If you want to find the best commercial real estate deals, you need to stop relying on what's publicly listed. The truth is, the most profitable properties, the ones I call "unicorn deals," never hit the open market. They're found through relationships, hustle, and a system for going direct to owners. Today, I'm breaking down exactly how to find off market properties that nobody else is competing for, with insights from three brokers who do it every single day.
I recently sat down with Chad Griffiths, Jesse Fragale, and Adam Williams for a Brokers Round Table on my YouTube channel, and the conversation was packed with real strategies for sourcing off market deals in any market. So if you're a broker or an investor looking to build serious deal flow, here's what you need to know.
Why Off Market Real Estate Is Where the Real Money Is
Let's be real. When a property hits LoopNet or Crexi, every broker and their dog is looking at it. You're competing against dozens of offers, the seller knows they have leverage, and margins get squeezed. But when you go direct to an owner who hasn't even thought about selling? That's a completely different conversation.
Off market commercial real estate gives you the ability to negotiate without competition, build a relationship with the seller before anyone else knows the property is available, and structure deals that work for both sides. That's how I've sourced some of the best acquisitions for my own portfolio and for clients at The Cauble Group.
Chad put it perfectly during our conversation: the brokers who are winning right now aren't sitting around waiting for listings to show up. They're creating their own deal flow by going straight to property owners.
Go Direct to Owners: The Playbook
The number one strategy that came up in our round table is direct-to-owner outreach. And I don't mean blasting out generic mailers. I'm talking about a targeted, systematic approach to identifying owners, researching their situation, and reaching out with something valuable to say.
Here's how it works in practice:
Pick a niche and own it. Adam Williams talked about how he focuses on specific property types in specific submarkets. When you become the go-to expert in, say, flex space in a particular corridor, owners start coming to you. But before that happens, you need to go to them. Narrow your focus, learn every property in that niche, and start building your database. If you're looking to build a real deal flow system, specialization is step one.
Use public records and data. County tax records, CoStar, even Google Maps. You can identify who owns what, how long they've held it, and whether there might be a reason they'd consider selling. Jesse Fragale shared how he cross-references ownership data with market trends to find owners who might be sitting on properties that no longer fit their portfolio.
Make the first contact personal. This isn't about volume, it's about quality. A well-researched email or phone call that references the specific property, acknowledges the owner's history with it, and offers a genuine reason to connect will outperform 1,000 generic mailers every time.
How to Use AI and Cold Email to Find Off Market Properties
One of the most tactical parts of our conversation was about using AI tools like ChatGPT to supercharge your outreach. And before you roll your eyes, hear me out. This isn't about replacing the personal touch. It's about scaling the research that makes personal outreach possible.
Chad Griffiths broke down his cold email flowchart, and it's brilliant in its simplicity. He uses AI to research a property and its owner, draft an initial outreach email that's specific to that property, and then follows a sequence: if no response after the first email, send a follow-up with additional market data. If still no response, try a different angle, maybe reference a recent sale nearby or a zoning change that could affect their property's value.
The key insight? Every touch point adds value. You're not pestering the owner. You're demonstrating that you understand their asset and their market better than anyone else. That's how you attract high-value clients in commercial real estate, by leading with expertise.
Now, I want to be clear: AI is a tool, not a crutch. You still need to review every email before it goes out, make sure the data is accurate, and add your own voice. But using ChatGPT to draft initial outreach, summarize property histories, or even generate talking points for a phone call? That's a massive time saver.
Partner with Investors and Get on the GP Side
Here's something most brokers don't think about enough: you don't have to just broker off market property deals. You can be part of them.
Jesse Fragale talked about how he's positioned himself on the general partner (GP) side of deals by bringing value beyond just finding the property. When you source an off market deal, bring in an investor, and help structure the acquisition, you're not just earning a commission. You can negotiate equity, asset management fees, or a piece of the promote.
This is something I've done in my own career. When I acquired office buildings here in Nashville, I wasn't just the broker on the deal. I was the principal. And that shift, from transaction-focused to ownership-focused, is what builds real wealth in this business. If you're thinking about making the leap from residential to commercial, understanding how to position yourself on the equity side is crucial.
The brokers who are doing this well are the ones who can underwrite a deal properly, present it to investors with confidence, and add value throughout the hold period. It's not enough to just find the off market deal. You need to know what to do with it once you find it.
Build a Niche and Become the Market Expert
Adam Williams dropped a gem during our round table that I want to make sure you don't miss: the fastest way to find off market deals is to become so known in a specific niche that owners come to you.
Think about it. If you're the broker who knows every flex space property in your submarket, every owner, every lease expiration, every tenant, you become the obvious person to call when an owner is thinking about selling. You don't have to cold call them. They already know your name.
But building that reputation takes work. It means showing up consistently, sharing market insights, sending quarterly updates to owners in your niche, and actually knowing the numbers. If someone asks you what cap rates are doing in your niche, you better have the answer on the tip of your tongue. If you're trying to figure out where to start, the flex space boom is one area with massive opportunity right now.
And here's the compounding effect: the more off market deals you close in your niche, the more owners hear about you, and the more deals flow your way. It's a flywheel that takes time to build but becomes incredibly powerful once it's spinning.
Red Flags and Deal Evaluation
Finding off market properties is only half the battle. You also need to know when to walk away. Just because a deal isn't on the open market doesn't mean it's a good deal.
During our round table, we talked about the importance of rigorous underwriting and stress testing your assumptions. Off market deals can sometimes come with hidden issues: deferred maintenance, environmental concerns, title complications, or unrealistic seller expectations. The last thing you want is to get excited about a "unicorn" property only to discover it's a money pit.
So before you get too deep into any off market deal, make sure you know the red flags to watch for. Run your numbers conservatively, get inspections done early, and don't let the excitement of finding a deal nobody else has cloud your judgment.
Key Takeaways
Go direct to owners with targeted, researched outreach rather than waiting for properties to hit the market.
Use AI tools strategically to scale your research and outreach without losing the personal touch that makes it effective.
Position yourself on the equity side of deals by bringing real value beyond just brokering the transaction.
Build niche expertise so deep that property owners seek you out when they're ready to make a move.
Stay disciplined on underwriting because not every off market deal is a good deal.
This article is adapted from a Brokers Round Table conversation on the Tyler Cauble YouTube channel with Chad Griffiths, Jesse Fragale, and Adam Williams.
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