SVN Specialty Awards: Humanitarian of the Year – Brent & Amy Miller

Posted on April 15, 2016 by SVN

Recognizing the SVN Difference with Specialty Awards

If you read my recent blog post about the SVN Annual Conference highlights, you know that the SVN Specialty Awards recognize members of the SVN community who have distinguished themselves in 2015 by making significant impacts on the commercial real estate industry and beyond. The awards – which included Team Player of the Year, Ambassador of the Year, Collaborator of the Year, Trainer of the Year, Humanitarian of the Year, Prospector of the Year, Innovator of the Year, and Firm of the Year – looked beyond production results and instead focused on culture. The winners of this year’s SVN Specialty Awards each embody traits that the SVN culture values immensely: practicing collaboration, cooperation and conscious capitalism while excelling in commercial real estate.

SVN Humanitarian of the Year 2015 – Brent & Amy Miller

If there was ever an office that makes community building a priority in our Shared Value Network it’s SVN | Miller. Led by Brent and Amy Miller, the group’s hard work to better their Salisbury, MD community is why we are giving them this year’s SVN Humanitarian of the Year Award. The Millers take doing well by doing good to heart and it is something that is reflected through every member of their team. We could say more, but I think that their SVN Difference video says it all. The SVN | Miller team picked up another honor at the conference, as this video won the “Best Documentary” category of our first annual SVN video awards. Check out the video below.

Brent Miller, CCIM, CPM, serves as Managing Director and Senior Advisor for SVN | Miller Commercial Real Estate with offices in Salisbury, Annapolis, Bethesda, Maryland; and Rehoboth/Lewes, Seaford, and Wilmington, Delaware. Miller specializes in the sale, leasing, and management of retail, office, and industrial property. With more than 27 years of commercial real estate experience, Miller has closed more than 750 transactions, resulting in a career brokerage volume in excess of $250 million.

Amy Miller, CPM, serves as Managing Director for SVN | Miller Commercial Real Estate & Property Management, Inc. in Salisbury, Maryland, where she acts as director of property management and chief financial officer. Miller has over 20 years of commercial real estate management experience.

The SVN blog will be featuring one SVN Specialty Award winner every week for the next few weeks. Subscribe to the SVN blog on the right-hand column of the blog homepage to stay up to date with SVN and CRE industry news.

5 for Friday with David Wilk SVN/Miller Commercial Real Estate

Posted on February 7, 2014 by SVN

David Wilk, CRE, MAI, with SVN/Miller Commercial Real Estate

This week, our 5 for Friday features David Wilk, CRE, MAI, Corporate Real Estate Council Co-Chair and an Advisor with SVN/Miller Commercial Real Estate based out of Wilmington, DE.

1. What is your geographic market and product specialty?
Corporate real estate earnings measurement and optimization, strategic marketing plans for excess or under-productive properties, place-making economic development strategies, and corporate/university real estate’s connectivity to social value creation on a national basis.

2. What’s your latest best practice tip that you can share?
Be a great listener first and always make your conversations with others about the value that you can bring to them whether they are a client, friend, fellow human being, or loved one.

3. What’s been the biggest change over on how you run your business in the past decade?
In today’s market, clients don’t like to pay for consulting or advisory services when most other real estate companies give that service away for future transactions. If you can’t clearly articulate why you add value to someone’s life, business, or real estate, either re-invent your business plan or don’t expect to win much business.

4. What business book do you like to recommend to your colleagues?
“Blue Ocean Strategy“ by W. Chan Kim or “The Rise of the Creative Class“ by Richard Florida

5. What’s a fun fact that not everyone knows about you?
I developed a “Best of Delaware” restaurant and nightclub called “The Polo Club” in Greenville, Delaware. It was a hot spot from 1988 to 1993 until we sold it to a competitor in 1993. The Polo Club hosted performances from national recording stars America, Dave Mason, Mamas and Papas (when Papa John was still alive), Drifters, Coasters, Marvellettes, John Sebastian, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Mitch Ryder, and Badfinger. The most interesting takeaway from this business was the marketing and branding benefits to my real estate business that came out of this experience, and the priceless relationships and social intelligence that was gained from those who I met and got to know there.

