How to grow: Residential -&gt; Commercial?
Hello all!

I'm a reasonably proficient residential investor-manager.  I know what makes a good home/rental; how to project potential rents and model financials; how to locate and buy S&amp;MFRs off the MLS or Auctions; how to rehab them and get them filled; and keep tenants happy.  I have done this over the past decade initially as an accidental hobby and recently growing into (almost) a full-time 2nd job.  In partnership with my brother we have acquired a collection just about 40 doors and just recently acquired our 2nd commercial building (a distressed 10-plex that we're stabilizing).

However I am hitting a plateau of sorts – and my acquisition rate has slowed down since last fall.  My biggest weakness is that I do not know where/how to find commercial-residential RE (apartment buildings). It appears that there are just 10-20 listings on the NWMLS and about 20-80 listings on CIBA in my price range ($400k-$2m) in the greater Seattle area (90min driving radius) - let alone those that fit my safe/conservative model.

Is the way to find deals in the Commercial space just fundamentally different than residential?  Are the good deals just never listed?  Is commercial RE never foreclosed/auctioned?  How do I build the right relationships to grow further in the commercial space?

I really enjoy this business – it’s a great break from my day job.  But, I am quite underqualified and would benefit from some tips/guidance or a mentor.

Best wishes!

[{"id": "cr9o22n", "text": "I work for a large commercial real estate company and most of our listings are off-market and not on the MLS or Loopnet, etc.  We typically have around $1B+ in inventory.  If you're looking for someone to connect to, PM me and I can refer you to someone in your area within our company.  \n\nHave you tried looking at other asset classes as well such as NNN or retail?  ", "replies": [{"id": "craig1r", "text": "Really?  What market are you in?  We almost always have SOME level of exposure, whether its through loopnet, costar, rcm, our website, or mass mailings.  Usually its at least a combination of three of those.  ", "replies": [{"id": "crbyt4e", "text": "Yea that seems kinda weird it's not listed anywhere public. We have one small firm in our city that doesn't list any property publicly so they can double end more deals.  Seems crooked to me and not fair to the sellers. ", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cr9yvxo", "text": "Often times commercial deals are not listed publicly. There is still a lot of old school talking to people in the space. /u/NumNumLobster is a mod in /r/realestate and can probably shed a lot more light than I can. ", "replies": [{"id": "cr9zmrf", "text": "I saw this last night and have a very long rant planned just haven't had time yet...... Thanks for calling me out, check back later", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cr9znil", "text": "Off market, baby. \n\nI'm a broker and most of my investment deals happen from submitting unsolicited offers. \n\nI'll tell the potential seller that I have an interested buyer and ask if I can see their profit/loss statements from the last 3 years. \n\nSome sellers will get weird about sharing that info but I let them know, at the very least, I can show where their rent roll stands in the market. \n\nSo just drive around and look for appealing properties and DIY or hire a broker. ", "replies": [{"id": "cr9zq8n", "text": "I'm doing 3 property evaluations today (all off market) to figure out if my clients want to offer, and the general range.  Fucking mess, there is NOTHING listed worth a shit here.  You either find it, or its not happening.  \n\n", "replies": [{"id": "crbyobq", "text": "Same here and it's a pain in the ass. Takes twice as long to find a buyer a property and negotiate the price. Then on top of that I'm always nervous about getting screwed out of a fee. ", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "cra0rog", "text": "Truth.  While we do submit bids on properties that are being marketed by brokers, almost all of our acquisitions were off market deals.  Our acquisitions guy finds properties we like and then continues to bother the owners until they sell it to us.  ", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cra0022", "text": "Are you using Loopnet?   Most commercial/multi-family guys don't use an MLS.  They use Costar, Loopnet, and Real Capital Markets.  \n\nEdit- you can also try CCIM dealmaker site, SIOR, and Xceligent.\n\nEdit 2- you can also try auction.com-  there's a wide variety of properties on it.  The auction platform takes a little getting used to but I know people that like it. ", "replies": [{"id": "crbkmvy", "text": "I think you mean Real Capital Analytics.\n", "replies": [{"id": "crbldlk", "text": "No.  RCA is a research tool to find comparable sales and other, well, analytics.  RCM is a listing site for investment sales.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cra2x54", "text": "&gt;Is the way to find deals in the Commercial space just fundamentally different than residential\n\nShort answer, yes. There are a lot less options to choose from and most of those options are unique. \n\n\nFind a local multifamily broker. They will/should have walked every apartment in the market and with your requirements, can find ones that work. You would be surprised how many landlords think about selling their property, but never doing anything to set it in motion. I'm sure a local broker would have a good idea of which pocket deals could work for you.  ", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]