c/commercial-real-estate

A chat with my barber made me see my building's lobby differently

He said he judges every business by its entryway, because that's the first handshake. It hit me that I've been letting our 1980s tile and that one flickering light in our medical office building slide for way too long. How much would you budget for a lobby refresh on a 12,000 square foot property?

Rant: I finally got a landlord to fix a parking lot by showing them a photo from Google Maps

Our small office in Toledo had a huge pothole in the tenant parking area for almost a year, and the property manager kept saying it was 'on the list'. I got fed up and pulled up a street view image from Google Maps dated 8 months ago that clearly showed the same damage. I emailed it with a note saying it proved the issue was pre-existing and a liability. They had a crew out filling it within a week. Has anyone else used historical imagery to push for repairs?

Watching a tenant in a Portland flex space use their unit completely differently than I'd planned made me rethink my whole 'ideal layout' concept.

I mean, I had this whole vision for the 2,500 sq ft bay with offices up front and warehouse in back, but they turned the whole thing into a massive open workshop for building custom vans, and seeing it work so well made me ask, how often do we over-design spaces based on our own assumptions instead of just letting the market show us what it needs?

Finally got a call back on that empty storefront on Main Street

I've been dropping a simple one-page flyer with my contact info at the property every other week for about three months, just in the mail slot. The owner finally called me today, said he was tired of seeing the paper pile up and figured I was serious. We're meeting next week to talk about a short-term lease. Has anyone else had luck with a low-effort, persistent tactic like that on a vacant spot?

Update: I paid for a full environmental report on a warehouse site

I was about to close on a small warehouse in Tampa last month. The seller's Phase I looked fine, but I spent an extra $8,500 for a more detailed Phase II. It found soil contamination from a dry cleaner that used to be next door. That killed the deal and saved me from a huge cleanup bill. Has anyone else had a Phase II report uncover a dealbreaker like that?

A report from my city's planning department showed a huge drop in retail vacancy

I was looking at the quarterly commercial real estate report from the Phoenix planning office last month, and one number really jumped out. The retail vacancy rate in the central corridor dropped to 4.2%, which is the lowest it's been in over fifteen years. I had been hearing about how retail was dead everywhere, but the data for my specific area told a totally different story. It made me go back and look at the types of tenants filling those spaces, and it's mostly local service businesses like dentists, small gyms, and repair shops, not big national chains. That shift from big box to local service is a huge deal for property values and lease stability in those neighborhoods. I'm now using that city report as my starting point for any client looking at retail investment here. Has anyone else seen their local government data completely flip the script on a market trend they thought was true?

I just realized I was pricing my industrial space in Phoenix all wrong

For years I just looked at square foot rates from other listings in the area. My broker finally pointed out that my building's 24-foot clear height and new electrical service should add at least $2.50 per square foot to the asking price. I was leaving a ton of money on the table by not factoring in those specific features. Has anyone else had a wake-up call about under-valuing a property's assets?

My strip mall listing in Mesa hit 92% occupancy and I'm not celebrating

Everyone in my office acts like any number over 90% is a huge win, but it took a 15% rent cut on the last two units to get there. The previous owner was getting 87% occupancy at full price. I ran the numbers and the net operating income is actually down about 2% from last year. It looks good on paper, but we traded quality tenants for a higher head count. Has anyone else found that chasing a specific occupancy rate can hurt your bottom line more than help?

I switched from a standard broker to a specialist for a medical office listing in Austin and the difference was huge.

Had to choose between a 1031 exchange and just selling a small retail strip in Phoenix

The numbers showed a $180k tax hit if I sold, but the only replacement property my broker found was a triple-net lease with a shaky tenant. I went with the sale and took the hit, which felt awful but at least it's cash in hand now. Anyone ever regret going for the exchange just to avoid the tax bill?

Why does everyone skip the Phase I ESA on small industrial buys?

Just closed on a 5,000 sq ft warehouse in Phoenix, and my broker kept pushing to waive the environmental report to speed things up. I insisted on a Phase I, and it found a minor solvent plume from a previous tenant that the seller had to pay $15k to remediate before closing. That saved my entire deposit. Do most people just not know the risk, or are they that eager to get a deal done?

Warning: My office building's vacancy rate just hit 12% and I didn't see it coming

I was reviewing the quarterly report for our property in Tempe and the number jumped out at me. We had a solid 95% occupancy for years, but two midsize tech tenants left last month and we only filled one spot. It matters because our loan terms get reviewed if we drop below 90%, and now I'm scrambling. Has anyone else in a suburban office market had a sudden dip like this?

Looking for a solid commercial lender for a boutique hotel acquisition

Hey everyone. I'm trying to line up financing for a boutique hotel property I'm looking to acquire later this year. Traditional banks are moving way too slow for this deal and their terms are super rigid. Can anyone recommend a good commercial lender or hard money group that actually understands hospitality and can move relatively fast?