How to tell if Commercial Property is Financed

[Matthew Rembish]

Hi everyone! I’m still fairly new to commercial property investing but I will be putting my first offer in on a self storage property later this week and I have a question. Does anyone know if there is a way to find out if the owner of a property is currently financing the property or if they originally paid all cash? I’m asking because I think I may be able to use this to my advantage when it comes to negotiating. Just wondering if there are any tricks out there with regard to finding this out without coming right out to the seller and asking them directly (which I’d prefer not to do).

Thank you!!!

[Dennis Cosgrave]

Whether the seller paid cash or financed the purchase is irrelevant in most cases. The one exception is if the mortgage can be assumed. The seller is not going to adjust his price because he has 100% equity. If he paid cash, he might be in a position to hold seller financing. Most sellers will usually hold a note for no more than 5 years. Even then, you will likely have to pay a slightly higher than market rate.