How to Transition from Residential to Commercial Title | Ep41

In a world where change is the only constant, Mo Shamil stands at the forefront, guiding title professionals to not just grow their businesses, but to master the art of innovation. With every episode, you're handed the keys to unlock unparalleled growth and stay ahead of the curve. Get ready for a transformative journey. Hello everyone and welcome to the title agent podcast, where we explore strategies, systems and stories that are shaping the future of the title industry. Today's guest is someone who took a bold leap, literally, Imran Khan is a seasoned attorney who transitioned from residential closings to high level commercial deals, carving out a powerful niche in hotel transactions.

What really sets him apart is how he goes beyond the legal side, helping clients raise capital, structure complex deals, and tap into his exclusive network of high net worth individuals and investors. In this episode, we'll explore what led to this pivot, how he mastered the art of delegation automation and the powerful value proposition he now offers his hotelier clients. If you ever consider specializing in scaling, I'll be on the screen. Well Imran, welcome to the title agent's podcast. Let's start off with your background, your story, how you got into the real estate law and title industry.

Thank you both for having me. Good morning guys. Imran, I am from Chicago, born and raised, Bangladesh Indian background and I'm a traditional Bengali Indian family. I only had three options for my parents, it was being a doctor, lawyer, engineer, and I wasn't keen on school too much. A lot of energy, as you know, and wasn't a great student per se.

So out of all three required professions from my parents, I didn't know better, right? So I chose the legal path, which was the easiest to get into. I had friends that got into a couple of schools and they told me all that. So the parents kind of molded me to be a lawyer. And in Chicago, since I was young, I was always good at networking.

And it's just one of my unique abilities. And so I networked my way into a law school in Western Michigan. And so we went a couple of times, I didn't score well at all, actually I did pretty bad. And I networked, I remember I went to several interviews and they said, you can come in part time and her name was Tanya Brown. And she's like, you know, so I networked my way through law school.

And that's what I did. I grew up in Chicago in the city, Rogers Park, then parents moved to Lincolnwood, diehard Chicago and went to DePaul in Lincoln Park and the Loop in the city, and then went to law school, the only law school I got into, Western Michigan Cooley, and start off part time based on my grades and eventually went full time when they saw I was legit and came back to Chicago. And I worked my way into a big network, I went to a very big law firm here. I think I had five attorneys, and that's when I started seeing like real money, like you know, being in an immigrant family, you would have a few hundred thousands, this law firm in Chicago, I think the rent was like $6 million a month or something, pretty national. I mean, you're talking about kids, you know, prestigious kids, I never fit in six months into it, I networked it into it.

Everyone in my school was like, how'd you get in? And then the real estate bubble happened. And so they laid off everyone. And I opened my firm November 1st, 2012, I remember, because I got laid off on Halloween. I was in my mom's basement living there.

And then I said, screw it, I'm going to be a business owner. And I opened it November 1st, 2012. And since then, I charmed and networked my way through growth. That's awesome. For the longest time, your focus was residential, correct, from 2012 all the way till?

My focus was on residential from November 1st, 2012 to July 1st, 2022, to be exact. What inspired you to shift from residential to commercial real estate, and more specifically, hotel transactions? Was it gradual evolution or was there a defining moment? So first of all, commercial was inevitable, just after 10 years doing residential. I'm not bashing that ecosystem, but I just outgrew it.

I lost the bandwidth, I lost the interest. It didn't excite me anymore, even if you did multi-million dollar condo purchases and all that, these big homes. Did not enjoy it. I did not enjoy the ecosystem, right? I started a lot on inner development and personal development, as you know.

And in order to have interest was commercial real estate. And then I started networking, what I do good. And I saw, okay, there's the industrial industry, and then there's the apartment, large apartment industry. There's retail industry and the hotel industry. And then I started chiming in through my ecosystem and who had the hotels.

I learned it was usually the South Asian community, which was an easy access, so I leveraged that card. So you leveraged your heritage and your background? I did. I did. Not unintentionally, I did.

62% of hotels in America, national hotels are owned by South Asians. Mostly Indians? The Patel family owns majority of them? Mostly Gujarati, second by Ismaili. But I mean, when you're South Asian, you're just South Asian, right?

The division just occurred 40, 50 years ago, so just same ecosystem, but I didn't use it. So then I kind of went through it, and then I found guys of my age group with my values, and we kind of all grew together. Still honing in on that ecosystem on certain people, because as I grow, it has to have similar values, similar goals and achievements. So the mistakes or learning lessons in residential or anything, I don't want to repeat here. So looking back, what parts of your residential experience still influence how you approach deals today, if any?

So from residential to commercial, what influences me? A lot of coaching, but I learned this from you, actually. You got to find, you got to provide value. I think you kind of nurtured, you nurtured me a lot. And thank you for paying for all that.

You nurtured me learning what people want and needs are, especially being in personal development like Tony Robbins and then our coach. You find out what people want and need, so I look at people for growth, providing value, and then you just start pulling it all together. The last year and a half, I've been pulling it all together, and not only am I benefiting title, legal, us nationally, but also my personal portfolio. So I'm seeing all that, all that connection coming together, the universe kind of coming together. Yeah.

So how steep was the learning curve when you transitioned into commercial hotel deals? And what were the biggest differences you had to adjust to legally and operationally? You know, it's a different beast, residential. So number one, I learned about patience, like residential deal, 30 to 45 days. Commercial deals take months to get under contract, LOI, contract, due diligence, lending and closing.

So I learned about patience, right? Not residential is a 45 day, you're gone, 60 days, you're gone, close. I learned a lot about patience. I learned a lot about endorsements. I learned a lot about, just you're constantly learning, it's a different sphere, right?

You're learning about environmental, EPA, you're learning about franchising, which is a different animal. You're learning about bulk sales tax requirements. There's just so much constant learning, a lot about business law, a lot about operating agreements, a lot about PPM, private placement memorandums, a lot about syndications, private syndications, public syndications, just constant learning. And when I do these bigger deals, I kind of like, I'm hanging out a lot with the guy with, you know, doing nine, 10 figure deals. I just want to hear the background and absorb as much as how it's structured and what's going on.

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We were in Portugal, I was sick with COVID. I remember that transition, but going back, I saw on my personal side, first I set the intention commercial, then I built, I'm very visionary, like learning. And then I said, okay, these are the people I want to work with. It was a big list and now it's getting smaller and smaller. Now as I tweak the list of the dream, ideal people I want to work with, I look for what they want.

And in the hotel industry, it's not just the real estate place, operational business. And people don't want, so you have your real estate play and you're running a business. And as you know, and as I know, running a business is very, very difficult. And so you're running a business. So I learned that the investors and the hotel years and the franchisees don't want to run a business.

They want to be entrepreneurial. And I'm learning also the hotel brands, we call them flags, like Marriott and Hilton and Holiday Inn. And they want to buy back the properties and they want to buy back flags. And so what does that mean? People are kind of, and they're throwing a crazy amount of money.

And so what does that mean? Capital is available. People have to attend 31 or place all this out. And they don't want to walk away and not do anything and still earn a return. So I have a passion of Chicago apartment buildings.

I have a couple of business partners with retail, industrial. So it's kind of like I said, honing all that in and I get a percentage of the deal and I try to run title or we run title through us. And so that's connecting the dots. Yeah. So wouldn't you say like the difference to commercial and residential, the evolution you have to kind of grow into is being a connector or networker because how do you add value?

Like in a residential, it's more transactional, I guess, more like a just a in and out, done. Yeah. There's no interpersonal. Correct. Yeah.

But here, how can you add value? Like how can you, like how you connect from investors to lenders to, yeah, the bigger your network, the better value you can add, I guess. Yeah. It's all about values and connecting. Let me give you an example.

