After spending the last decade facilitating deals throughout Central Florida, I have noticed one consistent truth: the most successful transactions often never hit the public market.
I have built my practice on finding these hidden opportunities. During my 14 years in commercial real estate — 10 in brokerage and 4 in development — I have seen firsthand how off market deals transform potentially complex negotiations into smooth, mutually beneficial transactions. Yet I constantly hear misconceptions about what these deals actually are and why they matter to both buyers and sellers.
What Exactly Makes a Deal “Off Market”?
Let me clear something up right away: off market does not mean discount. This is the biggest misconception I hear from property owners.
When I talk about off market opportunities, I am referring to properties that are not blasted out on CoStar or LoopNet with a big “FOR SALE” sign in the front yard. These are transactions I facilitate through my network of relationships built over years working in this market.
The first objection I typically hear from sellers is: “If we do not list it publicly, how do I know I am getting the best price?” It is a fair question.
But here is the reality I have seen play out dozens of times: my buyers are willing to pay market value. They are not looking to steal properties; they are looking to avoid the headache of competing with 20 other bidders in a process that often drags on for months.
In fact, many of the sophisticated owners I work with in Orlando and throughout Central Florida actually prefer the off-market approach because it gives them something extremely valuable: control over the process.
Not Every Deal Should Be Off Market
While I am a strong advocate for the off-market approach when it fits, it is important to recognize that not every transaction is suited for it. In some cases, especially highly competitive properties or unique assets with a broad buyer pool, a full public marketing process can maximize value through a bidding environment.
That said, many off market deals I help structure achieve the same, or even better, monetary results for sellers compared to public listings. The key difference often comes down to priorities like control over the process, confidentiality, and minimizing disruption to operations.
The Seller’s Perspective: Why My Clients Choose Off Market
Having represented sellers of various industrial properties throughout Central Florida, I have seen firsthand why many property owners prefer to keep their transactions private.
Take industrial cold storage facilities, for example. These are specialized assets that often house sensitive operations. When I list a property like this off market, it allows the owner to maintain complete business continuity throughout the sales process. Employees, tenants, and competitors do not need to know a transaction is happening until after it is completed.
Keeping Business Private
When a property hits the market publicly, it immediately raises questions: Why are they selling? Is the business struggling? Is something wrong with the property?
In my experience, many industrial property owners value discretion above all else. By handling transactions off market, we maintain complete confidentiality until the deal is finalized. This protects valuable tenant relationships and prevents unnecessary disruption to ongoing business operations.
Avoiding the “Dead Listing” Problem
I see this scenario play out constantly in our market: A seller gets convinced by a broker to list at an inflated price. The property sits online for months. Eventually, everyone starts wondering what might be wrong with the building since it has not sold.
In my experience working with commercial property owners, publicly listed properties that do not sell quickly can develop a stigma. When price reductions become visible to the entire market, it can signal desperation and lead to even lower offers.
Off market transactions often help avoid this problem. There is no public record of how long your property has been available or what price adjustments you have made.
Quality Buyers, Not Quantity
Public listings typically generate a high volume of inquiries, but this quantity rarely translates to quality. This is especially true in the commercial real estate space where the barrier to making an inquiry is extremely low.
In the industrial and multifamily sectors where I focus, publicly listed properties often attract numerous responses from parties who are not properly capitalized or serious about the specific asset class. Many inquiries come from brokers simply gathering market information rather than representing legitimate buyers.
The off market approach allows for a more targeted strategy. Instead of broadcasting a property to everyone and sorting through dozens of unqualified contacts, I connect sellers directly with vetted investors from my network who have demonstrated their ability to close substantial commercial transactions. This focused methodology significantly increases the efficiency of the process and the likelihood of a successful transaction.
The Buyer’s Advantage: Why My Investors Prefer Off Market
Throughout my career, I have worked with numerous industrial and multifamily investors who specifically seek off market opportunities. Their reasoning is consistent and practical.
During market peaks especially, many serious investors become frustrated with publicly listed properties. After submitting multiple offers only to get outbid by buyers willing to pay above asking price and waive contingencies, they look for alternatives.
