the same or probably drop slightly.

How are you approaching this with a owner? Do you just be direct with them they will never see X price?


r/CommercialRealEstate • • 1d ago

Market Questions Industrial cap guidance from brokers vs buyer expectation/reality on stabilized deals

5 Upvotes

Having spoke with a handful of brokers the past few days, I’m seeing general cap rate guidance have moved around 50bps. What was a 6 cap stabilized deal is now at 6.5% cap guidance. General consensus is that “all” buyers are at 7.5% cap guidance and thus not competitive if you are at this spot with not having a relationship with the broker.

Looking at a deal today and it’s interesting because most of these deals seem to be 5-7 year term remaining that the tenant then has an extension option. I can get to justifying the 7.25% cap rate range to be more competitive then the masses but it’s still quite a swing vs. cap guidance.

Curious if there are any brokers here who can shed some light as to whether offers are so light right now that it’s worth the submission and by seeing an actual offer changes the conversation then the scoff of a verbal and if expectation is in the low 7 range when guidance is now mid-high 6.

What’s ultimately the risk I see is whether or not said tenant renews. If they renew then all is good. Can refi or resell to the next guy in 5 years. If you factor vacate and at the purchase cap that likely gets deal done (high 6 to flat 7) then it becomes a quite boring return that I don’t see really making sense.

Future problem or going to be a boring few months until we get some consistency of debt and thus guidance to match reality?

For what it’s worth on non lifeco debt im getting 190-200bps, 30yr amort.


r/CommercialRealEstate • • 1d ago

Market Questions Upcoming Construction in front of Plaza - Tenant notification question.

4 Upvotes

Location: Ontario Canada

I own a mid-sized plaza in Ontario, Canada. Over the past 2 years the City has been doing roadworks on the arterial road my plaza sits on. Last year / this year the work was being done just down the road from the plaza, which impacted my tenants business with slightly reduced traffic and sales (approx. 10% I've been told). Most of my tenants are Destination Tenants (Dr's, Physio, etc.), but several are convenience/retail tenants (Variety Store, Cafe, Shawarma).

In speaking with the City recently, I have been told that next spring they will be redoing the road directly in front of my plaza. This will certainly impact my tenants, as access will be very limited and the Arterial Road is being closed in the middle to deter through-traffic. Construction is expected to take the entire Spring/Summer/Fall to complete.

I truly like my tenants and believe in being open with them, and this is certainly weighing on my mind. My agent says I don't need to inform them as the City/Region has been very open about the construction and the information is certainly out there for anyone to find. On the other hand, I think it important that if they don't know that they be informed so they can prepare for the reduction in traffic and sales.

I already have an email drafted and ready to go to the tenants, but I'm putting it out there to the experts here - do I send the email, or do I let the process unfold naturally?

Additional Info: No leases up for renewal between now to the end of construction.


r/CommercialRealEstate • • 2d ago

Legal | Structuring Anyone build a real estate portfolio with their dad?

4 Upvotes

Did he actually ever retire?

Howd the transition go?

Did you buy him out? Remortgage everything?


r/CommercialRealEstate • • 2d ago

Market Questions Is this a reasonable ask for industrial space in Rahway, NJ area?

2 Upvotes

Small time landlord-to-be helping my mother out. Specs of the property are:

  • Warehouse
  • Class C (16ft ceilings, no loading dock, garage, no AC, old build)
  • 1800sqft
  • Asking $3k/mo gross
  • Rahway, NJ
  • Turned over with fresh paint, freshly epoxied floors, 60k lumens of lighting, new door, drywalled ceiling (was exposed joists with insulation)

Potential tenant is asking for 1 month free rent and AC to be installed. Installing a 5 ton AC in the space would require installing ductwork, building out a maintenance closet, coming in around $25k.

Was going to ask for an extra 500/mo for 5 years ($3.5k/mo) for the AC buildout and a PG for the AC portion of the lease. We'd want 2 months security + 1st months rent to lessen the capital burden.

