How do I make an offer on a commercial property

[Ian Jaeger]

Hey All,

I honestly don't even know where to start with a good question - I'm at the point where I still don't know what I don't know!

I posted about a property a while back that I thought could be interesting with little response.  A year later, after starting a business elsewhere I'm suddenly back looking at that property.  I've done the county search and found that the owner owns 2 side-by-side properties one with a single tenant, the other with 3 tenants.  Without knowing anything about the actual businesses (which look to be WAY under market for the area), how do I go about making an offer to the owner?  

Do I have to come to the table with an offer? Without knowing the NOI, can I use the price per sqft for other commercial property in the area?

Supposed to meet with a commercial RE realtor next week, but want to know what questions I need to ask when I meet so I don't look like a total idiot.

-Ian