It is said that location is everything in real estate. This is especially true when a business is looking for its best location. High traffic, accessibility, a good environment and favorable zoning, are all factors to consider. The following tips will help guide you through the process of finding that perfect place!
Be aware that you may lose money before you even buy the property. Doing your due diligence and having a commercial building properly inspected can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Inspections have a tendency to uncover items that are deal breakers for the purchase. If that comes up, do not buy just because you’ve already put money in for the inspections. Trust your instincts, if this property turns out to be a monster, take the loss and be grateful it wasn’t more.
Commercial real estate can be a great long term investment. When looking for a property that you can rent out as apartments, look into properties that have at least ten or more units, in order to maximize your profits. The more units that a property has, the cheaper each individual unit is.
Purchase contracts vary in many different ways and can really be misleading to the untrained person trying to work their way through them. A real estate agent will help you maneuver through this part of the process so you will not end up finding out any loopholes that you may have missed down the road.
It is important to find a bank that is willing to work with you when purchasing commercial real estate. Commercial real estate is viewed and valued by financial institutions in a different way than residential real estate. Expect to come up with a higher down payment as well, about 30 percent and sometimes even more.
When you’re trying to decide which broker you should work with, take their experience in commercial real estate into account. Look for someone who knows the area you are interested in. Once you’ve determined the broker is right for your needs, make sure any agreement into which you enter is an exclusive one.
If you flip homes, you should always attempt to buy when the market selling prices are at their lowest. Even if this means you will have multiple properties to work on at one time, you will quickly find that these homes will bring you a fantastic profit when the buying market significantly improves.
Weigh all your pros and cons. Do not delve into a purchase without first looking over all the good and bad things that will come with it. You may be over-budget or under-budget. The property may be perfect or have many flaws. Weighing your options will give you a clear head to make the best decision.
Consider detention space as you are determining the space offered by the commercial real estate listings you view. A detention is often required for controlling rain water run-off and other run-off, which could take a great deal of space from the overall property – as much as 15% of land you need for business operations.
When purchasing a piece of commercial real estate one of the first things you want to consider is the purpose of it. Will it be for a retail outlet, or a service oriented business? Knowing what you are going to use the space for is half the battle when purchasing commercial real estate.
Be prepared, as you will sometimes, lose due diligence money. Due diligence funds are those used to pay for inspections, appraisals, and other tests. There are times when you will spend this money only to discover you don’t want the property. Consider this part of your business investment and realize that it’s always smarter to walk away from a bad property, even if you have already invested due diligence money into it.
If you are renting a piece of commercial real estate for a new or existing business, make sure that you have your own agent or representative, much as you would if you were purchasing that same property. There are a lot of incidentals that may need to be negotiated and explained to you during the process.
When renting a piece of commercial real estate, it is important for you to thoroughly read the rental agreement. You will want to make sure that you are not responsible for any repairs that the building needs. If anything goes wrong, you should contact the owner to make sure to get it fixed as soon as the problem is noticed, so that no major damage is caused.
These tips have increased your awareness of the playing field. You have learned how location can affect the success of businesses similar to yours. You have narrowed your options down and are looking at several potential locations. Now you are ready to take the final step toward success.
