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SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE 631: HOW TO WORK WITH A REAL ESTATE BROKER TO FIND BETTER DEALS
With property prices rising, along with increasing interest rates, you need to know how to find the very best deals — but how? The best investors get the best deals (and often at below market prices) from brokers they already have a solid relationship with. In today’s podcast, real estate investor and managing broker of Gardner Property Group Cory Gardner shares insider secrets of how to connect with and establish long-term broker relationships that will generate a steady stream of great deals.
What You Will Learn
- How to find a great broker in a top market
- What questions you need to ask a broker to better understand and win them over to do business with you
- How to assess if a broker is the right broker for you
- Tips on what not to say to a broker
- The “secret sauce” to attract brokers who will want to do business with you
- What a good Business Plan looks like
- How to get started to become a successful real estate investor
About Our Guest
Cory Gardner
Cory started his real estate career in 2016 as an investor in Chicago. Today he is the managing broker of a boutique real estate brokerage, Gardner Property Group, based in downtown Indianapolis. Cory works in both commercial and residential investment real estate, with a core mission to facilitate transactions with hyper-local market expertise, first-class advisory services, and aggressive negotiations.
More About Cory
- Grew up in Ft. Wayne, IN
- He has always been in sales
- In middle school, he sold candy out of his locker
- Went to Indiana University in Bloomington, IN
- Studied Psychology but didn’t really want to (He said he took Psych only because he “thought he was crazy” lol)
- Seriously, he saw it being beneficial because he knew he would always be working with people and he wanted to understand them better
- Was in a network marketing company while in college
- One of his landlords, while he was in college, owned 20 doors and this really impressed Cory
- His building was completely paid for
- He had pure cash flow
- It made him think a lot about real estate
- Moved to Chicago to start his career
- He sold HR software there
- When he graduated college and went to work in Chicago, he got a job with an early stage start-up
- He loves the environment
- The entrepreneurial spirit
- It was at that time that he realized that real estate was what he needed to get into, but he didn’t know how
- He had always been in sales and real estate seemed like a natural progression for him
How to Connect With a Good Broker
- Real estate is all about relationships
- And you need to remember that real estate is a long-term game
- Get conversations going with brokers
- Find out
- What they are passionate about
- What do they like to do on weekends
- Talk about their family life
- Understand where that person is at in life
- Just be natural and just have conversations with people
- Try not to sound like a robot when you meet someone new
- Have an earnest conversation
- Get a baseline understand:
- What’s this person about?
- What are they like?
- Then, assess…
- Is that the right kind of person I should be talking to or spending my time with?
- Is this someone I want to do business with?
- After you evaluate that information, based on your various conversations, it can set you up for success no matter what you are going to do beyond that
- Then, you need to:
- Have conversations often
- You follow-up
- If you want to get into a specific market or get into a certain space, you need to know who the players (brokers) are and you need to get an introduction to those players
- If you can’t get a introduction, you need
- To find the best way to get in front of them
- Explain who you are in a simple enough format that they can digest that info and think of you when the right deal comes up
- You also need to understand that brokers are very busy and they don’t have the time to speak with people every time they call
- Therefore, the better job you can make of your presentation to a broker and show them that you are serious and focused:
- I have a business plan
- Here’s what I do
- Here’s what I’m looking for
- Then, they can determine better if they want to spend time with you
- The chances of you doing a deal together goes up from there
- If you focus on those things and be patient, things will develop over time
Having a Business Plan
- If you’re looking to find the “dream deals” there is something you can do
- One thing that will really add to your success and that will set you apart from the competition (and with brokers) is have a strong Business Plan
- It should be concise and focused on what you are looking for
- You will stand out with brokers when compared with other investors and broker clients with the right plan
- Cory wants to provide a “streamlined process/white glove service” when working with his clients
- Part of what helps make that happen is if the client makes it easy for him to have a good, clear understanding of exactly what the client is looking for
- This plan needs to include:
- A refined, clear set of criteria
- An Executive Summary
- Investor background info
- Easy to digest
- Showcases the client’s experience
- Shows how they will get the deal done
- A plan will provide the broker with:
- Something that the broker can reference
- Confidence that the investor is focused and committed
- Assurance that, if he presents a deal to the client, he won’t have to question whether the investor will give it serious consideration
Biggest Investor Mistake When Trying to Work With a Broker
- If the broker asks, “What are you looking for?” and the investor says, “Well, I’m just looking for good deals, something that’s going to cashflow well and that I can be ‘hands off,’ of course, the broker is going to think, “Yes, you and 20,000 other investors out there!”
