NNN is one of the most efficient markets in commercial real estate. Investment-grade NNN properties trade nationally to a deep pool of 1031 buyers, REITs, family offices, and DST sponsors. This efficiency means publicly-listed deals are often priced fairly — finding better deals usually requires sourcing them off-market or before they hit the public listings.

This lesson covers where NNN inventory comes from, how to access it, and how to build a sourcing pipeline that finds deals before everyone else.

The NNN inventory pipeline

NNN properties enter the market through several channels:

Sale-leasebacks — corporate tenants sell properties they own and lease back from the new buyer
Build-to-suits — developers build for credit tenants, then sell upon completion
Existing landlord sales — current NNN owners sell, often for 1031 or estate reasons
REIT and fund dispositions — institutional sellers periodically rotate portfolios
Estate sales — heirs liquidate inherited NNN properties
Distress sales — rare in NNN, but loan defaults occasionally force sales

Each channel has its own access points. The best sourcers tap multiple channels.

Specialty NNN brokerages

The NNN market is dominated by a few specialized brokerage firms that handle most national net lease transactions. Working with them is the simplest entry point.

Major NNN brokerages

Marcus & Millichap — largest net lease brokerage by volume; broad inventory, strong national reach
Stan Johnson Company (now part of Northmarq) — net lease specialty firm with deep institutional relationships
Boulder Group — Chicago-based, strong research and quarterly cap rate reports
NNN Pro Group — Texas-based, large national net lease team
Calkain Companies — Mid-Atlantic specialist
B+E (formerly Bekkala Edwards) — net lease tech-driven brokerage with online marketplace
JLL Net Lease — JLL's national net lease practice
CBRE Net Lease Properties — CBRE's specialty group
Faris Lee Investments — California-based with national reach
Encore Real Estate Investment Services — Detroit-based, national net lease

How to engage them

Get on email lists — every major brokerage sends regular NNN deal blasts. Sign up at each firm's website.
Build relationships with individual brokers — one good broker beats ten generic email lists. Once a broker knows your buy box, they'll bring you deals before public listing.
Be specific about your buy box — "I'm looking for IG NNN, 10+ years remaining, $1.5-3M price range, 6.0-6.5% cap range, anywhere in Florida or growing Sunbelt markets." The more specific you are, the more useful you become.
Be a real buyer — brokers prioritize buyers who close. Show your funding capacity, your 1031 timeline, your willingness to move fast.

What to ask brokers

Before committing to a deal sourced from a brokerage, ask:

How many other buyers are looking at this?
What's the seller's motivation?
Has there been any prior price reduction?
What's the day count on the listing?
Are there any known issues with the property or tenant?

Brokers represent the seller, but they want to close deals. A broker who has shown you previous listings and respects your time will be honest about which deals are clean and which have hair on them.

Online NNN marketplaces

Several online marketplaces aggregate NNN listings from multiple brokerages.

Major platforms

CREXi — fast-growing CRE marketplace with strong NNN inventory; free for buyers
LoopNet — the original CRE listing site, now CoStar-owned; broad inventory, browser-friendly
B+E (mybeplatform.com) — net-lease-focused marketplace with proprietary inventory and research
TenantBase / The Net Lease Advisor — niche net lease platforms
1031 Crowdfunding — DST-focused but also lists NNN properties
Realty Mogul — primarily multifamily but with some NNN inventory

How to use marketplaces effectively

Set up saved searches with email alerts — most platforms let you define a buy box and receive new listings instantly
Track active listings over time — listings that have been sitting for 60+ days often become negotiable
Use them for comp research — even when you're not buying, marketplace data helps you understand current pricing
Don't pay listing prices — listings are asking prices, not transaction prices. Always negotiate

Marketplace limitations

Online marketplaces show you what everyone else sees. The best deals never make it to public listings — they sell through broker relationships before going public. Marketplaces are a starting point, not the whole strategy.

Off-market sourcing

Off-market NNN deals are typically priced 25-100 bps better than public listings because there's no auction dynamic. They're harder to find but worth pursuing.

Direct-to-owner outreach

Pull a list of NNN-leased properties in your target market by:

County property records — most counties show owner of record and recent sale info
CoStar / Reonomy — paid databases with ownership data
Tax assessor sites — free but limited data

Then contact owners directly:

"I'm a buyer for NNN properties leased to [tenant]. I'd like to make you an offer if you'd consider selling."
Send physical mail (yes, mail) to recorded ownership addresses
Cold call when phone numbers are available
LinkedIn for ownership entities

The hit rate is low (1-2% response) but the deals you find are clean and competitive.

Build-to-suit relationships

Build-to-suit (BTS) developers build new NNN properties to lease to corporate tenants, then sell to investors at completion. Building relationships with BTS developers can give you first-look access to brand-new NNN inventory.

Common BTS developers in Florida and the Sunbelt:

Oak Street Real Estate Capital
Realty Income (also a buyer)
Spirit Realty Capital (now part of Realty Income)
STORE Capital (now part of GIC)
Agree Realty
Net Lease Office Properties (NLOP)
Regional developers — many smaller developers focus on specific tenant relationships (Dollar General build-to-suits, for example)

Many BTS developers will sell to individual investors when their REIT or fund partners aren't taking down the project. Building those relationships requires time but pays off.

Tenant rep relationships

Tenant rep brokers help corporate tenants find sites and structure leases. They know about upcoming sale-leaseback opportunities before anyone else.