What happened yesterday and it's getting under contract and we got the deal. I have an Indian friend, has 140 or 150 taco spots and we've been hanging out a lot and he doesn't own any other retail and so that's number one. And so one of his retails have been increasing at least but has majority vacancy. So I've been eyeing that. And then I have another family here that wants to park a lot of money.

And so I kind of put it together and said, hey, why are you paying, you know, 10, 15,000 in rent when you can buy it and if we come up to underwriting and understand we expand it in the same plaza, your other franchises and businesses and I get you the capital. So the value is, I said, buy your retail center that you're leasing for the last three years. I have a family office that will fund it and then we got a new contract. That was yesterday and I got 20% of that. So you're known for being a master delegator.

What's your philosophy around delegation? How has it helped you scale your practice in this? Because you don't do anything. You delegate everything. And I'm learning what not to delegate and delegate.

Okay. I love delegation. I have my personal life delegation. I have each businesses. I'm becoming technology with softwares and stuff like that.

And so I love delegation. I'm sort of building like an organizational chart for my delegations. I have my title delegation, personal life delegation, investment delegation. I'm working on my marketing delegation. And so it's very crucial because the clearer I'm learning, the clearer your mind is.

And I think what you want is what the universe gives you. So what tasks do you absolutely make sure to delegate and what do you... This podcast is made possible by our sponsor. You have worked so hard to build your business. So why do 70 to 80% of businesses never sell?

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Yeah. So in the title space, in title, legal, and revenue, it's very crucial that I meet people, right? People think I'm in this transition of, you know, growing a portfolio. That is incorrect. So like yesterday, I met a huge broker.

Their pitch is they want to show me a lot of portfolios. My pitch is I want to get your title escrow business. The reason is not, it's a twofold. And your question is about delegation. I want to know what deals they have so I can provide value to the brokers and then offshoot it to the investors.

How do I delegate that? I am having one VA virtual assistant who I use heavily. Just out of the 140 brokers, schedule a one-hour lunch every week out of the 140 brokers. So she is working on their brokerage. And then I find out what asset class they're in.

So for example, if it's Joe Smith, he's doing in South Illinois and he's doing warehouses. I try to find out what his ideal price point is, what his ideal client is. And so when my delegation, when I have that lunch meeting next Wednesday, they kind of coach me on it. So that's what's going on. So are there any tools or systems or automation platforms you've integrated that have made your workflow more efficient?

Oh, yeah. So we use Qualia at our title company. And all I do is every day is take the people that have given deals. I look also within our ecosystem who's doing deals near me. I look also based on the ethnic background and I go there.

So what systems? Qualia is good. I use Buildium a lot. Buildium has Analytics Hub where you can see people that are actually leasing agents that are doing bigger deals and retail and stuff. So software is very, very crucial.

I used to use a system called Thrive. I like a lot. That took all the data of Chicago, who's doing what big deals. So software is very, very crucial. Software and delegation with virtual assistants is very important for me.

So let's switch to a strategy and trends. You're offering a unique intersection of legal, finance, and real estate. What trends are you seeing in the hotel space that you think others should pay attention to? Hotel space, number one. America is, I think, in its peak right now with travel since COVID and now it's only going up.

And I think lending is easier with SBA, Small Business Administration. I think they went from $5 million. They're going up to $10 million this year. So a small business owner can take now $10 million instead of $5 million. So what trend do I see?

A lot of these younger or smaller entrepreneurs are about to scale. And I think there's also a code shift, don't hold me to it. It's now, you know, if the husband takes it and the wife doesn't. So a joint family can take, I think, $20 million. I think it's lost in a few years.

lending is easier with SBA, Small Business Administration. I think they went from 5 million, they're going up to 10 million this year. So a small business owner can take now 10 million instead of 5 million. So what trend do I see? A lot of these younger or smaller entrepreneurs are about to scale.

