LSI expands offering to include appraisals

Fort Myers-based commercial real estate brokerage firm LSI Cos., as part of a push to offer services similar to those of larger, full-service firms, has added appraisal work to its arsenal.

The former Land Solutions Inc., which was founded two decades ago by Randy Thibaut and today has two dozen agents and staffers, hired researcher and appraiser Nelson Taylor, who over the past decade has valued in excess of $1 billion in property, to take the company in its new direction.

Justin Thibaut, Randy’s son and the firm’s chief operating officer, says the firm’s land clients have pushed the move into valuation work.

“Our goal is to become a true full-service commercial real estate services firm, and we know that we can’t be considered one without appraisal work being part of our repertoire.”

Thibaut says Taylor, who also helps formulate LSI’s annual Market Trends reports on land sales and other trends, will focus on “complex development deals fitting with his breadth of experience.”

“I have a treasure trove of 10 years of deals and data at my disposal, which will allow me to look at this market and the bigger picture and national trends and how they impact Southwest Florida,” Taylor says.

Thibaut says, too, that LSI intends to upgrade its technological capabilities to enhance offerings and that in-house property management is “a topic of discussion” at the company.