Talk to tenant reps for the brands you target. If they know you're a serious buyer, they may bring you deals when their tenant decides to sell rather than continue owning.

DST and 1031 marketplaces

Delaware Statutory Trusts (DSTs) are pre-packaged 1031 investments. They're not exactly NNN sourcing but they're the major channel for 1031 capital flowing into NNN.

Major DST sponsors

Inland Real Estate Group
Capital Square
JLL Income Property Trust
Ares Industrial Real Estate Income Trust
Hines Securities
Bluerock
ExchangeRight

How DSTs work for sourcing

You don't typically buy a DST and then sell it as a NNN deal. But understanding the DST market matters because:

DST sponsors are major NNN buyers — they compete with you for inventory and influence pricing
Failed DST offerings (where the sponsor can't sell all the units) sometimes get sold off as direct NNN deals
DSTs are the backup plan for 1031 buyers who can't find direct NNN inventory in time

Auctions and distress

NNN distress is rare but does happen. When it does, the best opportunities come through:

Ten-X Commercial — online CRE auction platform
RealINSIGHT Marketplace — distressed CMBS asset platform
Local bank workout departments — especially community banks holding NNN loans that have gone into default

Distress sales can offer deep discounts but require:

Fast underwriting (often 5-10 day timelines)
Strong cash position
Comfort with title and property issues
Acceptance that "as-is, where-is" sales offer no recourse

Building a sourcing system

For serious NNN investors, sourcing is a system, not a hobby. Build:

1. The buy box document

Write down exactly what you want:

Tenants (specific brands)
Price range
Cap rate range
Geographic markets
Lease term remaining
Lease structure (absolute NNN only, or NN OK?)
Tenant credit minimum
Property type/age constraints

Update it as your strategy evolves. Share it with brokers.

2. The broker list

Maintain a list of 5-10 brokers across the major NNN brokerages. Email them quarterly with your updated buy box. Take their calls. Look at deals they bring even when you're not buying — it builds the relationship.

3. The marketplace alerts

Set up saved searches on CREXi, LoopNet, and B+E for your buy box. Check daily during active sourcing periods.

4. The off-market campaign

If you have a 1031 timeline or active capital, run a direct-to-owner campaign in your target market. Even 50 contacts can produce 1-2 real conversations.

5. The deal log

Track every deal you look at, even ones you don't pursue. Note the tenant, location, asking cap rate, and outcome (closed, withdrawn, sold to other buyer). Over time this becomes proprietary market intel.

Florida and Central Florida specifically

For Florida NNN sourcing:

Why Florida is a great NNN market

Population growth — Florida adds ~300K residents/year, supporting tenant performance
No state income tax — Florida is a major destination for retirees and high-income relocators, supporting demand
Deep 1031 demand — California, NY, and NJ exchangers actively trade INTO Florida NNN
Diverse tenant categories — everything from urban Wawa to rural Dollar General to suburban Walgreens
Strong build-to-suit pipeline — population growth means new NNN inventory is constantly being built

Florida-specific sourcing tactics

Talk to Central Florida brokers — local market knowledge matters even for national tenants
Watch for development announcements — new Walmart, Publix, Target, etc. create surrounding NNN opportunities
Track 1031 buyers — Florida is a 1031 destination; buyers come from out of state, and seller pricing reflects that
Build-to-suit Dollar General opportunities — Central Florida and rural Florida are active BTS markets
MaxLife Development specifically — we run our own Central Florida NNN sourcing program and broker NNN inventory directly to investors

Florida-specific risks to evaluate

Hurricane and wind risk — verify tenant insurance and building condition
Insurance cost inflation — NNN passes this to tenant, but watch occupancy cost ratios
Property tax reset on sale — Florida resets property taxes to sale price; watch the tenant's tax pass-through and affordability
Flood zones — important even with NNN tenant responsibility
Concurrency / impact fees — for new development in growing areas, infrastructure costs can be significant

Putting it all together

A working NNN sourcing pipeline looks like this:

Daily: scan marketplace alerts (15 min)
Weekly: review broker emails, follow up on deals of interest (1 hour)
Monthly: call top 3 brokers for what's coming, refresh buy box (2 hours)
Quarterly: review NNN cap rate research reports (Boulder Group, Stan Johnson, Marcus & Millichap publish them), update target ranges
Active periods (1031 or new capital): run direct-to-owner campaign, accelerate broker outreach

Most NNN buyers don't run this kind of system — they wait for deals to come to them. The buyers who run a real sourcing system get better deals.

What to take away

The NNN market is efficient — public listings are usually fairly priced
Specialty NNN brokerages (Marcus & Millichap, Stan Johnson, Boulder Group, NNN Pro Group, etc.) handle most national net lease transactions
Online marketplaces (CREXi, LoopNet, B+E) are starting points, not endpoints
Off-market deals price 25-100 bps better than public listings — worth pursuing
Build-to-suit developer relationships give first-look access to new inventory
DST sponsors are competitors; understanding their dynamics helps you compete
Florida is a top NNN destination because of population growth, no state income tax, and 1031 demand
A real sourcing system (buy box + brokers + marketplaces + off-market + log) outperforms passive deal flow
MaxLife Development can be a Central Florida sourcing partner for NNN buyers, especially 1031 exchangers

Next lesson: NNN as a 1031 exchange destination — how 1031 buyers think, the timeline, and how to position NNN as the best 1031 landing spot.

Sourcing NNN Deals — Where the Inventory Comes From