LISTING AGENT
(Real Estate Agent for Sellers)

Selling an income property at a top-of-the-market price requires more than just posting a pretty marketing brochure with pro forma income/expense data and waiting for the phone to ring.

OUR SELLING PROCESS

Our experience has shown over many years that very few owners truly understand the impact that even a “few thousand dollars” of supported Net Operating Income can have on income-property valuation at selling time. Let's look at the step-by-step methodology and process Realty Yield encourages all sellers to go through before "launching" a property for sale. Then let's look at a real-world EXAMPLE of executing our recommended process.


STEP 1

PRE-SALE ASSESSMENT OF PROPERTY

Agent's Role

  • Analyze Rent-roll, Financials & Physical Issues
  • Quantify Value of Implementing Recommendations

Seller's Role

  • Provide Realty Yield Operating Financials
  • Work with Realty Yield To Complete Physical Inspection

This includes both the financial and physical components.


The financial factors include: current rents versus potential market/full rents, current other income versus potential, the current operating expense load versus optimal and any “easy/near-term” added-value opportunities (example would be implementing a Utility-Bill-Back program) that could be applied before sale.


The physical components would include all “lower cost” aesthetic items (paint, landscaping, minor repairs, signage, lighting (exterior), litter & debris

(exterior) and all/most minor unit deficiencies (worn out floor coverings, failing appliances, paint, etc.).


More often than not (unless the owner is a full-time professional investor and active asset manager), there is a list of both “financial” and “physical” items that a prudent owner should address PRIOR to advertising on the open market. Furthermore, many of these items often can take months to correct/implement.


Unfortunately, too many sellers don't get the benefit of an analysis before they decide to sell.


STEP 2

PRE-SALE STRATEGY &

ACTION PLAN

Agent's Role

  • Draft, Direct & Manage Pre-Sale Action Plan & Timeline

Seller's Role

  • Provide Input & Approve Pre-Sale Plan & Timeline

The reality is that initiating a rent increase, implementing a utility bill-back program, collecting parking space income, transitioning to third party R&M vendors and fixing a list of needed repairs is going to take some period of time before the improved financial results are reflected on an operating statement.


Realty Yield will work with you to draft a written plan and timeline as well as participate in the

execution and management of this process. We do it all the time.

Realty Yield is not one of those brokers that will hurry you to market just to close a sale and make a commission. In fact, in many cases we strongly recommend just the opposite. Ask our clients directly -- they will confirm this is true.


STEP 3

PRICING & OFFERING MEMORANDUM

Agent's Role

  • Determine Current/New Property Value & Suggest Price
  • Prepare Offering Memorandum

Seller's Role

  • Approve Listing Price and Offering Memorandum

In order to price a property properly we will compile a list of like-kind comparable sales, perform our own valuation analysis, review recent appraisals of similar properties, review current for-sale competition and factor any value-add/upside opportunities, which the subject property would afford a buyer.


Pricing should be done right from the get-go. We don’t "buy" listings; in other words we won’t tell you your property is worth more than it really is just to get a listing, then later ask you to lower the price because the “market has changed".


You will get an honest opinion-of-value for your property from the beginning. We encourage sellers to think like buyers. If you wouldn’t buy your own property based on what is being presented, why would someone else? Again, top-of-market but realistic initial pricing is required if you want to work with us.

Realty Yield will then prepare the Offering Memorandum (marketing package). Our marketing materials are the culmination of many years of experience in knowing what gets results for our sellers and what doesn’t. But again, don’t take our word for it.


According to the analytics from LoopNet (the #1 commercial-investment real estate listing site on the Internet), our listings are consistently in the top 5% of most accessed (clicked-on). The numbers don’t lie.


Our marketing packages are very focused on clearly differentiating your property (why a buyer should invest in it), supported by objective, compelling financial/investment return metrics. Yes, we also appropriately feature a representative sample of quality photos, rent comparables, sales comparables, market/sub-market and demographic information, maps, etc.

All sellers should ask to see samples of a broker’s marketing materials before retaining them. We look forward to sharing ours with you.


STEP 4

MARKETING & ADVERTISING

Agent's Role

  • Expose Property Through All Available Channels

Seller's Role

  • Inform Realty Yield of Any Material Changes In Property Operations, if applicable

There is no downside to maximizing exposure. Obviously, the more qualified prospective buyers the offering gets in front of, the better. We utilize all the following channels:


  • Commercial property listing websites (LoopNet, Showcase/Co-Star, CIMLS, Commercial Source, VerticalEmail, RMLS, Apartments For Sale, more…)


  • The broker community
  • Outreach to principal owners of other investment real estate
  • Current Realty Yield clients
  • Mid-high net worth individuals reallocating capital from other asset classes



STEP 5

PUTTING A DEAL TOGETHER

Agent's Role

  • Assess / Qualify Buyers
  • Negotiate Price & PSA Terms
  • Manage Process Through Closing

Seller's Role

  • Approve Buyer, Price and Contract Terms
  • Support Realty Yield During Buyer’s Due Diligence Period

Not all buyers/investors are created equal. Circumstances, motivation, buyer experience, and selling broker's expertise all factor in on “selecting” the right buyer. Our experience will pay big dividends here and all but eliminate false starts.

