Blog
News, insights, and success stories from Southeast Michigan's commercial real estate market.
Negative + Creative = Positive
The elderly owners of a South Lyon shopping center came to the Thomas Duke Company ready to retire from the work of managing multi-tenant investment property…
Cap Rates Explained
Why Do Cap Rates Matter? At the Thomas Duke Company, we strive to provide each client with the best information available as we guide a transaction from star…
Attractive….and Complicated
Attractive … and complicated. That describes certain cars, relationships, and commercial real estate transactions. Eric Szerlag of the Thomas Duke Company wa…
Resist the Rush
We see it too often. In a rush to get to the finish line, brokers list properties at price points much lower than what those properties could return with a w…
From Lackluster to Stellar in Chelsea
When a retail center in Chelsea lost its anchor – a Blockbuster store – the whole complex slumped. Remaining tenants saw a dramatic decline in customer traff…
From Sad to Satisfying: Turning the Story Around
It was a sad story that was getting sadder. The owner of a 30,000-square-foot office building in Brighton died suddenly. His family members, thrust into unex…
If It’s Not Effective, It’s Not Marketing
Cold calls, emails, direct mail, social media messages—marketing is central to commercial real estate success, and never have there been more marketing platf…
The Commercial Real Estate Transaction: A Play in Three Acts
Interesting characters, conflict, surprises both happy and discouraging, unexpected endings—commercial real estate transactions have all the elements that ma…
Choose an Expert to Get the Job Done
To the owner, it seemed a straightforward assignment: Find a local Realtor to sell a 12,300-square-foot, vacant retail building with excellent visibility and…
Old Industrial Window
The evolution of industry happening all over the Detroit area has opened up new uses for old industrial properties. But it’s a window that may soon close. Ol…
Who Do You Trust?
Imagine you’re an investment property owner who hasn’t sold a property in 40 years. You know the time has come to sell. How do you choose a Realtor? Whom can…
Church and State
Eric Szerlag and Bill McLeod of the Thomas Duke Company go the extra mile whether or not a transaction demands it. Because that’s who they are, that’s what t…