- Jesse Itzler asks, “Why are you a special brownie?” “Why are you so special?” and “Why should I give you any attention?”
- “You need to sell yourself to me!”
- “Being general, broad and unguided is not going to win my attention.”
- If you’re just starting out and maybe not ready for prime time, that’s one thing
- If you have been doing your research, listening to the Old Dawg’s Podcast and building the idea in your head of what you want to do,
- Put it to paper
- Refine it
- Work on it
- Figure out exactly what it is that you’re going to do and then, go out and try to find it
- Get feedback from the market!
- But continue to refine it and move forward until you have a tight plan
Most Successful Investor Approaches
- They are very specific when they reach out to Cory
- For example, “Here is what I currently own. This is what I’ve done. Here’s what I’m looking to get into”
- Maybe they are new to Cory’s market but they will say why they specifically like the Indianapolis market
- Then they ask, “Is this something you feel like you can help me find? Do you find these types of opportunities?”
- When Cory get’s off the phone with the person, he thinks…
- “This is somebody who knows what they are talking about.”
- “If I find an opportunity, I would be able to filter it, using their criteria, without even talking with them initially.”
- That type of conversation makes life a lot easier for both parties
- When a broker does present an opportunity to you, make sure you get back to the broker promptly, whether you like the deal, are still reviewing it or are not interested
- “A fast no is better than a slow maybe”
Advice for Old Dawgs Looking at Real Estate Investing to Help Them in Their Retirement Years
- Take the first step!
- The best time to plant the tree is 20 years ago
- The second best time is today
- You’ve got to get out in the market and start
- There’s a book entitled, “You Can’t Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike in a Seminar” by David H. Sandler
- If you want to be an investor, sure you can read, listen to podcasts, go to boot camps, etc. but you eventually have to JUST DO IT!
- That’s the only way to really learn and become good at it
- To start off easy:
- Focus on one thing as much as you can and see what happens
- Taken from Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson
- “Shiny Object Syndrome” plagues everyone at one time or another
- If you can just pick one or two things in real estate (types of assets or area/location you want, for example) and just focus on that
- Then, focus on that as much as you can for 1 or 2 years
- That will make a huge difference
Current Business
- When he was moving from Chicago to Indianapolis in 2016-2017, he had looked at the market fundamentals of Indianapolis, comparing them to other markets, and he saw how attractive those fundamentals were
- Strong population growth
- Good job growth
- Some big tech acquisitions
- Businesses were attracting talent from the coastal markets
- Great capital resources
- Today, reflecting back, he’s seen the seeds he planted in building his business is coming to fruition
- Now, as he is gaining traction to build his business, he’s excited because he is now building on that base
- His business is “boutique and unique!”
- It’s exciting and fun!
- And they’re making a name for themselves
- He’s looking at implementing some systems and processes into his business to help it continue to grow and scale
- He’s analyzing his business to see where he needs to tweak it to help it succeed now and in the future
- He’s also continuing to build up his portfolio
Rap-It-Up
- Favorite real estate book: Skip the Flip by Hayden Crabtree and Crushing it in Apartments and Commercial Real Estate by Brian Murray
- Favorite business book: Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink
- Most valuable web site for success (other than your own): Google.com and CoStar
- Favorite app: CoStar mobile app
- Favorite quote: ““We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.” – Jim Rohn
- If you lost everything – all your assets – and had to start all over, knowing what you already know, and you only had $1,000, what would you do to re-launch your real estate investing business? First, I would buy a phone and service subscription. Then, I’m going to make a lot of phone calls. I would use the rest of the money setting up lunch meetings with some investors to build my network.
How to Reach Cory
- Website: CallGPG.com
- Instagram: CoryTheBroker
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