Commercial Real Estate Investing
Posted on 26. Jan, 2010 by admin in general
Because the bottom has fallen out of the residential real estate market, real estate investors have now turned to commercial real estate investing. Commercial real estate investing has many different options for the savvy investor. Some of them are as follows:
1. Investing in a retail shopping center as part of a joint venture with several other investors. This enables you to take less of a risk and get some experience in investing in commercial real estate without it costing you a lot of money. Make sure you know plenty about your partners as well as the property that you will be purchasing;
2. New construction. If you have been a project manager or general contractor, you may be able to swing commercial real estate new construction as long as you are aware of the different codes. Commercial real estate new construction is much different than residential new construction. There are different building codes for commercial buildings that vary from different municipalities. You have to be familiar with the codes when building commercial property;
3. Rehabbing or refurbishing older buildings and preparing them for business use. Again, you need to have some knowledge of building codes and requirements;
4. Buying a storefront property or free standing store and leasing it to a business. You need to know about the location, make sure you have a solid lease with a reliable and stable renter and proceed to reap a profit on the rental income while paying off the property at the same time.
Those are just four examples of commercial real estate investing. No matter what you decide to do, remember the three most important aspects of real estate investment:
1. Location;
2. Location;
3. Location.
This is an old and well worn saying, but bears repeating because it is so integral to any type of real estate investment, commercial or residential. If you purchase a storefront in a blighted area it may be cheap, but unless you plan on working in the store all day and every day and worrying about getting robbed or murdered on a daily basis, stay away from blighted areas.
You want to make sure that there is a need for the commercial real estate you plan to develop or in which you wish to invest. Office buildings and complexes are usually always in demand as professionals and others are usually looking for cheap office space.
In older towns and cities, there are areas in which older homes are being turned into office buildings and stores. In “historic districts” in towns, there is an effort to refurbish older homes and increase the value of the property in the area. These are also an ideal option for those who are thinking of commercial real estate investing.
Use any knowledge you have regarding real estate when deciding on commercial real estate investing and make any skills you have work for you. By doing as much as you can with regard to construction, rehabbing or even property management, you can add income to your investment. Always remember to purchase property in a good location or up and coming location so that it will appreciate in value.
What Makes a Good Commercial Real Estate Brokerage House?
Posted on 25. Jan, 2010 by admin in general
A commercial real estate brokerage, or real estate brokerage house, is a firm designed to assist clients in their commercial real estate transactions. You will find various services available at a commercial real estate brokerage. Some specialize in a specific facet of real estate, such as office, retail or industrial properties. Some offer leasing only while others are strictly investment, and then there are those that offer both commercial leasing and investment. However, a quality brokerage house will have some level of all services available to a client.
It is suggested that a client look for a commercial real estate brokerage house that provides multiple levels of service. Some of those service levels include:
INVESTMENT & USER ACQUISITION: Buyers are represented by the commercial real estate brokerage with the goal of best location, price and terms.
•Determination of Client needs.
•Compilation of properties that meet acquisition criteria.
•Identification of those properties that best meet established goals.
INVESTMENT SALES: Owners are represented by Arizona commercial real estate brokerage with the goal of maximizing asset value.
•Aggressive, credible, strategic pricing.
•Preparation of custom designed marketing materials.
•Qualification of prospects.
LANDLORD REPRESENTATION: Landlords are represented by Arizona Commercial with the goal of maximizing net operating income.
•Market planning assistance.
•Marketing plan formulation and preparation of materials for print and web.
•Presentation to local, regional and national tenant prospects.
•Brokerage community meetings, mailings, personal presentation.
•Tenant qualification.
TENANT REPRESENTATION: Tenants are represented by Arizona Commercial with the goal of top sites and the best economic terms.
•Determination of Client needs
•Financial analysis of prospective locations
The reason you want a real estate brokerage that offers all of these services is so that they can grow with you, and it is also an indication of their level of commercial real estate knowledge.
For instance, if you start a business and are looking for a new location you will want to have your commercial real estate broker knowledgeable in retail leasing. Then as years pass, you might find that you need a manufacturing location that is also suited for a shipping facility. If your brokerage house has a wider range of services available, they will be able to assist you in this.
