The best site for NNN commercial properties

[Kevin Noesner]

I’m currently in the market for an absolute net property and having trouble finding a definitive resource for this market. The best sites I’ve found so far are Crexi, LoopNet, Calkain, and NNNex. Am I missing any commercial websites here? Is there no definitive MLS of commercial properties online? I’m mostly focusing in Ohio and the Midwest.

[Joel Owens]

Hi Kevin,

Even if they are local they might not have a vast network. Do they only focus on NNN properties and are a retail specialist?

How many days are left in your 1031 exchange ID period? What are the proceeds amount? Are you willing to add more cash to it for the right property? Are you looking only NNN STNL or also NN, ground lease, or MTNL as well?

If your broker/agent is doing a good job then you should at least have some prospects. Biggest thing before locking in a selection is looking at the lease. I have seen before 1031 buyers lock in 3 choices but not get some material while under LOI to see if property is viable for cash flow returns and for financing they would like. They lock it in and then have problems with the property and then must decide between a failed exchange or going through a sale with some big problems. Sure you can have the other 2 selections possibly but they might not be available when you jump out of the first selection. If you are not finding anything at all you could look at placing in a DST instead.

Sometimes this can make sense if say you are an accredited investor but only have 200k to exchange. In that price range you will likely not see a quality NNN property that makes sense but you could possibly invest to own a small slice with 200k in a 10 or 20 million dollar DST. It all depends on your goals. I look at about 1,000 properties a week and have clients all over the country including Ohio.

If you could put your price range, down payment, expected cap rate, tenant type, location such as suburban or urban core, etc. then I could quickly tell you if what you are looking for is a 1 in 100 or a 1 in 5,000 property. It's important because if your expectations are off for the exchange you can run into problems. I frequently see investors get rigid and want too high a cap rate with the starting 45 day ID period for 1031 then at last second they panic and have to get in something. If they had just been realistic they likely could have locked in a solid property at a solid cap rate with other metrics.

Investors buy NNN STNL all over the country so for most investors it does not matter at all if property is local or in another state as long as tenant and demographics are good with a solid lease in place.