It is hard to find the right property to invest in if you are not sure where to look. Be sure to carefully review the information provided here.
Use your digital camera to take photographs of every room from all angles. Make sure the picture shows the defects (such as spots on the carpet, holes on the wall or discoloration on the sink or bathtub).
Real Estate
Take some time to visit websites that are devoted to commercial real estate. These sites have lots of information for both new investors and seasoned professionals. You can never learn too much, so you should study real estate topics regularly.
There is much more time and work involved in purchasing a commercial property rather than a residential property. Although commercial property purchases take longer you will normally receive a higher return on the investment.
When you are choosing real estate brokers, you should find out the brokers’ experience level in commercial real estate. Make sure that their particular business focus includes what you are interested in. Allow the broker to acknowledge your wish for an exclusive agreement between the two of you.
Confirm that basic utility services are already situated at the commercial property. In addition to any needs specific to the business, you will surely need to have gas, electricity, sewer and water services, and so on.
You should advertise your commercial property as being for sale to people locally and those who are not local. Too many sellers assume that their property is likely to only sell to someone local. This is a way of thinking you should avoid. There are many private investors who prefer to purchase reasonably-priced real estate that is not local to where they reside.
Take a tour of a property you might purchase. Definitely consider having a professional contractor go with you when looking at potential properties. Once that is done, you can submit your proposal and begin negotiations. Give a bit of thought to the counteroffers before deciding to accept the offer, make a counteroffer yourself or walk away.
Write an easy-to-understand letter of intent, focusing on the biggest issues. You can worry about the little things later on. This will help to reduce some of the tension in initial negotiations and will also make gaining agreement on some of the smaller issues much easier.
Assess what you need before you look for commercial properties. Write down the things you like about the property, important features are office numbers, how many conference rooms, restrooms, and how big it is.
Before you can start using the property you’ve purchased, you might need to make some improvements. In some cases, all that is required are simple changes like moving the furniture around or giving the walls a new coat of paint. However, in other cases, reconfiguration of the walls will be required. Who is going to pay for such improvements is something you should seek to negotiate in advance of the actual signing or formal purchase.
It’s critical to have emergency maintenance contact information very accessible. Make sure to consult your landlord about emergency repair responsibilities in your building or office. Learn the phone numbers and response times. Consider how an emergency will affect your business operations, and have an emergency operating plan in place.
Dual Agency
Read the disclosures of the real estate agent you are planning to hire. Try to beware of dual agency. Dual agency refers to a situation in which a real estate agent represents both the landlord and the tenant in a commercial transaction. This means the agency works for the tenant and the landlord at the same time. Whenever dual agency is part of a transaction, it must be disclosed to both parties of the transaction. Both sides must also agree to the dual agency.
It is up to the borrower to arrange the appraisal for a commercial loan. Banks do not allow the appraisal to be used at a later time. Be properly prepared by ordering the appraisal directly.
If you want to know if a real estate broker is honest, ask him where he makes the majority of his money. They must be able to talk to you about this question openly, as they make it clear that their interest is different from yours. You should determine how exactly they derive profits from your business transactions.
Search Engines
You should establish your presence online before entering the market. Set up a website and profiles with various search engines and social networks. Optimize your website for search engines so that you can get a good rank high on the results page. Ideally, people will be able to easily find your site or profile by keying your name into a search engine.
Buying and selling commercial real estate requires the help of an experienced agent. Look for more resources and make sure you use what you learn.