Commercial Investment Real Estate March/April 2016 | Page 22

CCIM
EDUCATION
Small-Market
Survival
b
by Sara S. Patterson
Expert Assistance
However, many CCIM designees have pre-
vailed despite small-market challenges.
Here they share their tips for market — and
mind — expansion with those who find
themselves in similar situations.
Expand Your Market and Asset Class
Specialization. That’s what Beau Beery,
CCIM, in Gainesville, Fla., advises for
greater success. While he has completed
deals in of ce, retail, industrial, and multi-
family, Beery gravitated toward multifam-
ily. T ree years ago, he made multifamily his
specialty and expanded his territory to all
of north Florida, exponentially growing his
business. His four other team members focus
on the other commercial real estate sectors.
Pay Attention to the Details and Become
the Expert. In tertiary markets, commer-
cial real estate professionals of en have to
understand every aspect of the commercial
marketplace. The details really matter to
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March | April | 2016
complete successful deals. “Understand-
ing all aspects of a smaller market is more
challenging than in big markets,” says Larry
Kuchefski, CCIM, managing broker at Cold-
well Banker Commercial Devonshire Realty
in Champaign, Ill. “I take calls for market
information from real estate appraisers every
day because it’s not available anywhere else.”
Develop Creative Solutions. When a
transaction almost collapsed, Ron Welebny
had to think quickly, applying skills he
had just learned in the CI 102 course from
instructor Gary Ralston, CCIM. A qualify-
ing broker at Rossman Commercial Realty in
Cape Coral, Fla., Welebny had put together
a deal for a multi-use industrial and stor-
age building. T e buyer’s contract had been
signed, sealed, and almost delivered when
the building was raided: A Miami-based
crime ring had set up a chop shop involv-
ing 30 percent of the tenants. Overnight, the
previous 90 percent occupancy was history.
Welebny did a quick supply and demand
analysis and found a shortage of that type
of space in the trade area. “We repack-
aged the entire transaction to replace the
bank loan with seller f nancing,” he says.
T e seller agreed to hold the note with one
critical dif erence — no payments for the
f rst six months. “T e cap rate is actually
higher than with the place full under the
terms that we had originally craf ed. So
the gamble is really producing replacement
tenants in that six months.” Already two
separate tenants already have signed up for
one-third of the vacant space.
Dominate Your Market Niche. As the
only full-time commercial real estate bro-
ker working in Danville, Ill., a community
of 35,000, Kuchefski has also moved into
development.
“T rough both buying, selling, and devel-
opment work in Danville, I of en get other
investors interested in our city,” he says. “It’s
Commercial Investment Real Estate
Big-ticket transactions are tougher to fi nd in small commercial real estate markets. As a result, it can
be more diffi cult for CCIM candidate members to reach the portfolio submission requirements to earn
the CCIM designation.