Michael Polk has operated his own boutique real estate firm in Los Angeles for more than 25 years. He says the key to his success has been to “tailor my activities toward the clients’ needs.” Polk Properties specializes in selling and leasing commercial real estate, such as warehouses and manufacturing distribution buildings.

“Basically I’ll do anything, but I don’t sell houses because that’s not my temperament,” says Polk. “It takes a lot of patience to sell houses.” He thinks that industrial and commercial transactions are more straightforward and based upon more practical considerations such as the amount of available power, access to the freeway and the airport, etc. A typical client for him would be a person whose family has wealth in old properties that have appreciated and been passed down to heirs. “They have to know what to do with those buildings,” says Polk. “That’s where the broker comes in. You have to educate the client. That’s why AI is never going to be able to get rid of the real estate broker,” he says. “You can get rid of some of the crummy ones, but my brand is a brand you can trust because I’m going to tell you the truth. I’m not there only for the money — I’m there for the long run.”

In addition to his real estate business, Polk is also a hard money lender — an individual lender who is not affiliated with a bank and who uses a customer’s collateral or equity in property to make loans that generally carry a higher-than-market interest rate, but that are executed quickly. “You have to be able to offer the client whatever they need,” says Polk. “You have to be able to change hats to make more of yourself.”

• Work Experience
  Michael Polk has operated his own boutique real estate firm in Los Angeles for more than 25 years. He says the key to his success has been to “tailor my activities toward the clients’ needs.” Polk Properties specializes in selling and leasing commercial real estate, such as warehouses and manufacturing distribution buildings.
  
  “Basically I’ll do anything, but I don’t sell houses because that’s not my temperament,” says Polk. “It takes a lot of patience to sell houses.” He thinks that industrial and commercial transactions are more straightforward and based upon more practical considerations such as the amount of available power, access to the freeway and the airport, etc. A typical client for him would be a person whose family has wealth in old properties that have appreciated and been passed down to heirs. “They have to know what to do with those buildings,” says Polk. “That’s where the broker comes in. You have to educate the client. That’s why AI is never going to be able to get rid of the real estate broker,” he says. “You can get rid of some of the crummy ones, but my brand is a brand you can trust because I’m going to tell you the truth. I’m not there only for the money — I’m there for the long run.”
  
  In addition to his real estate business, Polk is also a hard money lender — an individual lender who is not affiliated with a bank and who uses a customer’s collateral or equity in property to make loans that generally carry a higher-than-market interest rate, but that are executed quickly. “You have to be able to offer the client whatever they need,” says Polk. “You have to be able to change hats to make more of yourself.”
• Organizations
  Forbes Real Estate Council