In the CRE Vault with Mike and Marc

Send us Fan Mail Mike and Mark are out enjoying a little summer sunshine, so we're digging back into one of our favorite conversations from the vault. This week we're joined by Monty Froehlich , owner of US Property  and one of Nebraska's most respected commercial real estate investors and developers. Monty shares his unlikely journey from working in the dairy industry to building a...

Send us Fan Mail Everyone sees the closing photos. Few people see the months of work that happen before the deal ever gets done. In this episode of In the CRE Vault with Mike & Marc , the guys pull back the curtain on what it's really like to be a commercial real estate broker. From working six months ahead of payday to managing client expectations, pricing properties correctly, navigatin...

Send us Fan Mail Ever wonder who keeps the lights on, the budgets balanced, and everyone's computers from spontaneously combusting? This week, Mike and Marc welcome Dan Carmichael into the vault. As NAI FMA Realty's Vice President of Finance, Dan wears more hats than most people realize—accounting leader, IT troubleshooter, payroll guru, benefits administrator, and occasional miracle wor...

Send us Fan Mail This week on In the CRE Vault , Mike and Marc tackle the questions, myths, and misconceptions they hear all the time in commercial real estate. The guys pull answers from the NAI FMA Realty team — and not everyone always agrees, which makes this episode even better. Questions covered include: “What’s my property worth?” “How do you actually market a property?” “Why should we hire...

Send us Fan Mail This week on In the CRE Vault , Mike and Marc dive headfirst into the mysterious world of data centers — the giant, windowless buildings quietly powering AI, cloud computing, streaming, crypto, and basically everyone’s group chat. The guys break down: What “dark fiber” actually means (and why it sounds way cooler than it is) Why the Midwest is suddenly becoming a hotspot for data...

Send us Fan Mail This week on In the CRE Vault , Mike and Marc sit down with Matt Spethman from ALLO Fiber to talk about what it takes to keep Lincoln connected — literally. Matt’s role is all about community partnerships, getting fiber in the ground, and helping homes and businesses stay ahead of their technology needs. ALLO has been in Lincoln for about 12 years and now serves a major share of t...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of In the CRE Vault with Mike and Marc , the guys sit down with Tony Potthoff, President of Constructors Lincoln Inc., and Elizabeth Elliott, Director of Transportation and Utilities for the City of Lincoln, to talk about one of the biggest infrastructure projects happening in downtown Lincoln right now — the massive O Street rehabilitation project. Elizabeth is le...

Send us Fan Mail This week on In the CRE Vault with Mike and Marc , the team at NAI FMA Realty dives into one of the biggest topics in commercial real estate today: cap rates versus interest rates. With interest rates rising while cap rates remain compressed, many deals simply aren’t penciling the way they used to. Buyers want yield, banks want a wider spread, and sellers are still adjusting to ch...

Send us Fan Mail Commercial real estate agents: professional door unlockers? Commission collectors? People who magically know every property and every deal in town? Not exactly. On today’s episode of In the CRE Vault with Mike and Marc, we’re busting the biggest myths about CRE brokers and commercial real estate firms. From the idea that “anyone can do it” to the classic “property management is ju...

Send us Fan Mail NAI FMA Realty was voted 2026 Journal Star Lincoln’s Choice Award winner for Best Commercial Real Estate Company, and we’re cracking open the vault to talk about what that really means. This episode features Alexandra “Alex” Cassidy, Vice President of Business Development, who joins Mike and Marc to discuss the award, the team behind it, and the clients and community who made it h...

Send us Fan Mail In this week’s episode of In the CRE Vault , Mike and Marc from NAI FMA Realty dive into the real-world art of due diligence—aka the “tire kicking” phase where deals either get stronger… or fall apart. From 30-day timelines (if you’re lucky) to buyers who want everything under the sun—and others who barely scratch the surface—the guys break down what actually happens once a deal g...

Send us Fan Mail This week we sit down with Aaron Peregrine from NAI FMA Realty—and let’s just say, his career path didn’t exactly follow a straight line… unless that line ran through a commercial kitchen in Chicago first. Aaron grew up in Lincoln, took his talents to culinary school, got a taste of the high-pressure kitchen life (literally), and decided it wasn’t the long-term recipe. From there,...

