Although
he hails
from
Nebraska,
Roger
Rebman
long ago
attained
“native
status”
in his
adopted
home of
Florida.
And,
after 21
years
serving
industrial
real
estate
clients
at the
crossroads
of the
Sunshine
State,
he knows
what it
takes to
be
successful:
work
hard,
find
good
clients
and
establish
relationships
that
lead to
multiple
assignments
or
transactions.
“You
can’t
just
coast in
this
business,”
Rebman
said.
“You
have to
go the
extra
mile, or
you
won’t
get
asked
again.”
Even
after
all his
years in
the
business,
Rebman
said he
was
still
amazed
at the
pace of
growth.
“Everything
has
mushroomed
-
industrial,
residential
-
there’s
just
been a
ton of
growth,
and the
distribution
market
grows
right
along
with
it,” he
said.
Fiercely
independent,
Rebman
has had
to
re-invent
his
business
several
times
over the
years to
remain
competitive.
“We
don’t do
much
landlord
representation
any
more,”
he said.
“Years
ago,
that was
our main
source
of
revenue.
Now we
focus
almost
exclusively
on
representing
buyers
and
tenants
and
helping
developers
acquire
tracts
of
undeveloped
land for
industrial
parks.”
One
reason
for the
change
was the
REITs
and
institutional
players
that
started
investing
in
Orlando
in the
late
1990s.
“That
helped
put us
on the
map, but
it also
hurt a
lot of
smaller
brokers,”
explained
Rebman.
“When
the
REITs
outsource
business,
many of
them
feel
they
have to
use one
of the
big
national
companies,
or they
already
have
listing
agreements
in
place.
That
makes it
challenging
for a
small,
single-market
firm,
like
ours.”
Was he
ever
tempted
to
affiliate
with one
of the
big
names?
“Oh,
we’ve
been
asked a
couple
times
over the
years,
but we
never
have,
and I
don’t
think we
ever
will.
“The
folks
here
just
don’t
want to
be part
of a big
corporate
organization.”
Years
ago,
Rebman
directed
an
industrial
development
fund in
Traverse
City,
MI.
“Over
time, we
managed
to
create a
thriving
industrial
base in
Traverse
City,”
he said
proudly.
That’s
when he
decided
to make
it a
career.
“I
really
enjoyed
everything
about
industrial
real
estate:
trucks
and
planes,
ships
and
trains,
freezers
and
cranes.”
But
living
along
the
shores
of Lake
Michigan
had its
drawbacks.
“One
day, my
wife
came to
me and
said,
‘Roger,
I’ve
made a
decision,’”
recalled
Rebman.
“‘The
kids and
I are
moving
to
Florida
for the
winter.
I hope
you can
join us
for a
few
weeks
each
month.’
The next
thing I
knew, we
were
living
here! I
still
tell her
that was
the best
decision
she ever
made.”
CoStar
Advisor
Volume
5, Issue
4
Click
Here
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