Anyone out there with experience in Commercial Real Estate?

[Kristin Horowitz]

Hi guys, I've been studying real estate investment for the better part of a year with an eye toward investment in residences, but something funny happened yesterday.

I am expanding a brick and mortar nonprofit business (they exist) and the place we were looking to rent is also offering an option to sell. What pops out of my mouth as we're walking away with a tenant application is . . . do you think the owner's open to a seller finance sale?

The answer is yes.

This is not a cheap sale. Rent on the place is about $8500 a month. It's a $1.2 million dollar sale. The business we're expanding is able to make rent and expenses independent of what happens at the new location (yay cashflow!), so renting it, or us buying it as individuals and then getting rent from our business to pay the mortgage is a pretty solid deal all around.

We ourselves can't back a $1.2 million dollar sale - as an executive director of the non profit moving in there, I make about $70k a year and that's it. We don't have assets equal to the purchase, though I'm closing escrow on my first home (to live in) in two weeks, but even that is only $350k. But, like I said, we're bringing the business we run and I'm 100% confident that if the arrangement works out we'll be able to consistently pay a mortgage out as well as show the seller that to confidence.

But, well, it's not like I've been studying how commercial real estate works. Advice, thoughts? We're either going to lease or buy the place, so help making my offer attractive would be awesome.