Send us Fan Mail This week on In the CRE Vault with Mike & Marc , the team at NAI FMA Realty breaks down the investment pitfalls that can catch even experienced buyers off guard. From tenant stability to the realities of unpaid rent, we dig into why it’s not always simple to enforce leases—and how that risk impacts your bottom line. We also cover the true cost of property maintenance, includin...

Send us Fan Mail This week on In the CRE Vault with Mike & Marc , the team at NAI FMA Realty dives into one of the most overlooked opportunities in commercial real estate: investing in tertiary markets. While primary markets are crowded and increasingly competitive, tertiary markets offer a different story — often driven by a strong owner-user base, more balanced supply and demand, and slightl...

Send us Fan Mail This week, we’re joined by our very own Kari Knoedler—now officially the office AI expert (yes, she took a class, so it’s legit). We dive into how AI is actually being used every day in commercial real estate—from cranking out marketing content and building better spreadsheets (seriously… better spreadsheets) to leveling up research and efficiency across the board. But it’s not ju...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we crack open our annual Lincoln CRE Market Report—the one we obsessively track all year so you don’t have to. We dig into the trends behind absorption, sale prices, and what’s really happening in office, industrial, and retail. Joining the conversation: Jared Froehlich, SIOR, CCIM breaks down the industrial market (spoiler: it’s still been on a tear since 2020)....

Send us Fan Mail Mike and Marc just got back from the NAI Global Convention in Las Vegas, and this episode of In the CRE Vault is a recap of what they learned—and maybe a little of what happened after the sessions ended. They dive into how being part of NAI Global gives them a unique perspective on the market. One thing they consistently see: trends that hit major markets often show up in smaller...

Send us Fan Mail Season 4 is officially underway! After a short break, Mike and Marc are back in the studio to kick off the new season of In the CRE Vault . In this quick opener, they talk about where the commercial real estate market stands today and what to expect from the show moving forward. The market has definitely slowed down a bit—thanks in part to a mix of macroeconomic factors—but it’s n...

Send us Fan Mail Ever heard your broker throw around the term cap rate and nodded along like you totally knew what it meant? Yeah… we’ve all been there. In this classic episode from Season 1, Mike and Marc break down what a cap rate actually is (spoiler: it’s not a hat size) and why it matters more than your morning coffee when it comes to evaluating a commercial property. We’re talking risk, retu...

Send us Fan Mail You know what’s harder than landing a new client? Keeping the one you already have from bolting because your voicemail says, “Out of office until further notice.” In this episode, Mike and Marc get real about customer service in commercial real estate—how it doesn’t stop at 5 PM, doesn’t care about time zones, and definitely doesn’t end when the ink dries. Whether you're clos...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Mike and Marc crack open the mysterious, often misunderstood world of commercial leases —aka that stack of legal paper that decides who pays to fix the HVAC and whether you’re allowed to hang your neon llama sign. They’re not attorneys (disclaimer: seriously, they are NOT attorneys), but they have read leases so many times their eyeballs have legally changed shape. Tune...

Send us Fan Mail Strap in and hold on to your listing agreements, folks—Mike and Marc are back in the vault, cracking open some of the realest real estate truths around buyer/seller and landlord/tenant representation. What’s the agent’s actual job in each scenario? Who’s paying the commission? And why does giving an inflated value to win a listing feel a lot like promising a six-pack after one gym...

Send us Fan Mail Cap rates: they’re stuck, they’re weird, and they’re making commercial real estate sloooow. In this episode of In the CRE Vault with Mike and Marc , the guys dive into the upside-down world where interest rates are high, cap rates are low, and some companies are tossing around “projected” or “blended” cap rates that assume buildings are full — even when they’re half empty.  But no...

Send us Fan Mail Remember when you could build out an office without needing a second mortgage? Yeah, us too. In this episode of In the CRE Vault with Mike and Marc , the guys tackle the slow but not-so-sad state of the office market — where costs are up, patience is thin, and co-workers won’t stop talking about their weekends. From rising buildout expenses to the “flight to quality” trend, Mike a...

Send us Fan Mail Retail’s holding steady, and so are Mike’s chickens — both thriving in their own way. In this episode of In the CRE Vault with Mike and Marc , the guys dive into the current retail real estate market, breaking down what’s hot, what’s holding, and what’s hilariously unexpected. From strip centers to street-front gems, they unpack why retail is still kicking strong in a world of onl...