Third Quar ter 2011 • vol. 8 no. 3outfront16 Keller Williams Realty

Michael Balson's latest $40-million-plus multifamily commercial deal is so good it could be from a movie.

Indeed, before Balson ventured into the commercial real estate business, he was fully engaged in the film industry. Balson was the film producer behind the action-war drama Bat 21, starring Danny Glover and Gene Hackman. Based on a true story, Bat 21 is the heroic tale of an American officer forced to parachute into enemy territory when his plane is shot down during the Vietnam War. A missile intelligence expert with no combat experience, he must survive the dangerous jungle on his wits alone. Comparatively speaking, commercial real estate seems like a manageable challenge for Balson. “When people ask me how I got a major motion picture made, I tell them I didn’t know I couldn’t. I just set my sights on a goal and got it done,” says Balson, who now serves as a commercial director at KW Commercial in the Beverly Hills market center. “I took a similar approach to the recent $40 million multifamily deal. If you start getting reasonable about stuff in life, you’ll never get it done,” Balson asserts. “If you have an intention and put yourself out there and are willing to

“If you have an intention and put yourself out there and are willing to fail, then sometimes you get it right. Commercial real estate takes persistence, intention and luck.”

By Jennifer LeClaire

Michael Balson

Third Quar ter 2011 • vol. 8 no. 3Keller Williams Realty outfront 17

fail, then sometimes you get it right. It takes persistence, intention and luck.” Although Balson still does plenty of what he calls “bread and butter” transactions, he says the training and tools from KW Commercial have given him the know-how to chase the kind of institutional deals that is taking his career to the next level. With a knack for making it happen in Hollywood, Balson’s recent $40 million deal consists of a portfolio of four apartment properties totaling 222 units. The properties are in a prime Hollywood location, all within a block from each other. The quartet of properties were encumbered by Commercial Backed Security (CMBS) loans totaling about $20 million at sub-5 percent interest rates. Balson’s client, the buyer, had to assume those loans as part of the off-market transaction, which took about nine months to complete. “This deal took a long time to cultivate and close. But I did what I don’t always do – stayed in touch with a prospect. I’ve lost deals in the past by letting go of a prospect after hearing that they were not interested in selling,” Balson points out. “What I’ve learned is that it pays to stay in touch. Sometimes they will decide to sell for reasons you don’t anticipate, and you want to be who the client thinks of first.”

The recent deal was the largest in Balson’s commercial real estate career so far. And he learned a valuable lesson in the process: “You may get a negative response 99 times out of 100, but if you consistently follow up, you heighten your chances of being in the right place at the right time.” An emboldened Balson is now looking for the next big closing. “Once you get a taste of institutional success, it’s fun,” Balson says. “The largest deal I had done prior to this one was a 107-unit sale. I’m in discussions now on some larger deals. My goal now is to make some more institutional-sized deals. I’ll do that by focusing on the fun instead of the fear. If you treat it like a game, it’s fun.” Ultimately, he emphasizes, success comes down to the basics. “You have to generate your own book of business. You have to get on the phone and make the calls. You have to prospect. You have to make sure people know you are out there,” Balson says. “The strongest part of my success is my intention. You need major intention to get to the finish line because it doesn’t just happen. Nobody just comes knocking on your door.” kw