As a commercial real estate agent, you should carefully list property for sale, and in doing so capture the key factors that can impact the marketing and inspection process. It is a fact that some properties will be harder to sell and promote. All of this requires strategy around those items which we consider important and are known as ‘price influences’.
In most if not all listing situations there will be factors that impact price and method of sale; you need to find them. Identifying them at the time of listing helps you make the right decisions in taking the property to the market.
Some of the main factors to look for and question as part of the listing process will be the following:
The improvements in the property will have some attraction to the target market. The real question is just how effective and usable the property will be to the interested buyers or tenants as the case may be. The age of the property will have some impact on the usability of the improvements. Every property will have a life cycle around which the property improvements, services, and amenities all play a role.
The location of the property should be looked at closely. What you are looking for here are matters associated with access, transport, other local businesses, and the greater community. As part of this process at the time of listing it pays to walk around the area looking at the adjacent properties, the neighbourhood, the roads and infrastructure, and the adjacent businesses. You will be looking for location advantages or weaknesses that have impact on the property.
The property zoning will dictate the allowable property usage by the property owner or the tenants in occupancy. The property and its improvements should comply with the zoning requirements and limitations. When investigating this situation, ask questions about any occupancy orders or notices that may be outstanding.
If the property is to be sold as an investment, it will be necessary to investigate and qualify the current levels of income. Normally they will be supported by lease documentation with each and every tenant. A review of that lease documentation will be necessary to ensure accuracy and currency. It is not unusual to come across property where matters within the leases have been overlooked or delayed.
Property expenditure and outgoings will have impact on the net income for the property. Importantly the expenditure should be similar to other properties in the local area and within the acceptable averages that a property investor would expect. If the property has higher levels of outgoings and expenditure then it is likely that difficulties will arise at the time of sale and lease. This is where the real estate agent will need to have a good level of property knowledge and local precinct information to qualify the expenditure and outgoings issues.
As part of the listing process in every commercial property sale, you can get a large amount of market intelligence and comparable prices from the local area. This work should be done prior to the marketing of your particular property. Any other properties in the local area that compete with your listing should be identified and researched to ensure that you achieve the best levels of enquiry in competition to the other property.
The method of sale adopted for the property promotion should be the best method of sale given the local area trends and levels of enquiry. For example, there is no point in taking a property to the market by auction if the property and the levels of enquiry do not suit that method of sale. Make clear decisions here so that the resultant price and sale can be easily achieved in the current economic circumstances. Understand how the buyers and the enquiry will respond to your chosen method of sale.
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