On Top of the Territory – Valley Commercial Real Estate Scene Brian Forster of TOLD Partners believes knowing the inventory better than many of his competitors is the secret to his success By SHELLY GARCIA Senior Reporter Brian Forster learned everything he knows about real estate from a part-time job at Footlocker. Well, sort of. When he was 15, Forster, now executive vice president and co-owner of TOLD Partners Inc., used to sell circles around the full-timers at Footlocker because he spent most of his time in the stock room and, unlike his more seasoned co-workers, knew the inventory well. So well, in fact, Forster could service a dozen customers while his counterparts were still working with one. So well he once found a pair of shoes in the exact style and size a customer requested when the lights had gone out in the mall and the stockroom was pitch black. “When guys come into real estate I always tell my Footlocker story,” Forster said. “The moral of the story is, when you’re out on the street and canvassing, you know more about what’s happening in the marketplace than you’re ever going to know from what CoStar (the main real estate broker’s data base) tells you. The better you know your inventory, the easier you can make your deals and the quicker you can make your deals.” In 2001, Forster represented tenants and landlords in lease deals totaling 735,664 square feet and in nearly $52 million worth of office sales totaling 238,527 square feet. The 35-year-old real estate broker represented J.D. Power and Associates in a Westlake Village lease for 133,000 square feet of space and Meridian Health Care Management in an 80,000-square-foot deal in Warner Center. But perhaps the transaction that turned the most heads was the sale of three of the best Conejo Valley office properties at prime prices to multi-millionaire John E. Anderson, the highly respected entrepreneur for whom the UCLA School of Management is named. Question: How did you get connected with John Anderson’s firm, Duesenberg Investment Co.? Answer: It was actually John Anderson himself who called. I had a sign out in front of 200 N. Westlake Blvd. for leasing. He said, “I’m interested in buying 200 North Westlake.” I said, “Well, the building is not for sale.” He said, “Your sign is there,” and I said, “It’s for lease.” He said, “Well, what do you have for lease there?” and I said, “Absolutely nothing. It’s fully leased.” He says, “Why do you have your sign up if it’s not for sale or lease?” I said, “It’s for gentlemen like yourself to call me and tell me what you need, and it’s my job to find that.” He said, “I have 55 million bucks and I want to buy three of the top properties, the trophy buildings, in Westlake Village.” Q: The sellers of the Conejo buildings were demanding very high prices. Was it difficult to bring those demands to Anderson, especially considering his reputation as a savvy businessman? A: John wasn’t too concerned about what he was paying for the buildings, other than the fact that he wanted the best locations in Westlake Village. Maybe he overpaid, maybe he didn’t. On a price-per-square-foot basis, I don’t think any other properties out there sold that high. But he’s got the best tenants in the market, and it’s the best location in the market. I might be a successful broker, but John is one of the most successful men in the world, and if he’s buying at astronomical prices he knows something we all don’t. I looked at what he said about the stock market being bad and he needed to reposition some funds and I didn’t question him because of who he is and what he knows and how well he’s done for himself. We went after another property in the marketplace and the sellers tried to (charge more than the property was worth) and John basically said ‘good luck.’ So there is a point where he will say no. Q: How was your business in 2001 compared to 2000? A: I’d almost say a 50-percent increase, and I had a great 2000. In talking to other managers of other local offices, no one will touch me probably in the state as far as what my numbers look like. Even if I did half of that in 2000, I still had a phenomenal 2000. I don’t know if I’ll top what I did last year, but I’ll keep trying. Q: Your numbers are particularly impressive given that you are a much smaller brokerage than some others. How have you managed to compete so well? A: One of the things that I do is I literally surround myself with people I want to do business with. With Arden Realty, I was the first broker they ever hired. I used to do 1,000-foot deals with Dick Ziman. (Since then Arden has gone public and Ziman is now CEO.) With Meridian I started with a 5,000- or 7,000-foot deal seven or eight years ago, and I’ve moved them and helped them grow into this 80,000-foot behemoth tenant. As these tenants grow, they’ve grown with me. Q: You’ve said the deal that really represented a turning point in your career as a broker was the sale of developer Moshe Silagi’s office portfolio in Conejo to Arden. How did that $60 million deal come about? A: I got a call from Richard Ziman, it was 6 o’clock and I was on my way home. He said, “You know, I really want to buy some property in Conejo,” and I said, “All right, let me get back to you.” So instead of going straight home, I made a left turn and went to Moshe Silagi’s office. It was 6 o’clock and no one was in the office except Moshe. He barely knew who I was, and I said, “I want to buy all your buildings.” He said, “I get calls like that all the time from brokers,” and I said, “You don’t know me that well, but I do a lot of business with this real estate company, and I was told by them to come meet with you.” I thought I’d stretch the truth a little bit. The next morning he sent me a fax of all this property, operating expenses, everything. It never got out in the market. Moshe never solicited another broker. Q: Why was that deal so significant? A: It was an extremely complicated deal, and it made me get involved with the operations of the individual buildings, and there were many buildings involved. What I’ve done with some of the money I made, I bought a few buildings, I’ve developed properties, so it’s enabled me to do things and extend my business to not just being a broker. So it’s given me a different perspective than your average broker. Now when I’m sitting across from someone, I’m meeting them eye to eye. Now they want to hear what I have to say, where before I was just a guy who was peddling property. Q: How did you know you wanted to get into real estate when you were in college? A: It was my first year at Northridge, and I knew I wanted to do something in business, and this guy comes up to me and says, “Are you a business major? So am I.” I said, “What are you taking?” He goes, “I don’t know, but I just read Forbes and they said the best business to be in is real estate.” So I said, “It sounds good to me.” I ended up choosing that major because of the conversation I had with that guy. Brian S. Forster Title: Executive vice president and co-owner, TOLD Partners Inc. Age: 35 Education: B.S. in real estate and finance from Cal State Northridge, 1989 Most admired person(s): My father, Richard Ziman and John Anderson Career turning point: Representing Arden Realty and Moshe Silagi Development in the purchase/sale of a $60 million portfolio. Personal: Engaged
