Norton Asset Management is 20 years young this year. The fall of 1990 was a scary time to start a real estate services, advisory and brokerage business not unlike today! When Banc One came in to unload the FDIC portfolio, they squeezed commissions. I particularly remember two commission cram downs! Well, as the saying goes "half a loaf is better than none". Today, we will work extra hard to make a deal happen. Last week, I had the "closing from hell" -- the most convoluted of my 40 years in the business. But, we got it done after three postponements and extensions. It is a difficult time as the seller was in a short sale and the buyers were wondering if they were paying too much.
But in adversity there is opportunity. We enjoy helping small firms grow. And we enjoy helping older firms adjust their occupancy costs, when the economy tightens. Commercial real estate is an "eyeball to eyeball", "belly to belly" business. You have to be personable, professional, interested and caring to succeed in both good times and bad. We especially enjoy clients like Public Service of New Hampshire, University of New Hampshire, Dartmouth College and several hospitals that we have worked with for many years.
In addition to our consulting, brokerage and asset management roles, we volunteer in our communities in numerous ways. Some of this involves fundraising and some involves one of our passions -- golf. New Hampshire is a small state, but that means you can be very well connected after you have paid your dues - and that can yield big dividends for our clients.
I had lunch with NH Department of Revenue Administration commissioner Kevin Clougherty today. We exchanged stories and we both felt that New Hampshire and New England are populated with scrappers - those who will claw out a living in the toughest of times. In our case, we are doing more assignments out of market (New York, New Jersey and North Carolina) but we look forward to the time when things pick up closer to home. We feel New Englanders will bounce back using our own human capital, intelligence and Yankee ingenuity.
If you find yourself looking for sound advice on a commercial real estate question, call or e-mail us, and we will be glad to share our knowledge and experience with you.
Bill Norton, CRE, FMA, is president of Norton Asset Management, Inc., Manchester, N.H.