My understanding is that the area is around $15-20 NNN, and I'm pricing at around $20 gross + AC buildout.

Does this pricing seem reasonable for the area?


r/CommercialRealEstate • • 3d ago

Deal Analysis Can anyone explain why STORE Capital acquired 26 Luby’s properties for 88m n an SLB despite declining operating income, store closures, and financial distres? What did STORE see that made the deal attractive? Was it unit-level coverage, real estate value, or lease structure? Any insight appreciated!

9 Upvotes

Any thoughts? What’s the play and how can I be helped to see the 30k view


r/CommercialRealEstate • • 5d ago

Deal Analysis Would this scope of work be part of the shell, or treated as an improvement for the tenant?

6 Upvotes

Consider a (~1,500 sq ft) 2nd gen inline retail unit being converted from a retail store to a fast-casual restaurant. Would you consider the following scope part of the "shell" delivered by a landlord, or would this traditionally be treated as tenant improvements deducted from the TIA?

- Utilities to the back of the unit:
i. A minimum 2-inch diameter natural gas pipe and meter rated for 500 CFH continuous flow.
ii. A 4-inch uncapped sanitary sewer stub.
iii. An upsized 3-phase commercial electrical service panel.

- Cut the concrete floor slab at the rear for the placement of 3 drains (2 floor sinks and a mop sink)

- Roof cuts for an exhaust fan and a makeup-air supply fan. Seal the penetrations after the tenant's fixtures are installed. Roof penetration for a plumbing sewer vent pipe.

 - Install a single-occupancy, ADA-compliant washroom adjacent to the existing one.


r/CommercialRealEstate • • 6d ago

Brokerage | Leasing For those who have gone from an independent shop to a national brokerage, was it worth it?

19 Upvotes

We’re seeing a sizable shift in our market, with occupiers becoming increasingly corporate and, in turn, gravitating toward more institutional representation.

I’ve spent most of my career at smaller, independent shops and have enjoyed the autonomy, economics, and ability to build my own business. Historically, I’ve passed on recruitment efforts from larger firms, but I’m starting to reconsider whether having a national flag behind you is becoming more important in winning corporate business.

In our market, CBRE and JLL seem to command the lion’s share of corporate occupier relationships, with Cushman and Savills occupying the next tier.
My question for those who have worked at these firms: Beyond the name on your business card, what are you actually getting in exchange for giving up 40–50 cents of every dollar you earn?

Is there meaningful deal flow from national accounts? Do the research, technology, marketing, and support infrastructure actually help you win and execute more business? Or are you largely responsible for sourcing your own deals while paying a substantial premium for the brand?
I recognize that the platform can open doors, but I’m curious whether that translates into enough incremental revenue to justify the economics. I’ve always sourced my own business so unless the flag is dramatically increasing my deal volume, the splits don’t math.


r/CommercialRealEstate • • 6d ago

Rant | Humor The jurisdiction for collections of damages of those who break their lease makes absolutely no sense.

9 Upvotes

So I don’t expect an answer or a solution here, but I feel the need to rant about something that makes absolutely no sense to me.

I am a landlord and I have a commercial tenant in Michigan. This tenant was the principal for a Michigan LLC. The lease was written using tenancy laws from Michigan and negotiated by Michigan attorneys. The building is in Michigan and the tenant has broken their lease, owes back rent and utilities. There is also a personal guaranty that they signed based on Michigan law. They have since moved to Illinois.

Can someone please tell me why on earth, I need to hire an attorney from Illinois and litigate this case there? What the hell does Illinois have to do with this? This is the third tenant in my career that screwed me and skipped town and there’s nothing I can do about it unless I sue in a different jurisdiction with different laws and a different collection attorney. Someone make this make sense.


r/CommercialRealEstate • • 7d ago

Financing | Debt Are deals being repriced with the current sudden jump in rates

34 Upvotes

I'm in the middle of a deal and my rate which is based on 1 month SOFR has gone up 30-40 basis points already. Are deals being repriced in this environment or people waiting and watching to see how things work out? My bank says they can't lock even though gave a verbal cap, but there is a point where the deal wouldn't make any sense if the yields keep shooting up in such a short period of time. I'm not even sure where they'll finally end up 7%-%?