*All Sperry Van Ness offices are independently owned and operated.

Wesley Cox Honored with 2013 National Commercial Award

Posted on January 23, 2014 by SVN

Wesley Cox, CCIM, Senior Advisor, SVN/Miller Commercial Real Estate

Wesley Cox, CCIM, Senior Advisor with SVN/Miller Commercial Real Estate in Salisbury, MD was awarded the National Association of REALTORS 2013 National Commercial Award. The award recognizes excellence in the commercial real estate industry by honoring accomplished realtors for their local achievements. Cox is one of only 59 national award recipients, and the only recipient from Maryland. When asked about the award Wesley said, “It is a great honor to have been selected for this national award and to be a representative of the commercial real estate industry. As community stakeholders we should all have goals that help preserve and improve our enviable quality of life we have on the Shore and to help our community move forward in a positive direction.”

A factor in Wesley being an honored recipient was receiving the Rotarian of the Year Award from the Wicomico Rotary Club. The purpose of that award is to recognize someone that carries out the Rotary’s Four Way Test on a daily basis and someone that has demonstrated exemplary humanitarian service with an emphasis on volunteer efforts. Mission of Mercy, The Christian Shelter, Salvation Army, and the Village of Hope are a handful of the organizations that have benefited from Wesley’s work. As the Managing Broker of SVN/Miller Commercial Real Estate, Brent Miller, CCIM, CPM commented, “I am extremely proud of Wesley’s accomplishments which go to show his and our commitment to the community and the commercial real estate industry.”

As a 12-year veteran of commercial real estate, Cox specializes in the sale and lease of commercial investment property, industrial, retail, self-storage, office, and land located on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Southern Delaware.

*All Sperry Van Ness offices are independently owned and operated.

5 for Friday with Ben Alder from Sperry Van Ness Miller Commercial Real Estate

Posted on January 17, 2014 by SVN

Ben Alder, Land Product Council Chair, SVN/Miller Commercial Real Estate

This week, our 5 for Friday features Ben Alder, Land Product Council Chair and Senior Advisor with Sperry Van Ness Miller Commercial Real Estate based out of Salisbury, MD.

1. What is your geographic market and product specialty?
My product specialty is land. My market area is the Delmarva Peninsula – Maryland, Delaware, Virginia.

2. What’s your latest best practice tip that you can share?
I recommend setting aside time for monthly business planning. It helps me stay focused on the big goals while working each day to make business happen. This is equivalent to working ON your business and not IN your business –

3. What’s been the biggest change over on how you run your business in the past decade?
My biggest challenge was committing to focus on one product type which for me is land.

4. What business book do you like to recommend to your colleagues?
I highly recommend, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change” by Stephen R. Covey

5. What’s a fun fact that not everyone knows about you?
Not a lot of people know that I am a wetland and waterfowl biologist by training.

*All Sperry Van Ness offices are independently owned and operated.

SVN Hosts CRE Place-Making Symposium

Posted on January 3, 2014 by SVN

David J. Wilk presenting at SVN’s CRE Place-Making Symposium

In December of 2013, David J. Wilk, CRE, MAI, Council Chair of Corporate Real Estate Advisory Services for SVNIC, partnered with SVN/Miller Commercial Real Estate to host a “Place-Making Symposium” at the Salisbury University Perdue School of Business. The event consisted of two panels that presented strategies to create economic development and jobs in the region through innovative real estate branding and marketing initiatives. Maryland State Senator, Jim Mathias, was on hand to open the event and speak to the Eastern Shore opportunities.

To read the press release in its entirety, click here.

