This is the first of the Epic Fail posts.  For these posts I’ll discuss the mistakes I have made while trying to open my box.  There will be many of these posts.

One of the first decisions you need to make after you decide you want to open your own box is WHERE you want to open your box.  This can be a lot trickier than it seems.  For instance, Maryland, Virginia and DC are essentially all the same area (collectively known as the DMV).  It’s very common for people from Maryland to go to/work in Virginia or DC and DC people to go to/work in Maryland or Virginia (and yes Virginia people go to DC and Maryland as well).  So in the DC area there are myriad places to open; each one with it’s own idiosyncrasies.  Who better to explain and investigate these idiosyncrasies than a Real Estate Broker, right?  You know people whose job it is to know what real estate is available in what area and tell you about the different areas?  Wrong.  Real Estate Brokers are useless middle men who retard progress.

A good realtor will collect information for you and then let you know what properties are available, how much they are worth (note: there is a BIG DIFFERENCE between what the property is listed as or the Landlord is asking for and what the property is WORTH) and help you negotiate your lease terms.   That’s a good realtor.  Not most realtors.

Most realtors will do absolutely nothing for you.  All they care about is collecting their commission; which thankfully the landlord almost always pays.  If you get a used car dealer vibe from a realtor (which is likely) drop them immediately.  ”Slow to hire, quick to fire” will save you a lot trouble down the road..

Realtors have for the most part been antiquated by the internet.  There is almost nothing a realtor can tell you that you can’t easily discover with about 10 seconds on Google.  I found what I considered to be a perfect space.  Then, I made the fatal mistake of turning it over to my realtor.  He took about 2 months to get the owner’s contact information, and then about another 1.5 months to get a Letter of Intent (LOI) to lock down the space.  By the time my LOI finally got to the owner; another group came in and offered more money.  I was screwed all because my realtor took way longer than necessary.  I fired him, decided to do all the work myself, got all the contact info I needed and set up a viewing; all in about 2 hours.  Tax records on properties are public record.  Most likely they are on the internet.  For instance, D.C.’s real estate tax records can be found here.  Investigate yourself, real estate brokers don’t really understand the kind of space you’re looking for.  Only you do.

Don’t accept mediocrity from someone just because you’re new to the game of real estate and aren’t 100% sure how it works.  If you get the slightest inkling your realtor isn’t working as hard or harder than you, fire him, immediately.

Trust your instincts, you’re going to need them.