From my buyers’ perspective, off market deals provide several concrete advantages:
First Look at Quality Properties
In Central Florida’s competitive industrial market, many quality properties trade hands without ever appearing online. My network of relationships built over the past 14 years gives my clients access to these opportunities before they hit the open market.
The real advantage comes from being first in line for these properties. Instead of competing with REITs and institutional investors in a bidding war, my buyers can evaluate properties thoughtfully and make fair offers based on actual value rather than competitive pressure.
Straightforward Negotiations
When I represented the seller of a flex industrial property in Orlando, we were able to conduct straightforward negotiations based on comparable sales and actual value metrics.
In direct, off market conversations, buyers and sellers can focus on the fundamentals like the real value of the asset, reasonable terms, and creating a transaction that works for both parties. This contrasts with what often happens with listed properties — emotional bidding, arbitrary price escalations, and buyers feeling pressured to make decisions they later regret.
Building Long Term Relationships
What is particularly interesting about my practice is how many clients switch roles over time. Several of my current buyers were sellers in transactions I handled years ago. When you connect people directly and create positive experiences, it builds trust that extends beyond a single transaction.
This relationship-based approach creates value that goes beyond any individual deal.
My Approach to Off Market Deals: How I Create Win-Win Outcomes
When I talk to owners about off market transactions, I am often met with healthy skepticism. You should be skeptical of anyone telling you they can sell your multi-million dollar asset without marketing it widely. Let me walk you through exactly how I approach these deals.
Getting to the Right Value
“How do I know I am not leaving money on the table?” This is a perfectly reasonable concern, and addressing it is central to my approach.
My answer is straightforward: we do our homework. For any property, I conduct thorough analysis of recent comparable sales, rental rates, and replacement costs. I present sellers with data, not promises.
For industrial properties especially, I focus on getting to a fair market value based on actual numbers, not wishful thinking. Once we establish that value, I connect with qualified buyers from my network who specialize in that specific asset class and location.
Sometimes, especially with unique properties, bringing in a third-party appraiser that both buyer and seller agree to can give everyone confidence we are working with accurate numbers.
Collaborative Due Diligence
My development background at Bainbridge gives me an edge here. Having managed the development of over 4,000 multifamily units, I understand what buyers are looking for during inspections and what issues actually matter versus what is just negotiating leverage.
In my experience handling industrial transactions throughout Central Florida, I have found that when both parties feel they are working together rather than against each other, the due diligence process becomes more productive and less contentious.
This collaborative approach stands in contrast to what often happens with publicly listed properties, where buyers frequently use inspection findings as leverage to demand significant price reductions, creating an adversarial dynamic.
Deals That Actually Close
One of the most important statistics that rarely gets discussed in commercial real estate is how many contracts never make it to closing. A significant percentage of deals on publicly listed properties fall apart before completion.
The reasons vary: buyers submit offers without having their financing fully secured, they discover issues during due diligence they were not prepared for, or they simply get cold feet and look for ways to back out.
With my approach to off market transactions, I am connecting owners with buyers I have personally vetted.
It Is About Relationships, Not Just Transactions
My approach to off market deals comes from watching three generations of commercial real estate professionals in my family. My grandfather and father (who are both CCIMs like me) taught me that this business is fundamentally about people and relationships, not just buildings and cap rates.
When I connect a buyer and seller directly, I am not just facilitating one transaction — I am building relationships that often lead to multiple deals over years or even decades. Many of my clients have become friends, and there is nothing more satisfying than helping people I care about achieve their business goals.
I am not interested in being the broker who blasts out listings to everyone and hopes something sticks. My focus is on understanding exactly what my clients need and using my network to make those connections happen efficiently and discreetly.
If you are an owner considering your options, or an investor looking for quality acquisition opportunities that will not put you in bidding wars, I would be happy to discuss how my approach to off market deals might benefit you. There is no obligation, just a conversation about what you are looking to accomplish and whether I might be able to help.
The Central Florida market continues to evolve rapidly in 2025, making these direct, relationship-based transactions more valuable than ever.
I look forward to showing you how the right off market approach can create genuine win-win outcomes for everyone involved.
