How Do you Select Best industrial property and commercial business Buildings for sale in Johannesburg West?
[tag] is a specialist field. Not all property agents know enough about the commercial property market and the property type to do it well. Sellers in Johannesburg West should choose their agent with care.
The owners of investment property that want to sell their asset should carefully choose a real estate agent that is well versed in the market trends and the property type. That agent should also show a high level of current market share and success in commercial property in Johannesburg West over the years.
Selling commercial property is not an ‘experiment’ or an exercise in ‘hope and pray’. When undertaken correctly in any market situation by a skilful agent, a property will attract enquiry and a sale is possible. The result then sits on the client’s ability to accept the industrial property for sale market price and market evidence. There are always buyers out there; they just have to be found and the sellers need to be accepting of the market trends.
Interesting Facts About Industrial Property and Commercial Business Buildings for Sale in Johannesburg West:
Before we answer this question, it might be helpful to actually define each term first.
Retail and industrial are both considered 'commercial real estate' (as opposed to 'residential real estate'). Commercial real estate refers to buildings or land intended to generate profit; industrial and retail are simply sub-categories of commercial real estate.
Firstly an industrial property is defined as a property used for the actual manufacturing of something, and can be considered either a factory or plant. This is usually zoned for light, medium or heavy industry. This includes things such as warehouses, garages and distribution centers etc.
Retail property is a commercially zoned property used solely for business purposes, the actual selling of the product, rather than its manufacture - retail stores, malls, shopping centers and shops all huddling nicely under the retail umbrella.
3) Natural Light - in especially high demand nowadays
4) Location - close to other offices, public amenities, transportation etc.
Since 1980, retail property has returned an average of 9%, though is currently returning around 6%. Industrial real estate tends to be the most volatile, and is currently returning around 7% (as opposed to its peak of around 12% during the 1990's recession).
And obviously, no matter which form of commercial property you're considering, read the lease carefully. Sounds like a silly thing to say, but you'd be very surprised at the issues that can become issues simply because things weren't read properly!
How to Market Commercial Real Estate for Sale or Lease
A real estate agent listing a commercial property should undertake a detailed property inspection before they give any indication of price or rent to a landlord or property owner. In only this way can they really know what the property is all about; that is what positive and negative aspects the property can create as an investment.
Every property is different and for that simple reason it pays to have some form of checklist to run through when as an agent you are listing the commercial property. The focus of the inspection will change depending on whether the property is to be for sale or for lease but here are some of the key issues that you would want to know about in listing the property for sale.
- Ownership of the property together with the split if any on property ownership
- Decision makers for the ownership
- Location detail and survey plans of the plot
- Details of the improvements in the property
- Details of all the leases and occupancy documents that apply to the sitting tenants
- Tenant contact detail for access in further inspections
- Details of rental paid at the current time and how that is documented
- Vacancy factors and areas that are soon to become vacant
- Details of the expenditure to run the property both today and over the last 3 years (in this way you can check the way the property has performed)
- Orders and notices that may have been issued over the property and which remain outstanding
- Matters relating to current negotiations in leases for further terms or amended lease situations
- Details of any existing lease incentives that have been provided to tenants currently and which remain active for the future
- Access arrangements for people and vehicles getting into and away from the property
- Any encumbrances, liens, and interests from other properties in the area and that can impact the subject property
- Services and amenities that serve the area and the property
- Energy supply and energy consumption factors
- Environmental factors that are current or could impact the property usage
- Heritage matters that can impact the property
The list does not end here but it is a good summary of the main elements that apply in a property inspection. Any one of these items could have issues to impact the price of the property. Importantly you are finding the issues before you price and list a property.
When you have the property correctly documented it makes the sale and any lease negotiation much easier. Most buyers today will undertake their own due diligence in the sale and settlement process. Make sure you find the problems before the buyer does and have all the right answers ready.
Search for Commercial Real Estate Businesses For Sale Near Me in Johannesburg West
Not all commercial investment properties should be auctioned, but the auction method of sale does have real advantages if the property is just right and the market is accepting of that method of sale. Here is why.
The key governing factors to determine if auction is a real chance or choice for the property owner are the current levels of enquiry for that property type, and the prevailing business sentiment. If this is the case then you can look further at auction.
The auction method of sale is a proven time based sale process that flushes out the enquiry and if the investment property ticks all the other boxes such as:
- Preferred property type in the local market.
- Good improvements on the property.
- Location factors that attract enquiry.
- Capital growth opportunities.
- Good tenant profile or anchor tenant.
- Good lease structure that supports stability of rent.
- Low vacancy factors and associated risk.
- Tenant mix that is well structured and balanced for property function and rent growth. This is really important in retail property.
- A realistic seller with a reserve price that allows for comparable property evidence and other sales history.
- A vendor funded marketing campaign that targets the right buyers and activates enquiry from them.
- Acceptable (and not excessive) levels of comparable property on the market that are competing with the subject property coming up for auction.
Do not overlook the advantages of auctioning a commercial property. Just make sure all the other existing elements are in support of that method of sale before you start.
What s the Best Way To Look For Commercial Real Estate Property?
"Property on ground lease" is among the most confusing phrases, even to commercial real estate brokers. There are up to 3 parties in a "property on ground lease": the business owner, e.g. Burger King, the landowner and the building owner. When you see a sale of "property on ground lease", it could mean:
1. Sale of land only. In this case, the building owner is the tenant, e.g. Burger King that has a business in the building. The tenant typically signs a 10-20 years absolute NNN ground lease with the landowner to lease the parcel. Should the tenant not renew the lease or be in default of the lease by not paying rent, the building with substantial value is reverted to the landowner. The tenant will make every effort to pay rent to avoid losing the building to the landlord. And so the cap rate for this property is about 1-2% lower than a property with both land and building.
There are a couple of possible scenarios that could lead into a land sale only:
· The business owner, e.g. a Burger King franchisee, could own both land and building originally. He then structures the sale of land only to an investor and then leases it back. He receives the tax benefits of being able to depreciate 100% of the building and fixtures. The tenant could later sell his interest in the building without the land to another investor and lease back the building.
6. Is it easy to sell your interest if the lease has a few years left? If you own the land, your interest may be hard to sell, but still sellable. Once the ground lease expires, the building owner owns nothing. As a result, this can make it quite challenging to find a buyer for the building.
7. Tax write-off's: Land does not depreciate for income tax purposes. The building, on the other hand is 100% depreciable.
8. Financing: if you buy the land portion, you should be able to obtain 65% LTV financing in today's market, just like a typical property with both land and improvements. However, it's very difficult to get financing for the building acquisition, especially when the ground lease has less than 20 years left.
Therefore, when you see a "property on ground lease" for sale, make sure you know what you are buying, considering there are many factors involved that can adversely impact/contest an investor's decision. If you're contemplating on buying the building without the land, think twice and make sure you have a clear understanding of all the plusses/minuses involved in this decision.
