1997  I Cast my sails into the world of commercial real estate as an assistant to a talented top producer in industrial leasing. While University was good theory the real learning was in those first years, understanding the need to be street smart and using sales abilities not fully explored through a book or lecture. Skills like sourcing, prospecting, qualifying, or negotiating deals for clients.

Thankfully, I was trained by industry pioneers, where deals were done by handshakes and the notion of acting with integrity, trust and honor was genuine. Values that still resonate within me to this day.

2010  My first decade was spent learning, and advancing to become a seasoned producer in brokerage and at the same time starting a family. These were the oil boom years, I watched Edmonton be transformed from what many viewed as an “average city” to the golden jewel of the north, where building values would double and then double again.

Commercial real estate advanced at a dizzying pace, where landlords ruled, and rental rates only went in one direction. Even when financial markets melted down in the US and around the world, conditions remained buoyant in this part of Canada where oil went to all-time highs.

Under these circumstances, it was difficult for new investors to judge when it was the right to time get in. The rapid rise in prices outpaced the average person’s ability to save enough annually to acquire any significant commercial asset on their own. For many paying for an asset that had only recently sold for much less was hard to swallow.

2016 A change of governments. No matter your political stripes, for commercial real estate investment, this brought out a lot more risk concerns, economy concerns and the banks wanted more guarantees. It was around this period I determined there was a real problem with options available to invest in commercial real estate. When outside factors such as government, economic, or global issues occur being highly leveraged and fully invested with overriding guarantees to the banks is not a fun place to be.

As I see it, the capital it takes to buy genuine quality commercial assets represents too large of a risk for 99% of investors acting on their own. Even higher-net-worth individuals will take a long and hard look before locking $1 or $2 million into the acquisition of a single asset. In some cases, it may have taken an individual or family a whole lifetime to build that amount of savings and tying it all to one property can create a lot of pressure and risk.

In addition, going “all in” on an investment will in most cases have a lender who will require guarantees beyond what you are investing, meaning your house and other assets are also on the line. On top of this, the majority of investors find they can only rely on the advice of advisors who do not have any real skin in the deal.

2020  The end of a decade.  I had worked on a great many deals and had seen so many more clients whose mortgages had been paid off in full. As a solo investor, I myself had played my hand at residential investments and stocks, only to prove to myself that these investments carried more risk or more headaches than the CRE investments I knew so well. Then the pandemic hit. Now saddle up and invest a million dollars into a single asset when the world changes the rules, where the banks want more guarantees and everything starts to cost more? This led me to give a lot of thought to how we invest, and why there needs to be a better way.

2022  Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to invest in a several commercial properties through my businesses. Throughout my career I had been aware of real estate syndication, or group investing, but when I was exposed to some offerings I was typically not interested after learning of the fees and up charges that were part of these deals. Most of them involved high leverage financing, were in my opinion risky and relied on projections or budgets that I could not agree with given my background and perspective.

This is one reason why I decided to start and grow a different kind of commercial real estate investment firm. At Leader, we genuinely believe that most accredited investors view CRE as an attractive asset class, but simply don’t want to risk everything they have on one deal or contend with the stresses and strains of market fluctuations where the leverage involved or guarantees required is uncomfortably high.

Moreover, like many of the solo investors we work with, they simply don’t have the time to identify or vet opportunities and then try to connect with the two or three other partners with similar capital, preferences, or goals to invest and manage the property.

Growing your wealth in commercial real estate is no longer a situation that needs to be reserved for multi-millionaires, institutions, or pension funds. When it comes to the question of “Where is our pension?” our answer is simple: “We need to grow it ourselves.”

Personal Note: I am a happy father of two girls, one boy, and berne-doodle named Maui. My wife and I have always believed that our best times would involve working together on projects of our own throughout our lives. We have also learned to value our ability to travel the world and not reserve this pastime for old age, or without our kids. Perhaps it was my wife losing her father suddenly before he got to enjoy his life’s savings that serves as the life lesson behind our vision.

Day in and day out, our adventures are on display in a digital frame that stands as a centre piece in our home. Each year, we do our best to travel to Hawaii and enjoy hiking every island, exploring a little more each time. Meanwhile, my wife also owns and runs a business—we are the definition of a business-owning couple where many nights and weekends end up blending into work.

Whether we like it or not, as any owner or leader understand, when there is an objective is in mind or that deal needs to be done, there is not much we can do to try turn ourselves off and save it for tomorrow.