Then if a few years later your operation has grown to a point where you need to build a custom facility that can handle manufacturing and shipping, and that can also facilitate administrative offices and a retail storefront, then you will be entering into a new real estate field. This field would be called “built-to-suit,” land investment and development, or investment sales (depending on what was available and what option was right for you).
By dealing with a commercial real estate brokerage house who offers these services, you most likely would not have to search for a new broker each time your business grew. You would already be working with a company that was familiar with the markets in which you’re entering, and best of all, would already know you. This would lend to a certain level of comfort and trust in the transaction process that was already established from previous projects.
Commercial Real Estate Landlord Representation
Posted on 22. Jan, 2010 by admin in general
The field of commercial real estate has been experiencing an increase in the demand of people looking for an affordable place in which to do business. Since not everyone is able to afford to invest in commercial real estate, they are looking at their options in leasing. A landlord will need commercial real estate landlord representation to assist in dealing with prospective tenants as well as effectively placing the real estate on the market.
Leasing a commercial real estate property requires a lot of research and planning to be accomplished, as well as a lot of leg work in interviewing prospective clients and tenants. Commercial real estate is quite different from a residential real estate. It entails more requirements to consider, as well as selecting the right business for your property. Having quality real estate landlord representation will definitely help in screening those businesses and tenants for your real estate.
With a real estate landlord representative, the marketing of your commercial real estate property will be much easier than if the landlord took on this challenge themselves. A professional representative will assist you in planning your marketing strategy to ensure that your real estate gets the widest exposure, featuring its good points and characteristics. They will also help in the formulation of your marketing plan as well as assist in preparing the things you will need to post your real estate in print media and in websites. A good commercial real estate representative should also have a database of potential clients that the landlord would not have access to. Because of this wide coverage, you will be able to find tenants not only locally but in neighboring regions and even on a national level. A wider range of prospects means a better deal for your real estate.
Your real estate landlord representative will help you project the maximum net income that you can get on the operation of your commercial real estate. This means that they will help you choose the business tenant that will provide you a risk free rental as well as the highest rental price offer. You may also be included in the community meetings of real estate brokers as well as receive updates from your agent. They can also present to you a marketing goal plan that you can follow to achieve maximum utilization of your property.
Another job that a commercial real estate property representative will gladly do for you is to set the qualifications for potential tenants. This is to ensure that the tenants that you will be getting are serious ones with the ability to follow through with a leasing contract on your property and are not a waste of time and energy. They will also help in conducting interviews on those potential clients to screen out those that may be too high of a risk, and find those tenants that offer the highest potential of staying in the space.
Real estate properties are great investment opportunities especially if they are maximized and used properly. To ensure that you are getting what you deserve for your real estate property, then get real estate landlord representation. A good representative will gladly help you through the ups and downs of commercial real estate market and will help protect your investment for you.
Commercial Real Estate Development
Posted on 15. Jan, 2010 by admin in general
Numerous things have to be taken into consideration when undertaking a commercial real estate venture. Needed space, location, decisions to lease or purchase property, moving issues, building plans and regulations, consultants, involved fees. All these things must be considered before one delves into the commercial development project.
When deciding on how much space will be required, several things must be taken into consideration. What will be my cost? How convenient is the location to my targeted customer? How about transportation? What about utility availability? One must decide what will be best for the business.
If plans are to lease, it must be noted that your lease will play an important part in the lease negotiation. Although a standard five year lease is usually used by the leasing broker, a commercial lease of 3 years minimum and 10 years is also commonly used. When deciding on how long your lease should be, make sure you think about your business flexibility and the rental rate.
At the end of the lease, it is very likely that the owner of the property has already committed to another customer, so moving issues come into play. Preparatory measures must be executed prior to the move in order for things to go smoothly. This should be initiated at least 2 months before the planned move, starting with negotiations for the move, standard items that will be needed (mailing labels, presentation paper, bank, checks and deposit slips, business cards, etc.), whether or not you will keep the same logo and design for your business, telecommunication services, security systems and so on.
Other things to be considered are, confirmation of telecommunication installation, ordering appropriate packing supplies, scheduling packing and moving, making sure that the freight elevator at both locations are reserved, choosing the moving company (make sure your choice of moving company provides insurance certificate) and make certain you notify your insurance company about the move.