*All Sperry Van Ness offices are independently owned and operated.

SVN/Miller Commercial Real Estate Lends a Helping Hand

Posted on November 6, 2013 by SVN

Members if the SVN/Miller Commercial Real Estate team assisting in the renovation of the Hope and Life Outreach in Salisbury, MD.

The members of Sperry Van Ness/Miller Commercial Real Estate, based out of Salisbury, MD, were among the groups and individuals around the country who volunteered on October 26 for National Make a Difference Day. The team helped to make a positive difference in other’s lives by making improvements at the Hope and Life Outreach (HALO) emergency shelter. SVN/Miller supplied paint and many volunteers.

“We brought a whole crew of office members and some of their family and put some paint on the wall to spruce it up,” said Nicole Abresch, 25, marketing director for Sperry Van Ness/Miller Commercial Real Estate. “We just wanted to give back to an organization that does so much for the less fortunate in the community.”

*All Sperry Van Ness offices are independently owned and operated.

5 for Friday with John McClellan of SVN/Miller Commercial Real Estate

Posted on October 4, 2013 by SVN

John McClellan, CCIM, Senior Advisor, SVN/Miller Commercial Real Estate

This week, our 5 for Friday features John McClellan, CCIM, Senior Advisor with SVN/Miller Commercial Real Estate.

1. What is your geographic market and product specialty?
The Eastern Shore of Maryland and Delaware. I specialize in office, industrial and retail properties.

2. What’s your latest best practice tip that you can share?
I have found great success in 3 key areas:

Daily planning
Using my spreadsheets to track all deals by date and probability
Blocked time with phones and email shut off to “get stuff done”

3. What’s been the biggest change over on how you run your business in the past decade?
The biggest change would have to be the surge in how we use technology to connect with and update potential buyers and clients. The use of social media, websites, even apps for iPads and other devices, have become invaluable tools in how I conduct day-to-day business.

4. What business book do you like to recommend to your colleagues?
“Brokers who Dominate” by Rod Santomassimo

5. What’s a fun fact that not everyone knows about you?
I am a passionate but conflicted college football fan having graduated from Penn State but with two kids in college at South Carolina and Alabama.

*All Sperry Van Ness offices are independently owned and operated.

SVN Deal Stories: Selling an Outdated but Spacious Office Building

Posted on August 16, 2013 by SVN

The Property:
Landmark office building (former headquarters of Potomac Edison) plus 44 acres of land in Hagerstown, MD.

The Challenges:
The 44-year-old building was behind on maintenance and had outdated floor plans and facilities and an obsolete HVAC system. Due to these issues, it was also not up to green building standards required by buyers and the GSA. The local market had fewer buyers in 2012 and potential data center prospects are not able to use a Class C building.

Syd Machat, CCIM, CRE

The Brokers:
Syd Machat, CCIM, CRE
Sperry Van Ness/Miller Commercial Real Estate

Getting the Deal Done the SVN Way:
Syd Machat was focused on selling the various strengths of the building, which included a convenient and secure location, corporate neighbors, availability of fiber optic cable and a solid construction, which could be retrofitted. Machat, as a SVN senior advisor and veteran CCIM and CRE, worked extensively with the brokerage community to arrange numerous site inspections and offers to cooperate. Extensive advertising and publicity in all media were used.

All of Sperry Van Ness’ marketing advantages were employed: Monday National Sales Call, CRE Internet web site syndication’s, BuildOut™ Brochures, and others. Henry Hanna, CCIM, SIOR and Brent Miller, CCIM, CPM of Sperry Van Ness/Miller Commercial Real Estate were mentors for Syd on this listing.

Ultimately, the building was sold to the Washington County Board of Education for $5.5 million, and will undergo $6.5 million in renovations.

The Lessons Learned:

Focus on the potential of a building and the ability to renovate to suit.
Extensive marketing opens up possibilities.