I've been watching the new listings and the cap rates don't really seem to have changed, is it because everyone expects this to be a short term bump.


r/CommercialRealEstate • • 7d ago

Brokerage | Leasing Need help understanding why people go to the big firms

23 Upvotes

Hey there,

I own my own firm and I have always been on my own and never joined CRE in the traditional sense of starting at JLL, CBRE or somewhere similar. I am looking to grow my firm starting Q1 but I keep getting tied up on the split structure.

Why do so many agents agree to these 50/50 or best case 60/40 splits? I have a more boutique mindset, where 50/50 & 60/40 should only be for people I genuinely need to help and teach. An experienced agent should be at least 70/30. So why are other agents so on board for JLL at 50/50? Do the big firms literally hand you leads and sales to the point that it outweighs being at a smaller firm and keeping more of what you make? Like, how is a 50/50 with the house before your true split even worth it?

All my agents get the same resources (for the most part) as the bigger firms, except for the name.

I am looking to see if I am missing something because I genuinely have no ability to grasp the concept of going to a big firm for less because I have never done it. Trying to understand why Big over boutique so I can understand the thought process before I do a growth push.


r/CommercialRealEstate • • 8d ago

Financing | Debt How do you find LPs for a one off deal if you have never done it before. I already spoke to CPA, Financial Advisor and friends.

0 Upvotes

​

I am buying a $7 million property in Texas, and it is a 3 year buy and flip with a secure tenant and lease.

I have decided that I want to lower my exposure to one deal and buy some additional properties. So I am looking for some LPs to split the deal.

Any thoughts on how I find them. I expect a 10% annual return for the 3 years before flipping.


r/CommercialRealEstate • • 9d ago

Brokerage | Leasing Looking into opening my own brokerage, what are some of the biggest hurdles?

11 Upvotes

I'm in a bit of a weird spot career wise. I started working in CRE while in college, I graduated 2 years ago and got my brokers license last year. To explain things better I'll give some background. My grandfather started his own brokerage back in the 1970s. He turned into a developer and was locally well known until he exited the brokerage world sometime in the 1990s. I grew up around the property management side. CRE was not my fathers choice career, he was kind of forced into. He's grown to hate it now but cant retire as all the business is owned by my grandmother. He basically handed me all the leasing responsibility as soon as I got my real estate license. (My grandfather died when I started college, so I got my license to help out.)

We currently manage 9 commercial strip centers of about 98 units. Everyone assumes that I get paid well and have a cushy job, but thats not the case. I made $40k last year including commissions. I'm not inheriting any property anytime soon. I get a 3% raise every year. I usually get 1-3 commissions a year which are all small retail. However, this year I've made none. I've been working over the past year on a 10 year lease with a national bank for an out parcel. This was a bit of learning curve. Especially when it comes to negotiating TI for a deal like that. My father never did a deal that big as it was always my grandfather. And that property was never vacant.

I realized in the spring that I should consider working part time for another brokerage. I reached out to a few local boutique brokerages. I met with one that was willing to take me on while letting me still handle my family's listings completely separate. They were the only brokerage that didn't expect me to bring the listings with me. I told them I wanted to join but needed some time to talk with my family (who was not going to take it well) and just get towards the end of this bank deal. (It's been very project management heavy at this point meeting with contractors and such, it's an old building with asbestos). They told me there was no rush and take as much time as I needed. Well that was 3 months ago and they brought on 2 new agents. They don't have the space for me anymore. But they want me to stay in touch for when they do.

I've had a few opportunities to act as tenant rep and landlord rep broker over the past few years. I always passed on it as my family's business is antiquated and is not set up for this. My family name still has some local recognition so I've been considering opening my own brokerage. Just something to work under so I can work on outside landlord rep and occasional tenant rep. A friend of mine just expressed interest in having me list a property they're developing.