One month before the move, reconfirm your move in and move out dates. Make sure that the moving company has already provided their moving certificate and provide them with your employee’s names for security purposes. The day before the move, walk through the new location to make sure that nothing has been left undone., make your final confirmation calls, be certain you have the keys for the new location, and this is very important, make sure your insurance is in affect.
This article has touched on many of the things involved in the procurement of a new location for your business but even more is involved. The closing of the lease and the arrangements such as, regulations and rules of the building at your new location, noise levels, usage of freight elevators, architectural design services for planning space and the like.
Commercial Real Estate Syndication: Property Selection and Purchase, Part 2
Posted on 15. Jan, 2010 by admin in general
We’ve been discussing the process of assembling groups of investors for the purpose of acquiring income producing commercial real estate. The first part of this article can be found at www.InvesmentPropertyInsider.com/?p=97. We’ll assume for the purposes of this article that you’ve selected your target investment property. Now you need to get it into escrow, but with a purchase structure that favors your group investment strategy.
The ideal time period for a group investment purchase is 120 days. This time period breaks down as follows:
Days 1 to 30: Focus on completing your Due Diligence (investigation) on the property, clearing contingencies, and verifying everything stated by the seller.
Day 31 to 45: Here is where you create the Investment Circular and form the LLC that will own the property, by filing the Articles of Organization and the Operating Agreement.
Days 46 to 90: Now you can solicit interest from potential investors. Your goal will be to get completed subscription agreements and monetary contributions from the new members of the LLC by the end of this period.
Days 91 to 120: This is basically a contingency period for you in the event the subscription process takes longer than expected.
As a matter of strategy, you should consider the 90th day as the “make or break” of your group investment. It is very likely that you won’t be able to keep the escrow open longer than 90 days without putting your deposit at risk (called “going hard”). So, if it looks like you can’t fully fund your LLC by the 90th day, it’s probably best to unwind the escrow and get your deposit back … sooner, if possible.
In fact, you’ll probably have quite a bit of pressure to release your deposit sooner than 90 days. What to do? Well, as you continue with your group investment program, you’ll want to line up your investors sooner than indicated above. Realistically, you’ll want to give your “A-list” of investor candidates notice as soon as you take a property to escrow.
Speaking of escrow, when you open it, you want to write the purchase contract with you, the syndicator, as the borrower. This is for tax reasons. By doing so, you establish your ownership of the property rights. It is by assigning these rights to the LLC before you close that you establish your ownership percentage (whatever you negotiate with your investors) in the property.
To be perfectly safe, you should consider opening two escrows. The first one is for the purchase of the property, as described above. The second is set up to fund the LLC. Its sole purpose is to hold the funds from the members as they subscribe into the group investment. Once it’s fully subscribed and the purchase escrow is ready to close, funds are transferred from the “funding” escrow to the purchase escrow. The reason to have the second escrow is to protect the investors’ funds in the event there are complications with the purchase escrow. The seller’s permission would not be required to release the investors’ funds back to them with this structure.
Another option is the “receipt of third party deposit.” In this process, investors fund their contributions directly to the purchase escrow, but they do so under certain conditions which allow the escrow officer to return the funds in the event the purchase doesn’t close. The LLC (after assignment by the syndicator) and the seller are the parties to the transaction. The investors are third parties whose funds are disbursed according to separate instructions. Check with your escrow provider to see if they will allow third party receipts before opening escrow.
In my next article on this subject, I’ll cover the strategies you need to consider to control a property for a sufficiently long period of time to allow you to actually fund as a group investment.
A Roadmap for Commercial Real Estate Syndication, Part 1
Posted on 13. Jan, 2010 by admin in general
HOW TO DO YOUR OWN SYNDICATIONS, Part 1
One of the most important requirements for purchasing commercial property is having enough down payment money, called “equity,” to complete the transaction. A very popular method of raising these funds when you don’t have it yourself is by forming a group of people who pool enough capital to let you close the transaction. They get a portion of the income and appreciation for their funds, you get the rest for finding, analyzing, purchasing, and managing the property.
