033. Adaptive Reuse and Renovations with Mike Sowers

Adaptive Reuse and Renovations with Mike Sowers

Mikes mission is to humbly and gratefully find pathways to creatively unlock potential in people, places, and ideas. He is the Founder and CEO of Commercial Investors Group whose core business is repositioning commercial real estate assets in the Midwest. Mike is the author of the book "Commercial Real Estate Investing: A Step-By-Step Guide To Finding & Funding Your First Deal" being released Q2 2021. Mike heads the commercial investing mastery program where he coaches implementers of his 7 step system across the country. This proven system helps investors transition from residential investing to commercial and structure real estate partnerships using equity partners. Mike hosts the "CREative Commercial Real Estate" Podcast and the "This Old Building" TV Show. He is also an acclaimed keynote speaker. His passions outside of work are traveling the world with his wife Lisa and children Andi and Brody, playing guitar at Creative Church, volleyball, kiteboarding, snowmobiling, boating, and writing.

Adaptive Reuse and Renovations with Mike Sowers
The Commercial Real Estate Investor Podcast
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400. The Seller’s Numbers Are Lying to You
400. The Seller’s Numbers Are Lying to You

The seller’s numbers are only the starting point. In this Office Hours, I'll break down how to pressure-test a commercial real estate deal, spot missing expenses, and uncover what a property is actually worth.

We’ll cover management, reserves, vacancy, and the underwriting mistakes that can make an average deal look like a great one. Three missing line items can change the price by six figures. If you’re buying or underwriting commercial real estate, this is one you don’t want to miss.

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399. The Retail Apocalypse Is A Lie
399. The Retail Apocalypse Is A Lie

Retail vacancy just hit 4.4% (almost as low as industrial) and nobody's built meaningful supply since 2008.

So why does everyone still believe Amazon killed retail? James Cook, who runs retail research for the Americas at JLL, brings the actual data: the barbell economy hollowing out the middle, the tenants that should scare you on a rent roll (and the ones that should make you pay more), Chick-fil-A's site-selection playbook, and the one number that tells us in 12 months who was right.

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398. What $250,000 Actually Buys in Commercial Real Estate (2026)
398. What $250,000 Actually Buys in Commercial Real Estate (2026)

Six months ago my team started testing a piece of software inside the Accelerator Mastermind to kill the spreadsheet for good. This week I turned the cameras on and ran it live, on air, to find and underwrite a real commercial deal for under $250,000.

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397. 13 Years of Commercial Real Estate in One Livestream
397. 13 Years of Commercial Real Estate in One Livestream

Thirteen years ago I was leasing space for a landlord who paid me almost nothing.

This week there are a hundred thousand of you in here. So instead of another deal breakdown, I'm compressing everything those thirteen years taught me into five lessons, one from each hat I've worn: broker, property manager, investor and developer. Real deals behind every lesson.

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396. Analyzing Commercial Deals Isn't As Hard As You Think
396. Analyzing Commercial Deals Isn't As Hard As You Think

For decades, if you wanted to analyze a commercial real estate deal, you needed Excel. Hours of formulas.

Tabs on top of tabs.

A model you probably didn't even build yourself and definitely don't fully trust.

That era is over.

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395. That 8% Cap Rate Is A Trap
395. That 8% Cap Rate Is A Trap

Everyone wants the highest cap rate. But what if that 8% cap rate is actually a warning sign? In this live session, we break down why experienced commercial real estate investors don't simply chase yield. Instead, they focus on understanding the risk behind the return and that's where most buyers get it wrong.

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394. The Deal Doesn't Make You Money. The Financing Does.
394. The Deal Doesn't Make You Money. The Financing Does.

Your bank charges you 7%. Your equity investors are costing you 20%. Here's why that's not a mistake. If that math surprised you, this session will change how you finance every deal you do from here on out. This is the full recording of Capital Stack 101, one session from our most recent CRE Central Mastermind weekend in Nashville.

I break down the four layers of financing in every commercial deal, why the "cheapest" money isn't always the smartest money, and why the order you stack it in decides your returns as much as the deal itself.

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393. Chick-Fil-A Already Did Your Real Estate Research
393. Chick-Fil-A Already Did Your Real Estate Research

Chick-fil-A spends millions researching a single street corner before they commit analyzing traffic counts, daytime population, growth trajectory, co-tenancy, and then they publish the answer for free. It's the restaurant.

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392. How Developers Build Affordable Housing
392. How Developers Build Affordable Housing

Everybody asks how developers make money on affordable housing, so I sat down with Evan Holladay of Holladay Ventures inside Stonebridge Lofts, his $70M, 311-unit community in Goodlettsville, to walk through the entire playbook.

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391. I Bought an Abandoned Mill Outside Chattanooga (Peerless Mill Update)
391. I Bought an Abandoned Mill Outside Chattanooga (Peerless Mill Update)

Four years ago, I took on one of the biggest projects of my career: a 1.5 million-square-foot abandoned textile mill just outside Chattanooga.

At the time, a lot of people thought it was too risky. Environmental concerns, vacant buildings, financing challenges—you name it. But I saw the opportunity to create something that could transform an entire community.

In this week's episode, I'm giving you a behind-the-scenes update on where the project stands today. I walk through what's been completed, why we chose to build self-storage before tackling restaurants and retail, how we're thinking about cash flow versus long-term vision, and what comes next as we continue redeveloping the 29-building campus one phase at a time.

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