GJ Realty Check

Lock In Your Lease Now

2011-11-09T13:15:00.004-07:00

I anticipate a slow and steady increase in commercial lease and sales activity. Rates and prices will remain level over the next 12 months.
Tenants:
Now is good time to negotiate a long term lease and lock in the rates landlords are offering.

Self Directed IRA - Real Estate

2011-03-24T13:18:00.002-06:00

I’ve had a few discussions with people about self-directed IRAs and the possibility of investing your IRA in real estate, so I did some research and found some information about them and a group that specializes in them.

The answer is yes, you can tuck property into your retirement account.

Over the last few years, stocks have cratered. Despite their recent rebound, millions of retired and almost-retired have been forced to extend their working years just to maintain a minimum standard of living.

While your 401(k) plan may not offer real estate in any form, the fact is, you can own real estate in your retirement plans. Retirement plans are by nature long-term investments. You can't get much more long term than real estate. But you must keep in mind that you'll be able to invest only for income and appreciation. You can't deduct depreciation, as you can in a taxable investment.

You have to be very careful how you do it. A single bad move can create a major tax disaster.

An all-cash transaction is probably the easiest. If you don't have sufficient cash, your retirement plan can purchase a partial interest in a property. That's known as a tenant in common interest.

You can borrow the money to finance the property but will also need to pay the Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT). Depending on aggravation level, costs, tax rates and rates of return, the leverage may be worth the tax cost. Call for a recommended provider.

Clarifying Gold's Gym Location Challenge

2010-07-09T15:19:00.004-06:00

If you wondered, like I did, why Gold’s Gym would move into a building that is difficult to access the answer will soon be evident. American Furniture Warehouse purchased all of the adjacent land and will now build an roadway with access of Highway 6&50 into the commercial development. A map of the proposed access is included on the second page of this newsletter.

American Furniture Warehouse has multiple locations in Colorado. You can check out their website at www.afwonline.com.

In case you missed the Sentinel article “American Furniture Warehouse owner Jake Jabs said he plans to open a 150,000-square-foot building on the property that will include a warehouse and a showroom. The store could open as soon as early 2011.

Jabs said the store will need about 150 staff members for sales, office, delivery and staging work. He said he wants to hire local contractors to construct the building.

Jabs said he opened an American Furniture Warehouse store in Grand Junction in 1984, but it closed the next year due to poor economic times in the area. A growing number of American Furniture Warehouse products being delivered to the Grand Valley prompted Jabs to return to the area.”

Anderson, E. (2009, Dec 31). The Daily Sentinel.

Sales in Grand Junction So Far

2010-06-02T15:57:00.000-06:00

According to Mesa County this year there have been 19 commercial real estate sales through the end of March. The local MLS indicates 4 additional sales through May 20th. The top 5 sales are as follows:

715 Horizon Ct – 3,100,000

2285 River Rd – 2,875,000

607 24 Rd - 2,322,600

551 Kokopelli Blvd – 1,800,000

230 Lynwood St – 1,220,000

Mesa county reports 32 sales for the same period in 2009, and 42 sales in 2008.

There were several business opportunities that sold including two liquor stores in Fruita, and B&B hotel in Colbran.

Some of these sales have come at bargain prices. There are other bargains for both users and investors. Sellers are not finding as many buyers in today’s market. Some of these sellers are in difficult situations and are no longer looking to make a profit.

Looking forward to summer sales. In 2008 Mesa County reported 35 sales from June through August, 18 in 2009, and based on the results from the first 5 months I anticipate 16 sales over the summer in 2010. Will your property be one of them?

City Market: F 1/2 Road Parkway

2010-05-27T09:56:00.006-06:00

City Market is out of the ground on their 24 and F Road store. The above picture is a diagram of the proposed F 1/2 Road Parkway approved by the city in 2005. A portion is already complete from 24 Road north of the new 14-plex cinema to Market Street.

City Market built a culvert to provide access to their new store off 24 Rd, which will facilitate Redlands residents primarily. However, because the 24 Road access is only a ¾ intersection residents from the north will not be able to make a left turn into the parking lot. Instead they will have to gain access from Market Street. From Patterson Rd (F Rd) there will be numerous lights, making the location inconvenient. From 24 Rd a left turn will be required to F 1/2 Road then another right onto Market Street.