When you decide to take the step to form groups of investors through the process called “syndication,” you run into a situation where the law may require you take on a specific duty to fully inform your co-investors of all aspects of the property and the investment. Most people getting involved in group investments are usually under-informed or inexperienced with regard to the following group-investment concepts:
• The legal aspects of the co-ownership of real estate.
• Factors that affect the value of commercial real estate.
• The process and responsibilities involved in commercial property management.
• The fair compensation to the group manager or “syndicator,” who later becomes the property manager.
When you take on the role of syndicator, you actually create an “agency duty” to your co-investors. You have a higher responsibility to disclose all of the aspects that can affect a particular commercial property investment, both good and bad. So when you form a group for investment, it’s very helpful to have checklist for all of the things you need to do so that you meet your responsibilities to your partners. Part of that check list includes:
1. Researching the available commercial rental property in a particular neighborhood and choosing one to purchase.
2. Preparing a preliminary analysis of the investment. This would include its operating history, status of title, proximity to any environmental or natural hazards, the neighborhood, the local and national economies, and finally, the physical condition of the property.
3. Next, you have to get control of the property in your name with the ability to assign it to a successor entity through a purchase contract or option.
4. Once you gain control, escrow needs to be opened with your name as the purchaser, not that of the entity! You’ll assign your purchase rights to the entity before you close.
5. Then you complete an analysis of the income and expenses, and confirm the Seller’s disclosures regarding the condition of the property, including its improvements, location, title, and operations.
6. You’ll also apply for new debt financing (or assume the existing), depending upon what you indicated in the purchase contract. This obviously won’t apply if you’re buying your commercial building all cash!
7. At this point in the process, you will want to review your plans for forming and operating your ownership entity (most likely a Limited Liability Company) with experienced accounting and legal advisors. Getting this part correct at the outset will save you major of headaches in the future.
8. Now you get really busy. You’ll prepare the investment circular, subscription agreement, Articles of Organization and Operating Agreement for the LLC, pertinent exhibits, and addenda. The syndicator (you) is named as the Manager of the LLC in these documents.
9. You now can use the investment circular to solicit investors to fund your purchase, through the LLC.
10. Once you’ve chosen your investors (there will be a whole article devoted to this subject), you need to get their signatures on the Subscription Agreement and the Operating Agreement of the LLC. You’ll also want to deliver their funds to escrow for the close.
That takes you up to completing the purchase. As you can see, there’s quite a bit for a sydicator to do just to get the property purchased. We still have to detail the on-going operation of the property. I’ll complete your roadmap in the next article and then we can move on to the individual steps in greater detail.
Commercial Real Estate: Raising Equity
Posted on 10. Jan, 2010 by admin in general
Those researching the subject of commercial real estate investment are likely to encounter the term “OPM” on a regular basis. OPM is an acronym for “Other People’s Money.” I’ve covered this topic in general in an earlier article, but today I want to focus on raising “equity” for your commercial purchase transactions.
To review, the reason many people are reluctant to invest in commercial real estate is that the property values are often so high that it takes a great deal of money to complete a transaction, even using75% to 80% loan to value commercial loan. Few individuals have the financial resources needed to buy suitable properties for cash, let alone the $1,000,000 or so you would need to purchase even a moderately priced $4,000,000 building. This is where the concept of using other people’s money comes into play. The idea is to pool the funds of like-minded investors to purchase a property and then duplicate the process to build a portfolio.
The difficulties facing most investors are finding the other people with the money and proactively structuring the transaction. Everyone needs to be clear on their role in the transaction, how profits (or losses) are distributed, how results are reported, and how the project ends successfully. The process is not as difficult as it may seem at first and it even has a name: “Syndication.” Potentially, even commercial real estate syndicators with little or no credit history have access to hundreds of thousands of dollars, all as close as the people they already know. One word of advice here, though: Start making a serious effort to clean up your credit if you are challenged in this manner. You may have to guarantee some loans and you don’t want your credit history to be a stumbling block.
Before you start telling everyone you know that you are raising money for a commercial real estate investment, there are some things you need to know and that you’ll likely have to research:
First, you need to understand investment entities, such as Limited Liability Companies. You need to know how they are formed, operated, taxed, and unwound because they will be your primary investment vehicle. They also establish who is responsible for what actions through the life of the investment.
