Ownership and Divestment: Things to Think About When Selling Your Property

One of the services we specialize in at Beck-Reit Commercial is Landlord and Seller representation. Though, ultimately, we strive to see these relationships culminate in signed contracts and satisfied customers, we spend quite a bit of time consulting sellers and fielding questions. With our experience in commercial real estate, we want to use our blog as a platform to address some of the more common concerns. 

Is now the right time to sell?

The first and most important question a seller must answer is whether or not to be a seller at all. In order to determine if it's the right time to sell your asset, we recommend doing some targeted research. More important than your appraisal is your market analysis. When do your leases expire? How mature is your loan? Given your upkeep costs and mortgage against your monthly gross income, what is the earning potential of your building in the coming years? A market analysis on your property will not only be useful in the marketing of your asset, but will help you determine if it's a reasonable time to sell. 

After conducting a market analysis on your asset, it's important to analyze the market itself. Where are interest rates right now? Where are they headed (most experts say interest rates will be going up in the coming years).  Play around with hypotheticals... if interest rates increase 1% in the next two years, how will that change the value of your property? Can you afford waiting to sell? DeLea Becker tells all of her property owners "If your thinking of selling in the next 5 years, today is a good day to put it on the market.  If you plan to hold over 5 years then wait until the next business cycle."

And finally, how do you plan to use your cash out to continue building wealth? Are you eligible to conduct a 1031 exchange ? If so, where and how can you best spend your money as a buyer? 

In this section we've clearly offered more counter-questions than answers, but such is the nature of the original question itself. Property ownership is a personal endeavor, and divestment decisions are unique to each situation. 

Who should sell my property?

Choosing a realtor can be a daunting task for any seller. It is important, however, to choose a realtor. Signing an exclusive assignment contract with a broker ensures that they are obligated to represent you as best they can, and gives said broker a vested interest in the successful sale of your property. Working with multiple agents can prove complicated and inefficient. 

Before meeting with realtors or brokers, search for similar properties for sale in your area and see who is listing them. What's their track record like? How present are they in the demographics you hope to capture? The most important thing to understand about an agency before signing an exclusive representation contract is their marketing. How many systems will they be using to promote your property? Do they have a buyer-database that applies to your property? An agent's job is to connect buyers and sellers in the marketplace, and you want to be sure the agency you choose can put your property in front of the right set of eyes. 

At Beck Reit Commercial, we've got an internal database of over 6,000 Texas Realtors, all of whom receive frequent mass emails regarding each of our new listings. We've perfected our detailed property flier template, complete with site plans, floor plans, professional pictures, maps of the surrounding area's businesses and developments, and targeted informational bullet points. We also include virtual video tours of our listings in each marketing effort, allowing realtors and potential buyers to tour the property immediately and without having to schedule a showing. All of this information gets uploaded to major property search engines like Loopnet, Costar, MLS, Xcelligent, Realnex, and many more. Using powerful analytics engines, we provide clients with detailed listing activity reports each month to track progress and hold ourselves accountable. And finally, we post properties to our high traffic Beck-Reit Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter pages, putting our listings in front of more eyes and making them more likely to find via keyword searches. 

But beyond our calculated and comprehensive marketing, Commercial Agents and Brokers trust us and the properties we put in front of them because we are active participants in our community. All of our agents are members  of the Central Texas Commercial Association of Realtors, where DeLea Becker serves on the Executive Committee on the Board of Directors.  Our team attends several Commercial Property Exchange events every month, and we follow up on the relationships we develop with brokers and realtors along the way. DeLea Becker said it best, "Commercial Real Estate is a contact sport," and we've made meaningful relationships a central part of our business model. 

What can you do to help get top dollar for your property?

Though it's primarily the responsibility of the agent to market and show your property, there are things a seller can do to help ensure they get the best price for their asset. People like to think that commercial real estate is devoid of emotion; that buyers' decisions are dollars and cents and nothing more. A business owner looking for office space that their employees will use, however, is certainly thinking about those employees when looking at new space. Tenants and owners who plan to have client meetings at their offices are certainly concerned with curb appeal. As a seller, a little can go a long way in terms of how a property "shows".  Above all, a clean and well-maintained property can set you apart from the competition. 

We hope this post has provided some good information to think through. Please feel free to contact any of our agents regarding the questions prompted here or any others you may have about selling your property.  You can also email us e-mail with details of property.  DeLea@BeckReit.com.  All we need is the address.  If it is leased please send us the NOI.  We can pull up in our system for quick price range.

Looking for Buy?  Here are 2 of our current commercial listings For Sale in Austin: