Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
There is a growing shift in California’s commercial real estate. More and more investors and developers are moving towards industrial real estate and selling their retail centers because of the increase in online shopping. It is a steadily developing trend with enough steam to make heads turn.
Another growing trend in this situation is that owners are selling old industrial real estate to new buyers for big profits. Buyers prefer purchasing an older asset rather that constructing a new one. However, as a seller, you should know that the best offer doesn’t come knocking on your door. You must find it! And that’s what this piece of mine is about: I’ll tell you 8 ways to prep your industrial real assets in California ready for a quick, profitable sale.
When it comes to getting your commercial real property ready for a new buyer, there are many things that smart sellers make sure they do. If you aren’t doing the things listed below, you’re going to slow down the sale process and might even miss great offers just because you don’t understand the value of investing in your sale preparation!
This is precisely what the sellers do in all those quick sales you see in commercial real estate today. They take initiative and prepare for the sale.
Here’s my list of the key steps you can take to make sure your industrial property sells quickly and at a great price.
You need to understand your buyer. I know it goes without saying, but, when I say understand them, I mean think about all the important characteristics they possess that might make them take interest in your property.
Think about who will buy the property you are putting on the market and why they might want it. This will help you make a list of things they want, which will only better prepare for your meetings and their visits. They will be pleasantly surprised to see you have all the answers they wanted along with all the information and documents they thought you might be too lazy to bring.
Make sure you give them this pleasant surprise.
Buyer profiling also helps immensely when you sit down to create your ads, but I’ll talk about it in just a minute.
Now that you’ve decided to sell, it’s time you spent some money on the asset to improve how it looks. Do a thorough evaluation of all the maintenance the property needs and ask your usual contractor to take care of these problems before you work on your marketing materials and media for property ads.
Make it look good and you can expect good offers for it.
This is another step that will surely make your property stand out in both your listings as well as during the meetings with potential buyers. The trick is to sit down with some time to spare and focus on crafting a simple but interesting story for the property you want to sell.
The exercise requires focus and a couple of drafts, and yes this means I’m asking you to write it down. The clever thing to do is to make notes on a sheet of paper and then put them together to build your story.
Don’t make up lies to get people interested. Make sure the story contains all the important facts and unique features of your property, including amenities, ease of access, and other qualities your ideal buyer might be looking for.
When you are done with your property’s story, the thing to focus on next is your materials, and getting ready for your potential buyers’ questions.
Whoever is interested in your property will have questions about its history as well as the numbers. You have to give them the right sizes and dimensions, but also make sure they get to know about the storage space, the usual overhead expenses for maintenance and upkeep, and other important numbers that they might want to know.
This will make you come out as a transparent seller and somebody looking for the buyer’s best interests as well as your own. AJ Rana, broker with Lemara Commercial, often advises sellers to come prepared to their meetings with these numbers because he knows it truly impresses the buyer and builds trust.
Technology is taking over every industry and commercial real estate is no exception. Today, when you decide to sell your property, especially spacious industrial real estate, potential buyers want access to it on all possible media.
Work on your marketing materials for the property. Have a professional photography session done on the site and have your videos edited by a professional as well. You could also create a 3D virtual tour of your property that will allow potential buyers from any location see everything in your property without visiting the site.
Another very important thing to do is make sure your paperwork is in order. Make necessary copies of the leases, encumbrances, and other documents that your buyer should know about. Bringing all of this information in writing will help ease the sale and make sure that the buyer – or their realtor – has no reason to prolong the process.
This is where a lot of sellers fail, and it is more of a tip for changing your mindset than anything else. You need to understand you are one trying to sell something and, while they might want it, the buyer won’t come knocking on your door unless you promote your property effectively. They won’t even know it exists unless you make sure you’re using all the right channels to have the listings and ads reach the right buyers.
This is exactly where your ideal buyer profile comes into play again. It helps you understand the ideal source and media for outreach.
Lastly, and this is as important as any of the tips above, don’t try to sell your property. Instead, make all the right materials to entice your buyer and reach out to you. When you meet them, give them your property’s story, present all the numbers and paperwork, and make sure you don’t sound too excited or hurried. Make them give you their offer.
About the Author:
AJ Rana is the CEO of Lemara Commercial, a California-based commercial real estate firm. With extensive experience in the commercial real estate domain, Rana has not only helped countless businesses secure funding, but also helps investors build a lucrative career in the commercial real estate realm. In addition to providing excellent restaurant brokerage advice, Rana also offers services to buyers interested in multi-family units and hotels, and can help sell office buildings.
