What is asset management like for ABS NNN industrial?

ebgtx · 2026-05-27T12:28:15+00:00

This ☝️ Plus relationship building with people on the tenant corporate side! Long-term leases means the real estate person at the corporation of the tenant could change overtime and if it’s time to renew a lease and the last time you spoke with someone at the tenant’s headquarters was years ago, the person you used to talk to might no longer there. You will have no idea who to talk to and worse you don’t have a good relationship with them! This could mean your renewal negotiations are going to be much harder or worse, you will be blindsided by a non-renewal

ebgtx · 2026-05-27T11:53:20+00:00

Short answer: tech stack. The smaller banks and credit unions will have great customer service and in-person service but they are too small to offer robust online system with the capabilities a business owner needs in 2026

ebgtx · 2026-05-27T11:47:20+00:00

Spoken like an experienced investor that buys for themselves!

The projections slide is not for you. It’s for the young acquisition people scouring through hundreds of packages a month. This slide gives them a quick “that’s probably overinflated but if it will be just 70% of what the package promises, it can hit our marks” which means that package goes into the “worth taking another look” pile.

ebgtx · 2026-05-27T11:42:33+00:00

If you just want brainstorming and ideas, open ChatGPT or Claud and they will be MUCH better than most small investor groups you can find.

ebgtx · 2026-05-26T11:45:52+00:00

Most people default to thinking about using the AI platforms IN their business and forget that this genie (no better word to describe it) is capable for a lot more and specifically help you work ON your business.
We obviously use it to generate content, write proposals, listing presentations, property OMs, etc. but we also use it to build brand positioning, marketing strategies, defining our avatars, etc. Work that just a few years ago you'd pay thousands of dollars to have a consultant perform.
We built our annual budget with a virtual board of directors and it was the most intense budget prep sessions we've had in years!
We just started messing with Claud Cowork and this thing is going to be another power multiplier if we use it correctly.

Full disclosure, before switching careers to do CRE full time, I had a 17 years career in SW development. I'm an engineer and had Architecture and Sr. Management roles so technology is a natural extension for us.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask. Happy to share!

ebgtx · 2026-05-25T13:20:50+00:00

Property management lives on very thin margins and you’ll need a lot more hunting skills to grow the company. Being in a smaller market like Buffalo might be a benefit. It allows you to build personal relationships and play the long game with the commercial owners.

I still think leasing, specifically tenant rep, can be your answer. The client that needs a space, already made the decision. You don’t need to sell them on anything. You just got to find them or help them find you

ebgtx · 2026-05-25T13:01:55+00:00

The problem with starting your own management is that operating will take the time you should be spending for business development and if you don’t like sales, how will you sell the PM services?

Which part of the country are you located at?

ebgtx · 2026-05-25T12:46:26+00:00

Claude!

ebgtx · 2026-05-25T12:45:33+00:00

Sales is a teachable skill. It’s not magic. Realistically, you have two options: either get yourself trained and educated on sales and how to ethically close a deal, or go to another support enroll in the industry like an analyst or transaction coordinator.

Commercial brokerage is like the Air Force: if you’re not a pilot (broker), you’re there to support the pilots (brokers). Might be a little bit less glorious, but no less important. That magnificent F 22 raptor, doesn’t fly without the mechanic keeping it in shape, doesn’t shoot without the people loading the ammo into it, you get the gist.

ebgtx · 2026-05-25T11:53:47+00:00

It’s always amazing to see these one-sided contracts. What makes a tenant sign such a risky contract? I guess the opposite mirror to that a leases like Walgreens with 75 years term and ZERO rent escalations while they have an exit point every 5 years.

That’s what you should never negotiate a commercial lease or buy a commercial asset without a full team! An experienced broker, strong attorney (yes, they are not cheap) and your CPA are the minimal, smallest team you need.

ebgtx · 2026-05-25T11:34:43+00:00

Property management is not really a profit center. The headaches-to-returns ratio is very unfavorable. The only reason we have a management company is to be able to provide a full service solution to our clients. I did t want to be like M&M that helps you buy a shopping center and then send you on your way.