Second, you need to learn about and understand a document called a “Private Placement Memorandum.” It has other names like “Investment Circular,” “Investment Disclosure,” etc. This is the document that discloses all of the potential risks inherent in your proposed investment. You need to be extremely thorough in discussing those risks because should something go wrong with the investment and you don’t cover it here, you could be subject to a lawsuit. One key aspect of this part of the process is having a good attorney working for you with experience in these types of transactions.
Third, you need to have good analysis and presentation skills. You should know the ins and outs of spreadsheets (or know someone who does) so that you can dissect a transaction completely and put together a good case for making the investment to your potential investor partners.
Fourth, you need to find the investors. Start with busy, successful people whom you know, who have more money than time: Your doctor, dentist, psychologist, veterinarian, accountant (who is really good for knowing OTHER busy, successful people with more money than time), attorney, dry cleaner, golf pro, etc. You’d also be surprised how many people you know who have I.R.A.’s or 401k plans full of under-performing money who are looking for a good investment vehicle. You can advertise for investors, but be VERY careful before doing this. You MUST talk to your attorney about local securities laws and how they affect what you say and to whom you say it. You want calls from investors, not regulatory agencies!
The process of raising commercial real estate investment equity isn’t rocket science, but it does involve some study and the help of some knowledgeable professionals. Take your time to do it right and you’ll be making more money (your own, this time) than you thought possible.
Assessing the Commercial Real Estate Market
Posted on 10. Jan, 2010 by admin in general
There are many important factors that effect the price of commercial real estate, but perhaps few are as important as that of the local job market. Without a strong and growing job market, it’s nearly impossible for an area to support the retail establishments, restaurants and businesses that sustain neighborhoods.
It’s important for any would be commercial real estate investor, whether they specialize in retail, office, industrial, or warehouse properties, to thoroughly research the health of the local job market before making an investment decision. You have to look at the local unemployment rate and compare it to the averages for the state and the nation as a whole. Those areas of the country with lower than average unemployment rates are likely to enjoy future growth, while those with higher than average unemployment may suffer from such associated problems as high crime, long listing times, and depressed lease rates.
Of course, the raw numbers for unemployment don’t tell the whole story. It’s important for would be commercial real estate investors to look not only at unemployment rates, but at income levels, as well. Those neighborhoods with higher than average salary levels should be far better at sustaining the high end shops that often form the backbone of commercial and retail real estate investment.
Further, real estate investors need to make the distinction between local salary levels and levels of disposable income. If the average salary is $100,000 per year, but that person can only afford a 2 bedroom apartment in the local city (think West Los Angeles or Manhattan), these people won’t be shopping at the local high-end fashion boutiques! How much residents have left at the end of each month is a key economic factor in evaluating a neighborhood for commercial real estate activity. This means you have to look at such factors as the local cost of food, rental housing, utilities and other factors that can influence the lifestyle of those in a particular neighborhood.
Fortunately these kinds of statistics are increasingly available and in many cases this information can be found free of charge on the Internet, your local library, or through a good commercial broker. Even if income, unemployment and job growth figures are not available online, chances are good they will be available with only a minimum of effort. Given the importance of this information to real estate investors, it is certainly worth a bit of effort to ferret it out!
Commercial Real Estate Investment Decisions
Posted on 09. Jan, 2010 by admin in general
WEIGH YOUR RISKS CAREFULLY
When you decide to embark on a commercial real estate investment program, how do you get your start? We know that there is no such thing as 100% financing for commercial property, so where do you get your initial capital for that first purchase? One method which I have discussed before is to use Other People’s Money as your initial “stake.” Perhaps having partners is not the path you wish to follow in your investment program. That makes the other option using your own funds. Before you dip into your resources, however, consider some of the risks you face.
First, you are embarking on an investment program about which you have little practical experience. You may have read every book on commercial real estate investing ever printed and gone to every seminar ever produced in a hotel for a year, but you have no experience in the business. Do you really know what can go wrong? Do you realize what additional reserves you might need in case things don’t go as planned?
Second, consider the source of your equity. For most people who have done some real estate investing, they have probably focused on residential investment properties. Residential properties usually enjoy a large number of comparables to easily estimate value, financing programs for residential properties allow potential buyers to facilitate sales with little equity investment, and residential properties are usually less expensive, and therefore more accessible, to most people. If you are such an investor, then you probably have a pretty good pool of equity to tap. But how do you access it? Sell them outright and pay your capital gains? Sell them in a 1031 Exchange? Refinance them? Each option has its advantages and disadvantages.
Third, if you are like most people, your biggest chunk of equity is sitting in your home. There may be a great temptation to go get yourself an equity line, suck out the equity, and go buy a commercial property somewhere. Before you do, make sure to consider how the increased debt service of the equity line will affect your finances. Can you truly afford the payments if something doesn’t work out with your commercial investment? Yes, your commercial property will be producing income. However, the majority of that income will be used to pay its operating expenses and paying off the loan you arranged to acquire it. That doesn’t leave a lot left over for you in the initial years of the investment to pay down the equity line, which will most likely have a rate somewhere above the Prime rate (8.25% today).
The point is to consider your investment goals, your tolerance for risk, and your ability to live without the funds you are using for your commercial investment. Over time, your commercial portfolio should provide you with significant current income, a hedge against inflation, and net appreciation. You need to pay careful attention to how you structure your commercial real estate financing to minimize unforeseen risks and increase your chances of success. In your quest to achieve your commercial investment goals you need to carefully asses the impact of the financing decisions you make.
Commercial Real Estate: Outlook at the Power Breakfast
Posted on 07. Jan, 2010 by admin in general
A GOOD OUTLOOK FOR COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE IN 2007
I had the opportunity to sit in at the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) annual “Power Breakfast” that featured some high powered institutional investors as panelists. They included Erwin Aullis, the Managing Director of Transwestern Investment Company, Stanley L. Iezman, the President of American Realty Advisors, Inc., and Glen Sonnenberg, the President of Legg Mason Real Estate Services. The panel was moderated by Mark Schurgin, the president of the Fesitval Companies.
These are some high-powered commercial real estate fund managers who don’t even get out of bed for a deal less than $50 Million! They were there to give us some of their thoughts on how the economy will impact commercial real estate investment, where interest rates might be headed in the coming year, and how buying and selling parameters have changed for shopping center owners.
Some of the thoughts that came from these guys were fairly insightful. Here’s what I got from the breakfast that I think you’ll find interesting:
1. Commercial real estate lenders are awash in money thanks to Collateralized Debt Obligations. These are derivative debt instruments that allow lenders to dramatically increase their ability to raise money at low overall costs.
2. The ageing of the population and the retirement of the Baby Boomers means that there is a large chunk of retirement money looking for alternate income opportunities … think “income property.”
3. Large funds are taking on more real estate, making it a legitimate “investment class” like stocks and bonds.
4. The REIT Index was up 35% last year, trouncing the S&P 500. Large urban areas can expect low cap rates in the months ahead, meaning that there are opportunities in secondary areas, but you still need to beware in “tertiary” markets, like Detroit and St. Louis.
5. Oversupply of commercial properties is not yet in evidence.
1031/Tenants-In-Common buyers are drying up, slowing price appreciation.
6. “A” quality commercial properties are becoming “commoditized,” meaning that there are real opportunities in “B” and “C” product.
7. The big players are getting out of condominium product at significant discounts to original asking price (which means you might get a nice home for cheap). This was in evidence in San Diego and South Florida. Residential projects are taking a back seat to commercial in the minds of the big investors.
There’s some good intelligence in these observations for anyone serious about investing in commercial property this year.
The final few minutes of the session were devoted to a group consensus on where interest rates and cap rates would be a year from now. While not a real prediction, the sense of the room was that the Prime Rate would be .75% to 1% lower, commercial mortgage rates for “A” product would be about .25% to .5% higher than today, and cap rates for class “A” properties would be essentially unchanged.
My conclusions are that there will be some opportunities to make money in smaller commercial properties in outlying areas and smaller urban markets. New construction and other “value added” projects should also do well. One caveat is do not make the mistake that rents will continue to trend upward, though. Stay conservative in your projections and you should be able to ride out any recession that might follow in the wake of possible Congressional tax hikes.