The simplest path to City Market for the majority of residents in the North Area will be realized when the F ½ Road Parkway between 24 ½ Road and 24 Road is built. It may still be easier to access the Horizon Dr. Safeway from the North.

I am interested in spearheading a public demand for the construction of the F 1/2 Road Parkway, in lieu of other frivolous city projects, such as spring clean-up. Please let me know if you are interested.

MBA - Marketing Strategy

2010-05-13T04:35:00.002-06:00

The Marketing Strategy course for the MBA program opened my eyes to what is involved in effective marketing. It is a very in-depth and time intensive undertaking to create a marketing plan. The process helps clarify the current situation, goals and objectives, strategy, competitive advantages, implementation schedules, and evaluation controls. I'm going to begin applying what I've learned to the properties I have listed. Finding buyers in the current market has proven challenging and presents a good opportunity to get sophisticated in order to bring the best value to customers and clients.

Books About How to Sell Commercial Real Estate

2010-01-19T23:02:00.004-07:00

The last four months I have been taking courses in accounting, marketing, finance, and management theory. All apply directly to what I can apply when selling commercial-investment real estate. However, finding a good book written by a practitioner about my line of work is rare to come by. I will share with you a rare gem of a book I found in my broker's office that satiates a long insatiable appetite, if you will write me a short note about your own search for such literature.

Motivation

2010-01-19T22:56:00.009-07:00

What motivates a commercial broker? 1) They need loyalty and a promise that his or her time is going to be compensated for. 2) A driver which usually resides within a good broker and is closely tied to needs and incentives. 3) You will get more good work out of a broker if you are willing to offer an equal incentive for the amount of work that needs to be put into the task.

If you are a buyer or seller, in order to facilitate a successful exchange you will also have to be motivated. Ask yourself this question, "am I motivated, do I have a need, the drive and an incentive?" If the market value of your property is not motivating, are there other alternatives that would motivate you? If not then it may be a good reason not to sell until your motivation level increases.

Focus for 2010

2010-01-19T22:19:00.005-07:00

It's now 2010 and I've developed a new marketing system which can be tailored to each individual property. I'm trying it on the properties I already have listed and am optomistic that the results will exceed expectations.

Advertising in the classifieds is very expensive and does not generate the right kinds of calls for a property. Defining the needs a particular property fills to derive a target market provides a good basis for developing a marketing system.

I've decided that I will continue to work with buyers in 2010, but must focus more attention on providing sophisticated marketing services for sellers in order to attract more listings. One reason is because all too often buyers don't pay, and I don't know many professionals who provide complicated services requiring high levels of skill without being hired do so. So in essence getting hired through listings will be my mainstay for 2010. I will focus on making sure that I will be paid for my services.

I appreciate any feedback from readers.

Tax Appeal Results

2009-07-14T20:30:00.003-06:00

I appealed the taxes on properties that I manage as well as properties that I have an ownership interest in. The most successful appeal reduced the annual tax bill to the owners by over $30,000.

In this case the property is a vacant undeveloped land and the city requires the owner to dedicate 40 feet of ground to the city for a new proposed parkway. It was just a matter of stating the facts so the assessor can value the property accordingly.

The appeal for my residence was not quite so successful however. It was the most likely and perhaps the best supported appeal, but no reduction was granted. Denied.

All in all we faired well and I have since noticed a number of properties where the taxes were not appealed and wished I had been aware of them before to offer some assistance.

Median House Price in GJ

2009-07-14T20:24:00.002-06:00

Out of curiosity I took a look at all stick built houses that sold in the City of Grand Junction from February 1st through July 13th this year and figured the median price per square foot, and it is....$131/sf. So if your house is 1,750 square feet then a median price for this type of house would be $229,250.

In the past three months the highest priced house per square foot sold for $175/sf, and it was under 1,500 sf.

Commercial Real Estate Stats 06/2009

2009-07-07T15:15:00.006-06:00

According to the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) the following statistics indicate the number of commercial properties sold in June this year as compaired to June last year decreased 45%, the price per square foot decreased 14% and the price per acre for land decreased 9%.

