#casperrealestate

[bakerrealestate]

Tips on closing on your commercial real estate property

Congratulations you're ready to purchase your commercial real estate property and the closing date & time has been set. What should you bring or do to make sure this goes as smoothly as possible?

First, bring along your drivers license or a picture ID for verification purposes. The title company will require this. Second, what address do you want your closing papers and title commitment sent to? The property you are buying, your home address or another business address?

If you are buying the property in a corporation or LLC you will need the corporation documents for the title company. This includes minutes of the meeting of the stockholders or the members of the LLC that you had a meeting on such and such date and you approved the following to transact business on behalf of the entity. This can be as simple as handwritten or typed or as formal as having an attorney provide the information. You also might want to print off the Certificate of Good Standing from the Secretary of State stating that you have paid your corporate tax and are in good standing. If you have not done this get it done quickly and print off your receipt so you can show that your company is in good standing.

You should have received a closing statement showing how much money you will need to bring to closing. If you are buying the property for cash then it would be the full purchase price plus and fees the title company pays and minus any credits from the seller (such as taxes, seller prepaid costs, seller agreed credit for repairs, etc). These funds need to be certified so it needs to be a cashier check, or you can get wiring instructions from the title company to wire transfer the funds to the title company. If you are financing the property, then the amount would be the amount that the lender is requiring you to put down as down payment.

Finally, show up a little early so everything can start on time or even early. Hopefully, your broker has explained these things to you prior to the day of closing so the stress of the closing will be minimal. Give yourself a high five for taking the next step in commercial real estate ownership. 

If you are looking to buy or sell a commercial property in the Casper, Wyoming area give Baker Real Estate a call today! We are your best local commercial real estate option.

[bakerrealestate]

I am interested in buying commercial real estate for income. What type of properties have the best return with the lowest risk? Retail, office, industrial, or multi-family?

The answer is all of them and none of them. Not to get cute, but the return vs. risk equation can really be the same for each of those property types. Your return is not determined by the property type but more by the quality of the property, reliability of the tenant, ease of re-leasing the space, cost of maintenance and likelihood of appreciation. In other words, you can make a great return from a retail, office, industrial, or multi-family property or you can get whacked by any of them. The trick is to buy wisely and weigh those factors carefully. The more successfully you can do that the better your return.

[bakerrealestate]

Commercial Financing

Now that you have decided to purchase a commercial property you need to decide what type of financing you might need to purchase the property. Here are some choices that may be available to you:

SBA financing – These are loans that are guaranteed or direct loans from the Small Business Administration. The advantages with these loans are that they usually offer low interest rates, lower down payment (10% in some cases) and are fully amortizing. The disadvantages to these loans are that they require quite a bit of documentation and they usually have prepayment penalties if you sell the property or pay off the loan earlier than expected.

Commercial loans – These loans are loans that are funded by the lending institution and are held in the lending institutions loan portfolio. These loans can have maturities as long as twenty years, but most of the loans have maturities of 10 years or less. These loans are usually amortized over 15-20 years but have a balloon payment at maturity. You need to be aware that you might need to pay off the loan at maturity even though there is remaining time on the amortization. These interest rates on these loans are fixed for the term or have adjustment periods during the loan that adjusts the interest rate to the current market. These loans are typically relationship driven meaning the lending institution wants to have the business deposit accounts so that they can earn money from your deposit accounts. The good news is that many times if you give the lender your deposit accounts, they will potentially waive some fees on the loan such as prepayment penalties, loan origination fees, etc.

Whichever way you decide to go I recommend that you reach out and visit with several lenders to talk to them and ask questions on how things work. This process will allow you to get comfortable with the lender that you choose that will develop into a business partnership in the coming years. Who knows your business may grow and you may need to expand and having a good partnership with your lender will make the next steps easier.

[bakerrealestate]

I do not want to overpay for a property, so I want to make my first offer low. Is this a good idea?

There is a term in the real estate business called “low-balling” and it refers to making an offer way, way below asking price. In my experience, this backfires more often than not. It tends to offend the seller and gets negotiations off to a bad start. The seller will often not even respond, and any further negotiations become a test of egos. A better tactic is to have your realtor do a market evaluation and let you know what the fair market price would be. You can then make an offer somewhat below market, but reasonable depending on how much you want the property. A realtor can even include the justification for the offer in the presentation. The seller will likely respond with a price closer to what he or she will accept.

[bakerrealestate]

What is an easement and why is this important to you?

Many times, when I am talking to my clients and we are reviewing the title commitment the property may have easements that run along the side or across the property. Even though they are there most people do not ask the question as to how these effects the usage of the property they are looking to purchase.

First, an easement is a right to cross or otherwise use someone else’s property. This could be the right of the neighbor to cross your land to get to theirs, a utility easement such as a pipeline or electrical power line, or water or sewer lines. If there is an easement on your current property or one that you plan on purchasing, you need to understand all the details regarding it. Details such as how wide is the easement, how close can you build to it, can you pave or concrete over the top of it, what are the rights of the easement holder into access, repair and replacement or damage to your property.

Here would be an example of an issue that could greatly affect the value and the usage of a property. Let us say that a gas pipeline runs across the property diagonally and runs within 2 feet of an addition to the building. The previous owner(s) never got a building permit or checked with the pipeline owner with regards to this easement. The easement has a 25’ no build clause in it on either side of the pipeline. So for 50’ you cannot build or cover the easement and if you do and the pipeline needs to be repaired or replaced on your property the pipeline company would have the right to tear down any or all of the structure covering the easement and not have to replace it. Imaging how this could affect the value of the property and how it would affect your business.

Having an easement on your property may have no, little or major effect to the value of your property. But shouldn’t you know? 

If you have questions or want further information, please feel free to reach out to Baker Real Estate, especially if you are in the Casper, Wyoming area.