First Commercial Purchase: Boiling Springs NC

[William Tong]

Investment Info:

Retail buy & hold investment in Boiling Springs.

Purchase price: $600,000
Cash invested: $600,000

Small Strip Mall diagonally opposite Gardner Webb University, 1 hour from Charlotte, NC. Very small town.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I tired of owning small residential for many reasons. Relocated to East Coast and this was my first commercial purchase.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Real Estate Agent in Charlotte.

How did you finance this deal?

All Cash from 401K.

How did you add value to the deal?

Poorly I fear. I relied too heavily on the broker and didn't contact very local brokers ... a mistake but it was my first deal.

What was the outcome?

8 year later, all 5 units are full and I am making about 8% on my investment. The population of the small town has not grown much and the value has increased to my original purchase price. It has little overhead and the tenants are happy, I have good management and have no where else to put the money.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Investigate local sources to get value, not the commercial brokers from another city. Pay your manager well and many headaches would not appear. My first manager did nothing for 6% but my current manager does it all for 10%. Worth it to me.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Bill Chambless in Shelby NC is my manager.
Rob Cassum in Charlotte helped me a lot as a small investor.