Cynthia Trammell | Small Multifamily Investing
You find a multifamily property that fits your buy box.
The unit count is right. The market interests you. The price is close enough that you want to know more.
There is a button that says Request Information.
There is also a broker’s phone number.
Most people click the button.
I pick up the phone.
Why I Choose to Call
If I have the choice between sending a request online and having an actual conversation with the broker, I am going to call. Not because requesting information online is wrong, but because it puts me in the same line with everyone else who clicked the same button.
I do not want to be another name in an inbox. I want the broker to know who I am.
That first call may begin with one property, but I am thinking beyond it. I want to know what the broker knows and help them understand what I am looking for.
One Property Can Open a Bigger Conversation
Of course I want to know more about the property. Why is the owner selling? How much activity has there been? Have offers already come in? Is there something about the seller or the market that I will never understand from the listing?
What the Broker Learns About Me
Those answers help me decide whether the deal deserves more of my time. But while I am learning about the property, the broker is also learning about me.
Make Your Buy Box Clear
A strong buy box lets me explain the size I like, the markets that interest me, my price range, and what makes me willing to dig deeper. If it does not fit, I can explain why. Each answer sharpens the broker’s understanding of what belongs in front of me next time.
A few months later, another owner may call that broker with something that fits exactly what I described. I would rather have a chance of being one of the first people they think about than be another email address buried in a database.
The Research Backs Up the Relationship
Buildout and theBrokerList have studied commercial real estate professionals for years. In their 2021 DNA of CRE research, nearly 95 percent of brokers said relationship building would be a top stimulus for winning business. Later research found that 76 percent said relationships fuel new business.
The people bringing properties to market are telling us that human connection still matters. Technology can put an offering memorandum in your inbox in seconds, but it cannot let a broker hear how you think. One question can lead to another, and suddenly you may learn about the seller, another property, or something that has not been advertised yet.
What Is Really Keeping You From Calling?
If you know a conversation could be more valuable and you still keep avoiding it, ask yourself what is actually getting in the way.
Are you worried the broker will ask something you cannot answer? Do you think they will immediately know you are new? Are you afraid you will sound inexperienced? Or do you simply dislike the discomfort of talking to someone you do not know?
Prepare Before You Call
I do not expect a new investor to know everything. I do expect you to prepare. Know your buy box, review the property, and have intelligent questions.
If the broker asks something you do not know, tell them you need to research it and get back to them. You are allowed not to know something. Do not let the fear of that keep you from doing anything.
Discomfort Is Part of Ownership
There is a bigger lesson here than broker communication. If making a relatively simple call feels uncomfortable enough that you continually avoid it, what happens when the conversation actually matters?
Owning multifamily means you are responsible for a business. You may need to question a property manager, challenge a contractor, work through a disagreement with a partner, or explain a change in the business plan to investors.
Use Discomfort as Practice
Confidence does not come from arranging your life so you never feel uncomfortable. A lot of it comes from proving to yourself that discomfort does not get to make your decisions. A broker call is a fairly low-risk place to practice that.
Give Them a Reason to Remember You
I do not expect a broker to remember me forever because we spoke once. The value builds in what happens afterward.
Follow Through Matters
If they send me something, I respond. If it does not fit, I tell them why. If I say I will look at the numbers, I do it. Over time, they learn my criteria.
I have obtained many deals because of relationships I built with brokers. I have also had brokers bring me opportunities they were not putting in front of everyone else because they knew what I wanted and knew I would take the opportunity seriously.
In Small Multifamily Investing, Multifamily Underwriting and Real Estate Deal Analysis can tell you whether an opportunity deserves your money. But first, the opportunity has to reach you. Sometimes the difference is who thinks of you when the right property crosses their desk.
Pick Up the Phone
The Decision in Front of You
The next time you see a property that fits your buy box, understand what the decision in front of you really is.
You are deciding whether to remain one more name in an inbox or give someone the chance to actually know you. You are deciding whether immediate comfort gets the final say, or whether the future you say you want matters more.
Your brain can create an entire story before the phone ever rings. You might sound inexperienced. You might ask the wrong question. The conversation could be awkward.
But you do not have a crystal ball. You do not know that any of those things are going to happen. There is no reason to give something that has not happened yet the power to stop you.
You cannot control how every conversation turns out. You can control whether you make the call, ask the question, and create more opportunities instead of waiting for them to find you.
The future you want in multifamily will require you to act before you know exactly how everything will turn out. Trust what you have learned, move past assumptions your mind has written as facts, and choose what you want long term over what feels easiest right now.
You can build relationships that change what comes across your desk and become the investor people think about when the right opportunity appears. Sometimes there is one small decision between the life you are comfortable with and the one you keep saying you want.
Pick up the phone.