Negotiating/maintaining a final agreed upon sale price, which is at/close to the full listing price is much easier when the groundwork has been properly laid. Since we support our listings and pricing with objective, verifiable data, big price concessions are not something our clients/sellers have to deal with.


Having said that, negotiations are part of every deal. All brokers/sales people say they are expert negotiators, we can back that up with real world results over more than two decades, ask our clients!

We have brokered over a half BILLION DOLLARS worth of real estate deals. There is no substitute for experience.


One other key added-value component we bring to our listing agent services is that we also broker commercial/apartment mortgages (the financing most buyers need/want). Deals fail for financing reasons more than anything else. This won’t happen with us. We know without a doubt what loans are available, what amounts can be borrowed and which buyers will be able to secure financing. In many cases we end up doing the financing for the buyer, it turns out to be a win-win for everybody.


The bottom line is that our experience results in very few sale-fails once a property is put into contract.



REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE

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APARTMENT / COMMERCIAL FINANCING

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1031 EXCHANGE

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EXAMPLE

Typical 30-Unit Apartment Building

This includes both the financial and physical components.


  • Current collected rents average $1,400 per unit monthly which equals $504,000 in collected annual rent income.
  • Current other annual income (late fees - $1,800, laundry - $3,600, parking - $0, storage - $0, tenant utilities reimbursement - $9,600, all other - $0) equals $15,000 annually.
  • Current operating expenses (taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance, professional management, all other) equals $205,000 annually.


Hence, Current Annual Net Operating Income (All Income less Operating Expenses) = $314,000

Assuming a market capitalization rate of 5.50%, this equates to a current value of ~$5,700,000


After review of the subject property's rent-roll, operating financials, current market data and property management reports, it was determined:


  • Rents can be bumped to an average of $1,550 per unit, which equates to $558,000 in annual rent income (+$54,000 over current).
  • New “other income” can be generated by charging for extra parking spaces (10 spaces x $50 monthly = $6,000 annually) and increasing the utility bill-back amount to a current market-norm of $60 per unit/per month (30 x $60 monthly = $21,600 annually). This equates to total "other income" of  $27,600 annually ($12,600 over current).
  • Operating expenses can be reduced in the following areas:
  • Utilities (garbage) by reducing number of receptacles from 3 to 2. Savings = -$4,000 annually
  • More efficient use of third-party subcontractors for Repair & Maintenance. Savings = -$6,000 annually
  • Minor physical exterior deficiencies appear to negatively impact the number of drive-by inquires and application of quality new tenants. Additionally, existing tenant perception is that owner is not maintaining property adequately. Hence, Realty Yield recommends freshening landscaping, power washing & restriping parking lot.


The financial ramifications of executing the above (before selling), to a selling owner, cannot be overstated. The projected increase in likely sale price by acting on the above is/was as follows:


  • Projected annual rental income: $558,000 (+$54,000 over current)
  • Projected annual “other income”: $27,600 (+12,600 over current)
  • Projected annual operating expenses (reduced): $195,000 (-$10,000 less than current)
  • Projected ANNUAL NET OPERATING INCOME: $390,600 (+$79,600 over current)


Assuming the same market capitalization rate of 5.50%, this equates to a new/projected value of ~$7,100,000 (+$1,400,000).


Most owners would probably make the choice of waiting a 3-9 months before selling (timeline depends on the specific property and situation) if this eye-opening analysis was communicated by a seller's Listing Broker upfront before just immediately putting on the market.

Why You Need a Sellers Agent

The reality is, in most cases, months of pre-sale preparation is really required/recommended before the “property offering memorandum” is ever distributed to prospective buyers or brokers.


What all sellers NEED to understand BEFORE seriously contemplating selling is…


The primary metric for valuing income-properties is the capitalization of Net Operating Income. In other words, (all else being equal), the higher the supported Net Operating Income, the more an income-property is worth.

Contact Mike

NOTES FROM OUR CLIENTS

“If you own real estate, sooner or later you will go on a search for 1031 exchange options. Mike Carlson is both a road map and personal tour guide. He is thorough, sticks strictly to 1031 time-line rules, and is an excellent negotiator. Mike has both knowledge and experience in creating private TIC opportunities."


Colleen K.

Oregon

"I have been working with Mike on multi-family investments for over twenty years. The reasons are simple: experience, depth of knowledge and advocacy."



Gary M.

Oregon

“Mike Carlson is great, very professional, experienced, and comfortable to work with. Mike took me, a private investor and calmly, carefully, and completely took me through the entire process: analysis of my portfolio, investment scenarios, identification and purchase of appropriate properties and follow-up management. I would not be where I am without them! It has been over twenty years now."


John B.

Oregon

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