June 2009

5 improved properties sold. 3 retail/office 2 industrial
Median price: $140 per sq. ft.

1 unimproved (land) property sold
$294,030 per acre

June 2008

9 improved properties sold. 6 retail/office 3 industrial
Median price: $163 per sq. ft.

2 inimproved properties sold
Median price: $323,774

I'll continue to work on perfecting the analysis to make this monthly update as accurate as possible. If there is other data you would like to see reported please leave a comment and I'll send you a gift certificate (if you leave me a way to contact you).

Note: Mesa County has only updated their property sales through mid-April, if I can figure out a way to fill-in the data missing that is sold and leased outside of the MLS system, I'll include that in my monthly update.

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

2009-05-21T20:15:00.003-06:00

Have you ever been eating at home or a friends house when the cook exclaims, "guess the secret ingredient?" I heard a story about a Mormon missionary serving in France who thought it would be funny to add a special ingredient in his scrambled eggs for new missionaries. One disliked the fact that the secret ingredient was cow brains enough to permanently dissuade him from continuing the joke.

A clause in your lease that includes an escalation based upon the CPI index, is a bit like that secret ingredient if you don't know it's there.

I recommend reading the article called How to Use the Consumer Price Index for Escalation published by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS). You'll then be as smart or more than likely smarter than the Landlord on how it's used while avoiding costly oversights or miscalculations.

Triple Net (NNN)

2009-04-30T21:21:00.002-06:00

Are you looking for a place to do business?

A term you will likely hear during your search is “Triple Net”. It sounds like a special device used to catch insects in the summer, but it’s not. These 3 nets catch numbers not insects. Triple Net is a term used to describe a type a lease, aka the Triple Net or NNN Lease.

To assist in remembering the 3 nets, the acronym TIM will come in handy. Think of good ol’ uncle Tim. When calling a sign on an office building, a shopping center window or in front of an industrial building and the leasing agent says, “this space is $12 triple net.”

What they are saying is, your monthly rent or base rent will be $12 times the amount of square feet to be leased, which produces an annual rent number. Divide by 12 and this is the base rent. Because it is a triple net lease there are additional charges or additional rent on top of base rent for Taxes (real property tax), Insurance (fire hazard insurance) and Maintenance (air conditioning, snow removal, lighting, etc...).

Taxes Insurance and Maintenance (TIM) are the 3 nets referenced in the term Triple Net. A pro rated estimated of the triple net charges can be added to the monthly rent payment or billed at the end of the year.

Another common term of interest related to leasing is CPI, which I will discuss in the next post.

Understanding Real Estate Terminology

2009-04-30T20:41:00.003-06:00

I had a friend relate a story the other day that may help illustrate the importance of using a commercial broker.

My friend, we'll call him Tom, mentioned that he got an unexpected bill in the mail from his landlord for $3,500. Tom further explained that when he assumed the lease for his office he didn't understand what triple net or (NNN) meant. Unexpected costs like this can be avoided. I could elaborate

Tom will be renewing the lease in the next couple of months, and I have encouraged him to hire a real estate broker to guide him through the renewal process to assist with real estate terminology, common practice and procedures, and most importantly to ensure fair market rent or better and assist in finding an adequate attorney who practices real estate law, who will be able to review and revise the lease to ensure fairness.

Next post I'll explain triple net (NNN), so no one else reading this blog will make the same mistake.

Determining Net Operating Income (NOI)

2009-04-28T09:10:00.005-06:00

A standard formula for calculating Net Operating Income or NOI would helpful in the Grand Junction market to assist commercial brokers and principals evaluating properties based upon capitalization rate (cap rate).

Gross Potential Income (GPI) - Total potential income if all leases were at market value
− Loss to Lease (spaces leasing for less than market value)
− Vacancy and Collection Loss (actual figures preferred / sometimes figured as a percentage)
= Net Rent Revenue
+ Miscellaneous Income (income from late charges, signage, vending machines etc..)
+ Expense Reimbursements (utilities, taxes, insurance etc.)
= Effective Gross Income (EGI)
− Operating Expenses (taxes, maintenance, insurance, janitorial, management etc.)
= Net Operating Income (NOI)

Capitalizing a property’s NOI for the next year is often the easiest way of estimating the property’s present value. Generally, using next year’s NOI to capitalize is recommended.

