John's Services include:
SITE ANALYSIS
Why are industrial distribution facilities near an exit? Law offices near the courthouse? Drive-through coffee on the side of the road going to work, and take-out dinner on the side going home? Every business should locate to its optimum location. We think about this stuff everyday. Traffic counts, walk scores, cultural benefits, allowable uses. It matters.
REFINANCE V. HOLD
It takes time to figure out how to proceed in a re-fi analysis, yet the ultimate decision is market and business based rather than a numbers game. If you lower your payments and extend the amortization of the loan, where do you see yourself in five years? The crucial questions are not on the spreadsheets.
CONTRACT MANAGEMENT
Do you have a building that needs management? We can do everything from recommend contractors to hire a full time management company. If it involves commercial real estate, we can help.
LOAN PACKAGING
Know what you need before you go to the bank! A professionally packaged loan application can be submitted to more than one bank at a time. A professionally packaged loan application shows that you know what you are doing. We can help write business plans, gather documentation, and make a professional presentation that gets results.
RENT OR OWN?
In these economic times, the answer might surprise you. Do you want to run a business or manage a building? Can you do both? Let’s talk about it.
ZONING APPEALS
“All politics is local,” said Tip O’Neil. He was right then, he is right now. Local Land Use Regulations do not always allow for the highest and best use of a property. For example, an older industrial park might be a great place to locate a pet day care, but zoning will not allow it. A hotel might want to occupy a site that has height restrictions. An office might want to occupy a retail storefront to increase visibility. A broker’s job is to help a client navigate the bureaucracy.
ARE YOU A CLIENT OR A CUSTOMER?
You are a customer until you sign a written legal agreement with a commercial broker asking them to represent you. A Customer’s conversations with a broker are not confidential. At RE/MAX Shoreline: Commercial Brokerage, we do not represent people for free. You would not ask a plumber to fix your furnace for free, or a doctor to perform an operation for free, or a lawyer to advise for free, or an accountant to prepare a tax return for free. Likewise, we do not offer hard-earned information, valuable time, experience, and advice for free.
If you become a client, you will be treated with love and respect. If you are a customer, you will only be treated with honesty. Some business owners call five or six commercial brokerages, laying out their needs, explaining their budgets, and revealing their confidential negotiating strategy to complete strangers over the phone. The brokerage companies represent the Landlords. In laying out the budget range, an approximate size of space, and future timing, the customer has given away valuable negotiating information.
Buy
The purchase of a commercial building is often the largest investment a business owner or small corporation will ever make. Even commercial property owners with millions of square feet under management call a professional commercial realtor to guide them through a very specialized and quirky area of real estate. If you overpay for a commercial property, it will take many years to recoup the loss. Hire a professional Commercial Realtor.
Buyer Representation Services
Buyer Representation Services available to qualified individuals and corporations. This includes property identification, site visits, traffic flow analysis, offers, and negotiation. It’s important to understand the market, the property, and the building, before making an offer.
Sell
The listing and sale of commercial properties. You need to understand the market for your particular building and its location. The market for all types of commercial real estate is constantly changing in response to economic demand, physical location, taxes, and government incentives. A professional Commercial Realtor keeps constant track of the variables. In addition to professional marketing services, John will help you prepare the mandatory disclosures, review capital gains information, and refer you to the right lawyers, bankers, accountants, and 1031 Exchange professionals.
PURCHASE AND SALE AGREEMENT
Nobody can force a seller to do anything. Period. It is up to the seller to agree if the price, financing, and closing period are acceptable. It is up to the buyer to make an offer attractive enough to interest the seller. A good broker will help the seller interpret the meaning, intent, and consequences of a complex offer. A good broker can also help an interested buyer structure an offer so it is more attractive than other offers on the table. It is rare for a commercial seller to field a single, all or nothing offer. There must be a meeting of the minds between seller and buyer for a deal to close.
In the current marketplace, some buyers feel that they have more power than in past decades. Not true. Buyers have more choices than ever before. The only power buyers have is the ability to find a better deal somewhere else.
LEASE MODIFICATION
Lease
A professional leasing agent is often the most important person in the commercial real estate universe. Without candid advice, and proper representation, marketing, and negotiation, many commercial real estate owners find themselves tossing and turning in the wee hours. Don’t make a mistake with unprofessional web postings or unrealistic asking rents. Don’t make a mistake with unprofessional web postings or unrealistic asking rents. Get help professional help.
Businesses request lease modifications for several different reasons. The tenant wants leave early. The landlord wants the space a tenant is occupying for a different user. The tenant feels they are paying a rent that is higher than current market values. The landlord feels the tenant is devaluing the building. Through no fault of their own, both parties may be experiencing tough economic conditions. An active broker can help educate and negotiate between the business owner and the landlord. Lease modifications are part of the business of commercial real estate.
LEASE ANALYSIS
What is the present value of your lease? Does it make more sense to keep leasing or move or purchase? How does your lease compare to others in the marketplace? We can get to the bottom of it.
TENANT REPRESENTATION
In the commercial marketplace, the unrepresented tenant is a turkey waiting to be plucked. Or, as the lawyers say, a person who represents themselves has a fool for a client. There are endless types of leases, property insurance plans, fit-up allowances, square foot measurements, parking requirements, and locations. Each set of circumstances is unique, but it follows a pattern. A good broker understands the financial relationship of one lease element to another. A good broker also knows the current marketplace, current rents, current terms, and desirable locations. The difference between hiring a broker or representing yourself can cost a small company tens of thousands of dollars over a five
year period. The small amount money spent on tenant representation is repaid many
times in savings.