Professional Directory

Please keep in mind the opportunities available within the Professional Directory search of CoStar. This search allows you to search for owners or investors in order to identify their inventory for further opportunity. Are you working with a client who may own additional properties? If so, you can see all of their properties on a map and identify buildings that may help you grow your business and relationship further.

Please remember to call me anytime to help walk you through this, or any other, CoStar application.

Saving Alerts

CoStar provides you the ability to save alerts within your search criteria.  This is most commonly seen when brokers are working with a particular client who has a particular need.  Following a search that meets the criteria of the client, a CoStar user has the ability to save the search and set an alert in order to be made aware via email when additional space becomes available.

However, you may also choose to set alerts for competing space.  This will allow you to be made aware when that space is filled or the lease price has been reduced.  I would recommend searching competing properties by taking advantage of the “radius” search under location.  This will make it easy for each of your properties to be added to seperate surveys and allow you to stay on top of the changes that effect your space and your client.

Finally, setting alerts for your specialty can also be extremely helpful.  If you work a particular submarket in a particular industry, try running a search on the basic parameters of your specialization.  Once you save this survey and set alerts, it will allow you to be made aware of changes within your market via email while you are on the road.  This can provide tremendous credibility.

24 Months in a Lifetime

I was discussing our economic condition with some colleagues the other day, and as is the case with most of these conversations, we began discussing the length of time that this crisis would grip us.  The truth is, our current environment will recover in much of the same way it deteriorated. 

Regardless, it is hard to believe that we will be void of serious problems for less than 24 months.  Sure, there will be bright spots along the way, increased lending and the flow of cash, residential real estate sales, employment growth, etc, but its hard to imagine that we will feel “confident” for at least two years.

Think of it…2 years…in a lifetime.  I’ll take that.  I look to March 1st, 2011 with great anticipation.  Opportunities will be plentiful.  And I will go about a new chapter in my life with lessons learned from the past and a deeper sense of appreciation for what I have.  I hope we can all see that.

In the CRE industry, CoStar helped you tremendously during the good times.  The applications helped you identify properties for clients or allowed you to acquire the right property for the perfect investment.  However, as we fight through the next two years, CoStar can be an even greater asset to you in managing your business through tough times.  Do you know class B vacancy rates in Northern Johnson County?  Unlike other applications, CoStar allows you to look deep into a market and manage it on a micro-level, in order to truly help your clients, or yourself, make informed and educated decisions.

I am blessed during these tough times to see the “creative” and “dedicated” side of commercial real estate.  Those that apply the creativity and dedication over the next two years are those that will find success even greater in 2011 and beyond.

Please let me know how I can help you use CoStar in creative ways.

 

Training

Please keep in mind that I am available for trainings online at anytime.  The one thing I have found is that it is easier for clients to remember specific applications when a particular objective is being achieved.  My cell phone is readily available and I will do my best to work with you as you work to provide your client with the most up to date real estate information.

Thanks as always.