It is important to make sure the NOI is accurate from the sellers perspective in order to avoid overpricing a property, and from a buyers perspective in order to ensure investment strength and avoid overpaying.

Smaller Industrial Buildings with Yard

2009-04-27T14:51:00.006-06:00

One might think finding a stand alone industrial building with a yard would be easy to come by. I've been searching today for one between 4,000 and 6,000 sq. ft. with two 14' overhead doors and a drain. I've found plenty of smaller sized, build-to-suit, multiple tenant buidings or stand alone buildings with no yard, but have had difficulty locating a propery either for sale or lease that matches these parameters.

The onlne databases are limited however. Some landlords will only place a sign on the property, making it invisible to all but those driving around. So that is where I head to next, to see if I can pull a rabbit out of my hat.

The Lease Buyout

2009-04-02T21:40:00.003-06:00

Over the past 4 months I have put together buyout options for 3 Tenants. In the process I have developed a handy spreadsheet that makes the math and presentation come together much more quickly. A buyout sounds simple enough; pay the remaining amount on the lease. There are other costs however for landlords consider when a tenant requests an early termination.

1) The remaining amount on the lease, or the difference between what a new tenant will pay and what the current lease schedule states.

2) Rebate for commissions paid in advance for the lease. A lease is a promise to pay and typically the landlord will pay a leasing agent or broker a percentage of the gross rents for the lease in advance. If the tenant moves out however, the promised income may not come, and therefore a rebate on the commissions can also be requested.

3) Present value of cashflows. The present value, or lump sum right now value of periodic payments over time is less than total amount over time. This is also referred to discounted cashflow. It was somewhat tedious to figure out, but now it's a handy tool in my toolbox.

4) Any unpaid rents

In the buyouts mentioned above, the landlords decided not to demand the full payment but rather enough to cover the costs of releasing the space, such as vacancy loss, preparing the unit for another tenant, leasing fees etc...

Although the market and economy are turbulent, there are so many things to be learned now that will improve business practices during fatter times.

Mesa County & City of GJ Seek Ideas on Retail

2009-03-28T08:04:00.005-06:00

Yesterday Mesa County held a breakfast meeting at the Egg & I in conjunction with the City of Grand Junction. Local commercial brokers and developers were invited and in attendance. This was a continuation of a similar meeting held about 6 months ago.

Janet Rowland, Mesa County Commissioner opened the meeting announcing that Mesa County and the City of Grand Junction would like feedback and cooperation from the brokerage community and development community, because of their direct contact with retail businesses. Mesa County continues to search for ways to reach out to retail stores and developers to create an inviting and appealing environment in order to stimulate sales tax income dollars and general economic development. Metaphoically spekaing, they are seeking the best flowers and enviornment to attract the bees who stimulate economic pollination and thereby bolster the health and productivity of our local government.

Debbie Kovalik, Grand Junction Visitors and Convection Bureau, presented statistics collected by the Bureau on hotel occupancy rates and a number of charts indicating industry activity in the Grand Valley. The hospitality tax charged on hotel rooms is a revenue generator for the City and County. Grand Junction has the highest occupancy rate in Colorado. She would like to see more hotels built to meet the demand.

The essence of the brokers' and developers' comments can be boiled down to two main ideas.

1) Prohibitive development fees. Developers continue to struggle with the high cost of development due to fees charged by the City of Grand Junction, CDOT, Ute Water, and Clifton Water. Ute water was specifically sited as having exorbitant and prohibitive water tap fees.

2) Financing through the down time. Many developers are holding onto projects difficult continue financing due to the ruptured capital markets. City representatives and County representatives mentioned that there are programs for the developers that would enable the city to provide the banks assurance and stimulate the lending process. These programs are now to be more widely publisized as a result of this meeting.

The meeting was informative and certainly established a sense of the City's and County's willingness to help stimulate retail development specifically in the underserved areas of Clifton, and areas targeted for redevelopment such as downtown.