In a commercial real estate market dominated by large national firms, independent agents and small brokerages have become the exception rather than the rule. That doesn’t bother Randy Krise, CCIM, broker/owner of Krise Commercial Group in Fort Myers. He began buying, selling and developing real estate on his own 35 years ago in Marietta, Georgia and continues to conduct business as an independent broker.
For the last 13 years, he has been a commercial broker in Southwest Florida, enjoying significant success during the market boom and suffering alongside his peers during the recession. At the same time, he has become a visible force in the community and local politics. He is also an outspoken advocate for continuing education in his profession, currently serving as president-elect of the Florida CCIM Chapter.
While Krise is reluctant to dwell on his losses, he’s eager to discuss his career and his views on the industry. In a recent interview, Krise revealed what drives him to succeed as a commercial broker in a challenging, changing market. Here are some excerpts.
What made you want
to get into real estate?
To make money! I was going to be an attorney, but then I started working for my mother when I was in college. She owned and then worked for a chain of daycare centers in Marietta. I love children and I loved the business, so I started building daycare centers.
I bought my first investment property in 1979 with some of the proceeds from my daycare business. I paid $23,000 for a six-acre baseball field and within two years, it was appraised at $150,000! I got that for doing nothing other than paying $236 a month, which I never missed. I only financed $12,000, so I paid that land off in no time.
After that, every time I wanted to build another daycare center, I’d get an SBA loan using the baseball field as collateral. Once I had the center up and running, I’d pay off the SBA loan and get a conventional loan, and then build another center. After awhile, I owed nothing.
It was a lot of fun. I was hooked once I finally started understanding that you can actually make money off of real estate! After that, I figured I could save on the commissions if I got my real estate license.
In 2005, Krise sold the baseball field for $890,000, after holding it for 26 years. He also owned his first daycare facility for 23 years, during which time he sold, financed and ultimately repossessed the property several times, always enjoying positive cash flow. When he sold it for the final time, his initial investment of just over $300,000 yielded approximately $5 million.
Have you ever
considered joining one
of the national firms?
Not really. I’ve only worked for two employers in my life: my mother and the Air Force. From 1971-1974, I was on a launch crew for Titan II ICBMs with nuclear warheads, which fortunately, were never launched. Other than that, I’ve always owned my own business. I’m the kind of guy who just really doesn’t do well as an employee.
Who are your clients
and how do you
work with them?
I typically work with seasoned investors, particularly when I list properties, but I also get new customers — potential buyers — from phone calls. Within about a two-minute conversation, you have to gain their confidence. You must impress them as being trustworthy, competent and knowledgeable. You must listen carefully. Above all, you have to be patient.
I learned patience working with children when I owned and operated daycare centers, and also during the 23 years I refereed college basketball, 13 of them for the NCAA. This business takes more patience than you can believe and I’ve seen it all! If you’re going to be a successful real estate broker, you have to be patient with the buyers and the sellers, particularly when they change their minds or the banks change their terms during the course of a deal. I can strongly advise clients, but they’re in charge. Sometimes they listen and sometimes they don’t.
How did the
recession affect you?
We were doing fine and then we took a hit like everyone else. But what are you going to do? Make it here, lose it there. That’s the way it is in this business. Nobody had any idea that the world was going to fall in like it did.
By 2008-2009, there were no properties, no buyers, no cash flow, no anything for a couple of years. Companies shut down or went out of business and people left. I had agents who picked up and moved, either to other careers or other markets, just to have a paycheck.
How did you survive?
I struggled. I’d always been a traditional broker who worked the traditional way like everyone else. I got my listings and marketed the properties, and when people called me, I helped them get bank loans. When banks were lending, cash buyers were the exception rather than the norm. So for several years, I had to totally reinvent myself as a broker and take a different approach to the real estate business.
Starting in 2009, some of the (foreclosed commercial properties) began coming on line, so I worked to establish relationships with bank REO managers in order to find out what they had for sale. At the same time, I tried to meet high net worth buyers who could pay cash, because the banks weren’t lending.
