Steven Taylor on Navigating the World of Los Angeles Commercial Real Estate

 

Steven Taylor, Los Angeles

If you’re thinking about getting into real estate, you may be wondering what it’s like to navigate the Los Angeles commercial and residential real estate markets. While residential and commercial real estate have a lot in common, the day-to-day of each industry can be very different. Steven Taylor Los Angeles native and a real estate expert in the LA. In this article we’ll break down how to navigate the world of commercial real estate in Los Angeles, and explore what your day-to-day may look like as a commercial real estate broker. Despite the challenges, a career in real estate can be profitable and highly rewarding.

What does a work day look like in commercial real estate in Los Angeles?

Your daily routine and activities as a commercial real estate agent may be different depending on a variety of factors. What part of the market do you focus on? What type of properties do you specialize in? How long have you been in the business? Do you have a team of employees or are you working alone?

In your day-to-day as a commercial real estate broker, you may need to make cold calls to building owners or businesses. Steven Taylor of Los Angeles, says cold calls can feel intimidating to new real estate agents, but soon will become routine. As a broker, you’ll get into the habit of studying the current payment rates for properties in your area and interpreting current leases of prospective buyers.

Many commercial agents spend a lot of time calculating break-even ratios for properties, and reviewing reports. You may also need to study data from the city like the market reports from the Chamber of Commerce. A more exciting part of a commercial real estate broker’s day is often visiting potential properties or checking out popular competing properties to evaluate them. Overall, navigating commercial real estate involves more day-to-day in-depth analysis than in the residential real estate industry.

What do commissions look like in the world of commercial real estate?

Many people get into commercial real estate for the money. It’s true - you can make some very big commissions working in the commercial market. But, compared to the residential market, the process can take a lot longer. It can often take several months or more for a deal to move to closing. To be a commercial real estate broker, you need to have patience.

Client relationships require a different approach in commercial real estate.

In residential real estate, the majority of the client relationship takes place up front. Helping your client find a home they love is the goal, and the back-end work just seals the deal. As long as everything goes smoothly, if your client loves the property, they are happy...and likely to refer you to others.

In commercial real estate, the client relationship needs to be navigated a bit differently. Lease clients or commercial buyers have a lot at stake, and are typically much more concerned with the back end of the deal. Los Angeles native, Steven Taylor, says that in the LA area, clients typically want to be involved in financial details, hear about research, and understand the big picture before closing. In your day-to-day as a commercial broker, you’ll spend more time talking to buyers about statistics than you would in residential real estate. It can feel like a lot of work, but in the end, commercial real estate can be interesting, detail oriented, and very rewarding.