Growing up around the business, I have a good understanding of the accounting side. My biggest concerns are more around the paperwork side of brokerage with things like landlord rep agreements and processes around that. What other hurdles might I run into with this?


r/CommercialRealEstate • • 9d ago

Development Steps on becoming a research analyst for a brokerage company?

6 Upvotes

I worked as an intern for a CRE company. Really hoping to make the next step. Any advice would be appreciated!

For what it’s worth, I’ve also worked as a residential realtor


r/CommercialRealEstate • • 9d ago

Brokerage | Leasing Business Development/Leads Software for Tenant Rep/Occupier Rep

5 Upvotes

Tenant rep broker here. Looking to sharpen my business development strategy and become more efficient at generating new opportunities. What prospecting methods, tools, or outreach strategies are producing the best results for you right now? Open to any ideas from CRE professionals who have successfully built a strong occupier-side pipeline.


r/CommercialRealEstate • • 9d ago

Development What's the best way to access a market you have no network in?

7 Upvotes

I work for a PE shop doing LP investments in ground up residential & industrial developments all over the lower 48. We enter into JV agreements with GP's who handle all the development & asset management work, we bring in 70-90% of the equity, and we just monitor the progress at a higher level. Normally through our existing networks we get deals pitched our way, but they're often in markets we're no longer interested in.

We're launching a new fund and I've been seeing some markets that look interesting on paper, but we have no connections there. I'm on the asset management side, but due to the new fund being launched, I'm helping out with some of the acquisitions and market research.

What's the best way to find GP's in a new market looking for an LP investor? Is it better to start with local brokers?


r/CommercialRealEstate • • 12d ago

Deal Analysis Impossible time to do deals. Never seen a harder one as a GP

80 Upvotes

Have had two deals die in the past week. LP re-traded due to rate hikes which is not unreasonable, but obviously the sellers balked and deals died. By far the most volatile, difficult time to do deals as a GP I've ever witnessed. It was already difficult with the buyer/seller discrepancies in value but this just made it 10x worse. Just brutal out there and not sure when it will let up.


r/CommercialRealEstate • • 12d ago

Brokerage | Leasing Could we do a once-per-week "deals" thread where we talk about opportunities we have?

18 Upvotes

I know discussing deals is against the rules. But it'd be nice to be able to post/discuss them here still in a non-spammy way. What are your thoughts on one thread per week dedicated to it and that's the only place it's allowed?


r/CommercialRealEstate • • 12d ago

Development Looks like Lowe’s is coming to Pine Island Rd in Cape Coral. The dirt is already moving.

0 Upvotes

There are some Home Improvements underway on Pine Island Road in Cape Coral.

This one has actually been developing for almost two years.

It starts with City of Cape Coral PRAP24-000096, filed October 28, 2024, for a “proposed big-box retail facility” on the Hancock Terminus LLC property at 201 SW Pine Island Road, a roughly 15-acre, four-parcel assemblage.

No tenant identified.

Then things start getting interesting.

PRAP25-000003 | Portillo’s Restaurant
Filed January 14, 2025
A 6,250 SF Portillo’s with a dual-lane drive-thru is proposed for Lot 2 of Hancock Terminus.

In August 2025, Cape Coral approves the Hancock Terminus Center replat under Resolution 236-25, creating new commercial tracts, lot lines and development easements.

Fast-forward to 2026.

PRAP26-000033 | 7 Brew Coffee
Filed April 6, 2026
A 7 Brew drive-thru joins the mix.

Then the property records start talking.

On May 8, 2026, Lowe’s Home Centers, LLC records its $5.6 million purchase of a five-acre tract from RD101 LEE LLC, a Roger Dean company. The property sits between Hancock Terminus and Roger Dean Chevrolet.

Lowe’s also gets a Temporary Construction Access Easement (TCE) allowing it to construct an access road across the Roger Dean property to Pine Island Road.

Then, about a month later:

PRAP26-000043
Filed June 10, 2026
Pre-app: Big-box retail store with an accessory garden center.
Tenant: Not identified.

And site clearing is now underway.

So we have an unnamed big-box proposal, Portillo’s, a replat, 7 Brew, a $5.6 million Lowe’s land purchase, a Lowe’s construction-access easement, and then another unnamed big-box application with a garden center.

The sign may not say Lowe’s yet.

The development trail does.

The other interesting part is that Lowe’s isn't the whole story. Portillo’s and 7 Brew have both gone through Cape Coral pre-app review at Hancock Terminus, and the property has been replatted into multiple commercial tracts.

Looks like this corner is going to get a lot more interesting.

Anyone know of anything else planned for Hancock Terminus?


r/CommercialRealEstate • • 13d ago

Market Questions Anyone been to this? What’s it like? What conversations are had? What can be learned from this? INTERFACE NET LEASE NYC

3 Upvotes

Asking because honestly fomo


r/CommercialRealEstate • • 14d ago

Financing | Debt Help with construction loan planning for new build medical office

13 Upvotes

I’m a surgeon trying to build a new office with an operating room to free myself from the tyranny of corporate medicine and monopoly hospital systems. I need some education on how to structure a construction loan for my new office.

I own a plot of land that has been rezoned appropriately for my office needs. This was its own hellacious process, but it’s done. My architect has designed the building and the land planners have the full development plan approved with the city.

I’m now trying to figure out how to pay for the build. Estimate build cost last year for the 10k sq ft was 5mil, I would not be surprised if this becomes 7mil in reality. I could wait two more years to save enough cash to have a more conventional financing with 25% down but there is a lot of opportunity cost in waiting and I want to start now.

How to I get a bank to allow a 90-95% LTC to get things going? I’m really good at surgery, less good at banking so don’t want to get jerked around by banks trying to figure this out.

I’m in a midsized midwestern city. I bought the lot at 1.1 mil and based on my own calculation of comps it’s now worth 2-2.5mil. Loan on the lot is about 600k.


r/CommercialRealEstate • • 14d ago

Development Unsure if there is a buried oil tank on a commercial building I'm buying. Am I missing anything?

18 Upvotes

Under agreement on an older commercial building. The inspector found an old oil fill cap in the ground and flagged a potential possibility of an underground tank. The building was switched to gas years ago while a tenant occupied it. The owner signed the permit, but nobody knows who did the work, and there's no permit or record anywhere of a tank being removed. The seller says he doesn't know anything about a tank.

In the basement below the fill cap and gas meter area above ground there's a cut pipe coming through the wall, a stained outline on the wall where a tank could have sat (cement platform comes up a few feet off the ground). A tank company looked at photos and thought it was an indoor tank that got removed, but nothing confirms that, and the fill cap outside was never pulled or sealed.

What I've done so far:

- Checked city, fire department, and state records. Nothing.

- Booking a ground radar scan at my own cost.

Is there anything I'm missing or should be doing now? I dont want any surprises.


r/CommercialRealEstate • • 14d ago

Financing | Debt Would you take this loan or should i shop around more

2 Upvotes

Hello, Everyone recently i got a quote from Golden1 about jumbo loan for a 11 units property with 6.4 Cap for 2.4mils, Here is what i got, is this good or should i shop around more

"Based on the financial details including the assumed vacant unit remaining through closing, I’m penciling $1,300,000 in loan proceeds. This is based on a maximum 55% LTV/LTPP, 30-year amortization, no loan fee, and recourse. Third-party costs are estimated at $7,500 including appraisal, title, escrow, etc. Current multifamily pricing at the 55% leverage is 3-year 6.79%, 5-year 6.89%, 7-year 6.99%, and 10-year 7.09%, all fixed during the term with a stepdown prepayment structure. An open prepayment is available with a rate add and loan fee."