*All Sperry Van Ness® offices are independently owned and operated.

Looking Below the Surface of Farmland Values by Ben Alder

Posted on April 10, 2013 by SVN

Ben Alder, Advisor with Sperry Van Ness | Miller Commercial Real Estate

Ben Alder, an advisor from Sperry Van Ness/Miller Commercial Real Estate out of Salisbury, Maryland, is a contributing author for LandThink. By bring together various components of the land industry, LandThink is able to provide knowledge, ideas and networking opportunities to land professionals and investors to create a stronger land marketplace.

In a recent article, Ben takes a closer look at farmland values and the economic principles driving the value.

The last serious decline to farmland value occurred in the 1980s. Since then, annual growth in some states has risen in the double digit range, while between 1994 and 2004, the national average farm real estate value increased between 2 and 4 percent. Contrasting this to 2005 and 2006 they increased by 16 and 10 percent, respectively. The recession of 2008 to 2009 did bring some modest dip in farmland value, the hardest hit states were those with greater levels of suburban development and urbanization, a factor very well understood on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and other Mid Atlantic States. In 2010 to 2011 states in the Corn Belt and Great Plains experienced significant growth in cropland values including a 31 percent spike in Iowa. While prices sky rocketed in these bread basket States, areas of the Southeast and Northeast experience declines in value as transitional influences changing land use in these more urbanized markets continued to trail off. Greater detail on this research can be garnered from the September 2012 edition of the Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources and Rural America Journal produced by USDA’s Economic Research Service.

To view Ben’s article in its entirety, click here.

Ben Alder

Sperry Van Ness/Miller Commercial Real Estate

Salisbury, MD

*All Sperry Van Ness® offices are independently owned and operated.

Sperry Van Ness® 2012 Firm of the Year Miller Commercial Real Estate

Posted on March 27, 2013 by SVN

The office that best embodies the Sperry Van Ness® culture and thus is able to increase its market share receives the Sperry Van Ness Firm of the Year award. This year, the award is given to Sperry Van Ness/Miller Commercial Real Estate.

SVN Miller, which has offices in Maryland and Delaware, has been a Sperry Van Ness franchisee since 2007. That was the year that the principals decided to bring together the top commercial producers in the area to form a specialized commercial real estate group. Since then, SVN Miller has commanded a high market share by growing its main office by recruiting high-achieving sales agents who embody SVN core covenants and culture, and expanding their footprint in the Mid-Atlantic through the addition of four satellite offices.

The SVN Miller team started out in January 2007 with 15 staff members including two managing directors and eight advisors. Today, they have doubled the staff, to 31 total, all working among its five offices.

SVN Miller places a lot of emphasis on having a sociable atmosphere by involving the entire staff in various group activities throughout the year. SVN Miller holds an annual investor forum each year in which advisors and the marketing team get together. It has also hosted several broker forums where all commercial agents in the area are invited to collaborate on deals.

A great example of SVN Miller’s strong team spirit came through during Hurricane Sandy. As the ocean flowed down the streets of Salisbury, Maryland, the team saw first-hand the devastation of a national disaster. Yet, within a month, thanks to the entire staff including spouses and children who help move out, renovate, move back in, decorate, work through IT issues and more – SVN Miller was back fully operational, barely missing a beat during the crisis.

But it goes beyond socializing and educational get-togethers. Miller believes in team-building though community service projects. Every year, the offices participate in several community projects such working with Habitat for Humanity, doing a river clean up through the local Chamber of Commerce or participating in a Warrior Dash. Advisors and staff, who each have favorite charities and causes and want a chance to showcase them, provide the project ideas.

Perhaps most telling of Miller’s team culture is the set of “success bells” that hang in the back of the office. Each time an advisor has a new contract, settlement or other good news, the advisor rings the bells, which starts a chain of congratulations that creates their unique team camaraderie.

*All Sperry Van Ness® offices are independently owned and operated.