Commercial real estate investing is quite a bit different than residential or other types of real estate purchases. Read the following paragraphs for a few insights that you can use to do better.
Whether you’re buying or selling commercial real estate, make sure to negotiate. Ensure that your opinion is known, and wrangle for the best price you can get on the property.
You should expect your commercial real estate investment to require a significant time commitment. The time aspect of the investment includes finding the property and making any repairs to the property. However, don’t give up just because this will take time. Your efforts will be rewarded.
When choosing brokers with whom to work, find out the amount of experience they have dealing with commercial properties. Look for someone who knows the area you are interested in. Allow the broker to acknowledge your wish for an exclusive agreement between the two of you.
Always ask to see the credentials of any inspectors you hire for your real estate deal. Pay particular attention to credentials when it comes to pest inspections, since it is not uncommon to encounter people working in pest removal without a license. Doing so, will help you avoid much larger problems after actually making the purchase.
For a commercial property you plan to rent out, make sure it is a solid construction with a simple design. You will be able to attract tenants for these properties more quickly due to the fact that they will know the building is well maintained. This type of property will also make maintenance much easier on both you and your tenant.
Keep your focus on the largest issues when writing your letters of intent. Keep it simple and save the smaller issues for later in the negations. This makes negotiations less contentious, as coming to agreement on minor issues is naturally easier than agreeing on the big stuff. An experienced broker can do this for you and look out for your best interest.
Before being occupied, your new purchase may need some improvements or remodeling. In some cases, all that is required are simple changes like moving the furniture around or giving the walls a new coat of paint. You may even need to tear a wall down to make the floor plan fit your needs. You should pre-negotiate the cost of these alterations with the landlord, and try to get them to contribute towards at least part of them.
Different commercial brokers represent different parties. Some brokers or agents only work with tenants, while others will serve both tenants and landlords. If you are a tenant, you may be much better off by using a broker who only works with tenants as they have a lot more experience with successful tenant representation.
Check all disclosures of the chosen real estate agent that you wish to work with. It is important that you realize that you may be entering a dual agency transaction. With a dual agency, you have the real estate broker working on each side of the transaction. In the case of a rental situation, the agency represents the landlord and the tenant. You and the other party should both agree if dual agency is to be okay.
As shown in this article, there are many different factors involved in purchasing commercial real estate properties. Hopefully after reading this article, you have learned some key issues you need to know about commercial real estate.