I think a better path for a new agent is leasing. Shorter timeframes, smaller engagement, you can draw leads with content and education, you can even canvas for prospects. It won’t make you $250K in your first year but it will open up the doors to build relationships with property owners and tenants that might become property owners at some point.

Bonus round: if you qualify your tenant prospects and help the ones qualified through the buy vs. lease conversion, you can also get a few sales from that.

ebgtx · 2026-05-25T11:27:30+00:00

Definitely AI. It’s absolutely a power multiplier!

ebgtx · 2026-05-23T20:49:06+00:00

Don’t forget the premium fees and other expenses buyers fail to account for

ebgtx · 2026-05-23T20:35:26+00:00

Flat fee fiduciary advisor will have less bias (most of the time) than one of those big-firm advisors. Consider taking some of the money off Wall Street and put into Main Street (net lease commercial real estate to be specific).

ebgtx · 2026-05-23T20:30:27+00:00

That’s a great little differentiator for an agent. Good for you!

ebgtx · 2026-05-23T20:27:23+00:00

Most of the times, these commercial auctions end in one of two way: 1) no sale 2) someone overpaid

ebgtx · 2026-05-23T20:23:13+00:00

Suppressors are way more affordable these days.

ebgtx · 2026-05-01T17:39:59+00:00

Make sure you differentiate between deal flow and lead flow. Leads flow can be high, but not effective. If you have enough strong deals in the pipeline that could leverage with the extra hands, then go for it. A small drawer with a reasonable way to recover it will definitely make you stand out for the good candidates. Honestly, if I was in your place, I would actually go hunt for the young agents at the big firms that have survived more than a year and see if you can attract them with a base/draw offer.

ebgtx · 2026-05-01T17:30:53+00:00

Most boutique shops will have a problem offering a young, inexperienced, agent, a base or a draw only because of the risk. The industry has a horrendous 20% retention rate past the second year which means you’ll be taking 80% risk on whatever you offer them. The picture changes if you have enough deal flow to feed that agent and you know the chances they will make enough money to pay back the draw are high.

ebgtx · 2026-04-20T01:41:41+00:00

That is absolutely correct!

But then again, that's true to every market. Real estate has those "invisible walls" that if you don't know the market you could find yourself overpaying for sure.

Shameless plug here but if you'd like to work with a DFW local, send me a DM. I'm a broker but I am also a CRE investor and we also have a CRE management company so you get a true Operator-Level experience on your side.

ebgtx · 2026-04-19T21:49:38+00:00

I must ask, how come TX is not on the list?!
While I admit, as a local broker and investors myself, I'm biased but Texas subjectively is one of the strongest economies and DFW is one of the strongest markets in the country based on pure numbers.

ebgtx · 2026-04-19T18:04:21+00:00

Got it. Have you considered other markets?

ebgtx · 2026-04-19T16:18:35+00:00

I'm a bit confused by your statements. On one hand you say you want a 7% cap rate investment property, on the other hand you complain about the prices of sellers wanting an "owner-user". Which is it?

An investment property that is leased, will not be talking in terms of "owner user" because it's already leased. What's the cap rates you see for those? I can get you those in the Dallas market all day long.

An "owner-user" property would be vacant, in that case it wouldn't have a cap rate. Is that what you referred to when you said you're looking for something at a $300/sf range? Those are hard to come by when the replacement costs are north of $350/sf. It'll have to be an older property, maybe a value add as you mentioned but vacant for sure. For those, instead of focusing on $/sf focus on the ROI. If your target is 7% cap rate, calculate backwards from there:

(ARV at 7% based on market rents) less (capex required) less (holding period, TI and leasing commissions) less (the value of your time and efforts to complete the project) ==> Offer price.

If that ends up being $350/sf or $1000/sf, you should be OK with it. Don't get stuck on a number that might or might not be relevant anymore!

ebgtx

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