For the last few years, I’ve worked hard to regroup and become valuable to people. Staying active in networking and politics have helped in that respect. I belong to a couple of the local chambers and real estate organizations, including the Florida CCIM Chapter Southwest District. I’m also on Lee County’s Development Code Advisory Council (as an appointee of Lee County Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass) and a past member of the Horizon Council. In February, the commission appointed me to the Airport Management Advisory Committee, which oversees the Lee County Port Authority.
What does politics have
to do with real estate?
Media exposure and introductions in the community, mainly. I’m often interviewed by local newspaper and TV reporters. If you’re in front of people enough, people will know you. I’m talking to people all the time so that they’ll call me — and not the name on the sign — when they have an opportunity to buy something. But you have to stay in front of them. They’re busy running their lives.
Also, much like politics, my business requires diplomacy. When I’m working with foreign investors, for instance, I understand that negotiating means different things to different cultures. It can take years to gain their trust, which many commercial brokers won’t take the time to do.
What are the greatest frustrations and challenges facing commercial brokers today?
One of the big problems in this business is the lack of loyalty. You can drive someone around for a week showing properties to them, only to have them tell you they signed a contract with the listing agent. This happens more with commercial leases than sales.
Another problem is the lack of education and training. It’s not against the law to go out and try to sell real estate without the proper training. Plenty of people do it, thinking they know how to invest. But clients need and deserve concrete proof that they’re making a sound investment decision. It’s a matter of knowing how to evaluate all types of commercial properties based on more than price and location. That’s why I became a CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member).
What’s the advantage
of the CCIM designation?
The average investor thinks that property will always appreciate, which is generally true. Still, it may not be the best investment if it doesn’t yield the highest return with the least headache or align with the buyer’s investment goals.
If you’re looking for property on the Internet and call the listing agent, you don’t have a clue who you’re talking with. It could be their first day on the job or their last. But if you call a CCIM, you know you’re talking with an educated, ethical investment professional.
CCIMs are qualified to offer highly specific, in-depth commercial and investment property analyses. For instance, if a client wanted to open a shoe store in Lee County, I would calculate the total shoe store space in the area, the average price psf, traffic patterns, current and projected population, and other factors before recommending where to locate, how much to pay, and whether to buy, lease or sell and lease back. It’s about certainty, not just hope.
Also, CCIMs are invaluable when it comes to negotiating the most difficult and complicated transactions. Frequently, we not only close the most problematic deals, we’ll work out the most favorable terms for our clients, as well.
Recently, I worked with a business owner/end user on the purchase of an industrial property in east Fort Myers. It was a protracted short sale for an overpriced property with environmental problems that the bank did not want to clean up. In order to meet the bank’s mandated closing before the end of the year, I had to navigate between the bank and its lawyer, the titled owner of the building, the buyer and the buyer’s attorney. I met the challenge because I knew all the phases, players and their roles, and how to keep them together. The sale closed on December 27.
How has technology affected your industry?
There’s a lot less personal interaction. Instead of calling on the phone, most people e-mail their inquiries and requests, which is very matter of fact. You don’t get to use your personality.
But mechanically, it’s much easier today than when I started my real estate career. Back then, meetings with clients and other agents were face-to-face, contracts were either hand-written or typed, and public records and title searches typically involved a trip to the courthouse. What used to take hours or days takes minutes these days. Thanks to computer technology and the Internet, it’s possible to sell property, send and receive contracts, and search for out-of-town properties without ever leaving your office.
The immediate access to knowledge also makes it easier for me to service my clients. I can get data from CoStar or LoopNet, plus all the comps through Lee County’s website. When clients contact me, I have at my fingertips all the specifics about every building that’s available in our area.
What can commercial investors learn from
the last five years?
Probably nothing. Those with staying power, who could afford to buy at the bottom and hold, are making money. What I’ve learned is to pay cash whenever possible and steer clear of banks. History always repeats itself.
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