Like many advances in business, my real estate profession began in earnest after a mediocre deal left a bad taste in my mouth. I wanted to walk away with positive memories and deliver the extraordinary experiences real estate customers deserve.
At that time, I was an agent working with investors and was presented with an opportunity that I couldn’t take advantage of. I had to refer a long-time client to an outside property manager because we didn’t offer these services in-house.
The agreement was that the business would be returned to me when the seller or investor decided to sell the property. You guessed it — that didn’t happen, and I lost the client. It’s an experience that still haunts me, so much so that it pushed me to create a property management division within my company to ensure that would never happen to my family of agents.
I also decided that we could create a profitable niche helping business owners set up their business for a successful sale, maximize their leases and leverage their real estate properly.
The journey to business brokerage
“Business brokerage is very different from general real estate. Like most agents, I had no idea how different until I began my journey,” explained Steve Randall, about becoming Gavish’s business broker. “You learn quickly that most business owners are not organized financially, and it can be discouraging when four out of five conversations end in an owner being educated that their business is nowhere near marketable. However, this is where the opportunity lies.”
Looking to leverage that opportunity is yet another why I decided to bring business brokerage in-house. In 2021, we decided to acquire Realty Pros, an independent company in Summerlin, Nevada. Steve, who at that time was with the Thacker & Randall Group, had his sights set on getting what he ultimately desired — a business brokers’ license.
Before the merger with the Thacker & Randall Group, we couldn’t help business owners sell their businesses, having only the license to sell the land, building, structure, and real estate. Now, with Steve on board, we have the capability to sell the business and also help clients buy another one.
Today, CENTURY 21 Gavish Real Estate has four offices and 150 sales professionals and controls the business brokerage system and the process from start to finish.
Supporting business owners in the transaction
“It’s satisfying to build relationships with business owners and become a trusted advisor for all their business and real estate needs,” said Randall. “I do not turn away a business that is not ready. I find a way to help them change their business or organize their finances so that they will be ready in the near future, and in doing this we gain a client for life.”
We can help them analyze and decide on options that are best for them and their family because, when selling a business, there are tax implications and many ways to handle the transaction.
One option, for example, is an owner could sell the business to their employees and defer taxes. It’s a unique and highly complex process. We need to understand their needs and where they are in life and help them come to the best conclusion. It’s all about working to ensure an extraordinary experience, maintain control of the process and keep our clients in-house. That’s a huge benefit.
For example, we can help an investor buy the Dairy Queen across the street or help sell a dry-cleaning business off the strip that services the casinos — which has the potential to be a multimillion-dollar business. We’re not limited to any particular size of business.
From a real estate brokerage perspective, when an investor has a business and owns the land and is looking to sell, that would require two separate listing agreements: one for the real estate and one for the company. Of course, if the business owner is leasing a spot and they want to sell the business, we can prepare a listing agreement strictly for the company and sell the business itself. We have the knowledge and expertise to work with the landlord and then transition for the new business owner to stay there with favorable lease terms.
For our agents, this means more opportunities for growth and profitability. For our clients, it’s an enhanced one-stop shop for all their needs. And for the company, it’s increased market share.
Iddo Gavish is the broker of CENTURY 21 Gavish Real Estate in Henderson, Nevada.
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of RealTrends’ editorial department and its owners.
To contact the author of this story:
Iddo Gavish at iddo@gavishrealestate.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Tracey Velt at tracey@hwmedia.com