Commercial Retail Investment

[Maureen Wilbeck]

I don't see much about commercial retail property on the forum, but was curious if anyone knew the best approach to market it for sale. My husband and I stumbled into commercial real estate and admittedly don't know much about it. We bought land in 1985 for our office building because we were tired of paying high rent. Now the area has exploded with development around us and we have had some serious interest from potential buyers just because of drive by traffic. Nothing has panned out yet so we were hoping to speed up the process. We really don't want to get a realtor involved. The interest has been from commercial retail developer type people. We are sitting on a very prime property in west Wichita that has been described as a "billboard" property. The traffic count is extremely high. Our neighbors are Abuelo's, Panera Bread, Lowes, Twin Peaks, IHOP, Kohl's, Slumberland, Target and Best Buy, just to name a few. Any recommendations on finding a buyer? Our plan is to do a 1031 exchange. We are interested in purchasing residential real estate when we sell as part of the exchange.

[Shane H.]

Hi Maureen - sent you a message.  I'm sure you'll get some good advice in this thread.

[Jim Carney]

If what you say is true, that "don't know much about it" then get a realtor involved. If you still want to do it yourself  just put up a sign "For Sale". One of my businesses is sending out property flyers for sellers (mostly brokers). That gets good response but depending on the price of your property; your best bet is a sign. Most buyers, unless you are talking about a large piece of land, want something they see everyday and drive by it a lot. Signs are the best bet if your not talking multi million $ sale.

[Chad Thomas]

Maureen, I'm personally aware of a locally managed 1031 exchange fund to park your monies after the sale until you find the right residential deal(s). Of which, I'm not affiliated but have done personal business with. There are plenty off market residential deals out there. But I'm getting ahead of myself, one of the considering factors would depend on if you are only selling the land? Or the office and land? I wasn't too sure on that part. Either way it would be a good idea to get an appraisal if you haven't done so since 1985 or get a professional broker's opinion of the current market value. NAI or JP Weigand handle quite a few local commercial listings. Unless you are selling to a cash buyer, most buyers' will finance using the LTV from the appraisal. Regardless, it appears like you are in a good position to be in. I'd be kidding if I didn't say I would be interested in knowing more details. Good Luck to you both! Feel free to reach out to me if I can help in any other way.

[Douglas Dowell]

I agree with other posters that hiring a great commercial broker is probably worth every dime of the commission especially if your key objective is time and maximum price.

The other approach would be cold calling bankers for a referral to a great commercial developer.  My suspicion is that after about 10 to 15 calls you will find 3 or 4 of the same names pop up.  Additionally, the chamber of commerce economic development staff most likely could suggest a name or two. 

If your interested I do have national player that might have an appetite for your deal if you direct message me I will be happy to point you in their direction.

I am Ichabod who is partial to Jayhawk Basketball so hopefully this is not dis-qualifying my entire post haha.

[Dave Foster]

@Douglas Dowell, You're 0 for 2, said the guy from Manhattan :)  @Maureen Wilbeck, start with the planning and zoning dept.  They can not only tell you what current uses allowed are but also what potential "best and highest" could be.  They get marching orders frequently from politicos above them so they will know and probably already have renderings for the path of progress and any significant changes coming down the pike.  Your average drive by and craigslister will either not know the potential  Or they're hoping you don't.

Once you've got an idea of what the City is thinking you can now start to shape your search for the best realtor/partner/developer to use to either broker a sale, buy it directly, or partner with you to produce a nice product.  I'm a big fan of realtors. But you'll serve yourself well by going behind the scenes to get some back story before aligning with anyone at this point.

[Chris Gentzkow]

Originally posted by @Maureen Wilbeck:

We bought land in 1985 for our office building...  The interest has been from commercial retail developer type people.

Is the property an office building that someone would want to redevelop into retail or is it still just land? A couple quick thoughts, I would call the adjacent retail property owners. They'll know the area best. Keep in mind a retail developer will want time to figure out the property, they typically won't buy on spec.