And I think there's also a code shift, don't hold me to it. It's now, if the husband takes it and the wife doesn't, so a joint family can take, I think 20 million, I think it's lost in effect. So what does that mean? You have young entrepreneurs or small entrepreneurs trying to grow. So I see a lot of shift in massive, massive growth.

Florida, Texas, all that. So that's number one. Number two, EB-5. I'm partnering with an EB-5 company who has given us and closed, I think, four vacant lands. And so Indians are very good at engineering, medical.

And as you know, the Trump administration, if you put $750,000 currently in a major city like Chicago or Florida, or $1.1 million in rural, you get your green card within six months. So a lot of kids, wealthy kids as India and Asia booms. And because these regions just do so good hospitality business, they naturally come here with finance. And so I see a lot of more hotels being built, smaller hotels like the ISG and smaller ones being really, really big in rural areas. This podcast is proudly sponsored by Need extra hands without extra overhead.

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Safi Virtual, expert support tailored for title professionals. Have you helped facilitate any deals recently that really show the power of combining your legal skills with your investor network? Can you share a story? You don't want to share names. Well, I closed a $27 million deal Tuesday.

And the next one and all subsequent one, because it goes in tranches, total $60 million. I require my lender to be their preferred title company or top three. And we've gotten many national deals. I require the brokerage to use us on subsequent for title escrow stuff. So I'm strong arming them because the value that I provide, not every day.

And it's not, it's more about, hey, I'm scratching your back. It's time to scratch mine. And I say it in a friendly way. I think the last 10 years, it's always about me giving, though. I'm kind of like, hey, what's the real value?

Or we find an alternative way. So what advice would you give to other attorneys or title professionals who are thinking of specializing in a niche or expanding their roles like you've done like in a commercial space? Yeah, I think attorneys are, oh, God, I don't want to, I think they're just a special breed. I think that's a lot about just because they have a doctorate degree. I don't know why it's more paralyzing them than actually helping their growth.

There's this, I don't know if it's ego or that's an internal spiritual journey that people should go through. But I know the top performing residential attorneys, they're closing thousands of deals here in Midwest and Florida. I just don't understand because their ecosystem and their operations, they would crush it in commercial. But I kind of also sit back and let them not do it because that's my side of it. I think your question was what advice would I give them?

Let's get out of the attorney hat and go into what value do we provide to each other has. And I've been having these discussions. And one of my mentors like you said, you have to say that you can't change people's wiring. When I see that, but so I think a law degree and being a title agent and doing commercial deals is just as powerful. It could not be any better.

I would also advise being a title agent and a doctor. It could not be any medical doctor could not be any better. Because what I'm realizing that people that have a billion dollars AUM, MD or DO medical degrees, the Indian community, they have a billion dollars in assets and they pulled capital easily because they had a medical degree. And now I'm talking to them, hey, let's do a, how do I make you a title agent as well? That's another.

So to tap into the doctor community, because they're high earners and they're looking for ways. Yeah. Yes. And so I'm working on just had a discussion last Thursday with anyway. So the people that actually funded a lot of my deals, they were all doctors.

They just want a K1 and they're mostly Indian. And the other half was the hoteliers that just want to stop operations. So I go to these doctors that bought literally a billion AU assets under management or another guy with 800. I said, Hey, you raised capital like this and I'm the operator sweating here. Why have you not considering another avenue to do title?

So sort of like what I'm doing, just different. Those are the values we're trying to provide to each other. So where do you see your operation, like your own world or your legal practice going next few years, any big shifts or innovations on the horizon? Yes, I think. Well, the only hurdle right now is our interest rates.

But I think with the current, where the trajectory is going with the economy, I am so optimistic and happy about the future. It's not necessarily about making money, but I think where we're placing our mark nationally, and I'm so excited. And what are the massive action plans that we're doing? I'm right now owning in, I used to network and you'd kind of, you know, like 10 people a day. Now I'm very, very particular and a strategic before having five lunches today, right?

And so it's one thing, we want to provide to all aspects, title, my equity, lending, because I'm about to be 40 years old, and the next 40 years is going to be drastic. So that's awesome. Today's episode is sponsored by Hey, you title agents, stop wasting time digging for answers or waiting on an email or call back from your underwriter. With title agents, you can get waiting on an email or call back from your underwriter. With title GPT.ai, you get instant, reliable answers to your title questions fast.

No more delays, work smarter, close faster and keep deals moving. Try www.titleGPT.ai today. So with any final words to inspiring young title agents that are in residential, that want to kind of switch gears or paths to commercial, and it sounds overwhelming and intimidating, especially we start talking big, bigger, more zeros and have behind the number people feel intimidated. Yeah, so you asked me two questions. Number one, I do not feel intimidated because when you hang out with people that do two, 300, $400 million deals, they are not smarter, they are not brighter.

They just took that leap forward. I'm telling you this right now. There's this guy I look up, I used to look up to, you know, 10 years ago, he had $100 million. They're not, they just took that risk. So take that leap.

Right? Have no fear. Number two, ecosystems, very, very popular. I would recommend you join organizations. Like tell all my buddies that, you know, there's organizations, if I may name, name a few commercial academies, very, very popular.

Gold Blindness is very popular. Once you're with these guys and girls, you kind of see it's not rocket science. There's so many organizations, locally and nationally, as you know, and I know, I also number three, I would say, I'm huge, you know, we are wired. And I went through and you went through, you know, personal development. I think if you really spend four or five months on yourself, what you really want to do, and if you really want to do it, it'll just and your inner growth, it will happen.

Yes. I'm a believer is always growing, always learning. It's not just four or five months. But it just once you get hooked into personal development, the more your mind grows, the more your mindset grows, that's how you expand your mindset. That's how you start thinking bigger.

And that could just be your world expands. It's personal development. I think if you really spend four or five months on yourself, what you really want to do and if you really want to do it, it'll just, and your inner growth, it will happen. Yes. I'm a believer in always growing, always learning.

It's not just four or five months, but it's just once you get hooked into personal development, the more your mind grows, the more your mindset grows, that's how you expand your mindset. It's how you start thinking bigger and that your world expands. It's all between your two ears. It's a quest. Do you have a favorite quote?

I have, yes, success. I have also in my signature line of my emails, it says, to live is to learn. That means growing all the time. I love to grow. I love to listen to people that I look up to.

I chased you down for a couple of years. I literally flew into your office in, wait, 16 years ago, 16, wow, eight years ago, nine years ago. Yes. Okay. So I love to, so now it's about success is not celebrated in solidarity.

It's a collective triumph. That means we all are growing. It doesn't mean about success, it means we all grow together, right, collectively. How about a favorite book or one you've read recently that sticks in your mind? I Audible a lot of books, but I love Awaken the Giant within Tony Robbins.

It talks about people's personalities. Oldie but goodie. Yeah. Yeah. Awaken the Giant is the only book I read twice, real book.

I learn about now people like, are they visual learners, kinesthetic learners? Do they, how you speak to them, auditory? So when I, you know, I'm so energetic and I learned, you know, some now, but some clients or investors or people you have to tone in, you have to feel them and those are stuff that I still look at you. That's awesome. Well, thank you so much Imran for your time and it was very invaluable lessons to all those inspiring title professionals and attorneys that want to switch gears to the commercial space.

And that's a wrap on today's journey with Mo Shamil from the Title Agents Podcast, reminding you that mastering the art of innovation is key in the title industry's fast-paced world. If you're finding it tough to keep up with the changes and challenges, remember, you're not alone. Our calendar is open for you. Find the link in the show notes and let's connect. Make sure to hit subscribe to not miss out on strategies that elevate and insights that empower.

Together, we'll navigate the future of the industry. I look forward to our next meeting in the upcoming episode.