
60+ Years in Real Estate: Bill Miller on Commercial Investing | EP417
Six decades in real estate. One honest conversation about commercial investing. Steve Cecchetto sits down with Bill Miller, owner and broker of record of Century 21 Miller, to pick his brain on commercial real estate. Bill has been in the industry for over 60 years and has been through every market cycle, including the 22% interest rate era. He shares the mistakes that taught him the most, what he looks at first on any deal, why leverage burns new investors, and where he sees opportunity today. In this episode: • Why veterans look at the downside first and rookies look at the upside • How leverage and rising rates can make or break a commercial deal • Why a tenant (and the lease terms) can matter more than the building • Why starting small beats a cannonball into a big deal • What's changed in commercial real estate over six decades • Where the opportunities are now, and why small clients deserve more attention VIDEO SECTIONS & TIMESTAMPS 0:00 – Intro 2:14 – How Bill got into real estate 3:03 – Why commercial? 4:25 – What does a good investment actually look like? 8:07 – Mistakes investors make: line up your financing first 9:26 – Keep partnerships simple and define roles early 11:01 – Know your limits: referring to a commercial specialist 13:53 – Biggest lessons: the tenant and the lease 17:29 – Over-leveraging and refinancing risk 18:24 – What Bill looks at first on any deal 19:30 – Advice for a first commercial investment 23:54 – Bill's take on AI in real estate 25:11 – How deals got done 30 years ago vs. today 27:39 – Opportunities today: value-add infill and small multi-tenant 28:47 – Zoning and changes of use 36:56 – Why parking and preventative maintenance matter 42:16 – Outro/recap Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/kormendytrott Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1pwncyet9NydbgTmx5D21k Linktree: https://linktr.ee/kormendytrott Instagram: https://instagram.com/kormendytrott YouTube: https://youtube.com/kormendytrott Facebook: https://facebook.com/kormendytrott X: https://x.com/kormendytrott LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/ktrealty TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@kormendytrott The Kormendy Trott Team was formed in 2011 by Ariel Kormendy and Adrian Trott. Originally a team of two in Milton, Ontario, KT has grown into a full-service real estate group serving Halton Region, Peel Region, and the Greater Toronto Area.















