Commercial Investment Real Estate September/October 2017 | Page 36

Negotiating
Difficult
Deals
CCIMs use radical empathy to achieve positive outcomes.
by Rich Rosfelder
B
ased in New York City, Paul Waters,
CCIM, is chief operating officer for
Integra Realty Resources, one of the
largest independent appraisal firms
in the country. His company deals
mostly with lenders. And lenders
don’t have time for heart-to-hearts.
“Our clients want hard data, not
empathy,” he says.
This sentiment will sound familiar to com-
mercial real estate advisers with large firms in pri-
mary markets. Participants in sophisticated, insti-
tutional-level transactions often pride themselves on
using only cold, calculated analyses of the facts to
arrive at a go or no-go decision. In the era of big data
and online sales platforms, this approach is easier
than ever.
But for advisers to less experienced investors, the
commercial real estate transaction remains all too
human. It’s their job to navigate through the emo-
tions, the competing interests, and the miscom-
munication to get to that closing.
“You can’t prevent conflict,” says Byron Smith Sr.,
CCIM, president of Metropolitan Realty Group in
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September | October 2017
Vienna, Va., and a CCIM instructor. “But you can
try to reduce it as much as possible.”
Challenging Deals
The problem isn’t always as simple as disagreement
over price.
“The underlying factors are always fear and
greed,” says James A. Palmer, CCIM, broker with
RE/MAX Hallmark Realty Group in Ottawa,
Ontario. “They’re always there subconsciously, in
our clients, other brokers, and ourselves.”
When faced with such challenges, the commer-
cial real estate adviser has the opportunity to step
into the role of psychologist. “Like a therapist, the
adviser is there to probe and examine to get to the
solution,” Smith says.
Lydia Bennett, CCIM, CPM, owner of CRE
West Coast in Bellingham, Wash., sees fear among
an increasing segment of novice transaction parties:
the families of aging owners and investors who have
input on financial decisions. “This situation is prob-
ably becoming more common as commercial real
estate continues to be owned by investors from afar,
as well as family investment trusts,” Bennett says.
COMMERCIAL INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE