The most important thing is probably to have a very good commercial real estate broker who knows about triple-net properties working with you to help you evaluate all the details.

Improperly retaining deposits is dealt with harshly in many locales, often with double or triple damages.Jon

Through our triple net lease, we pay all maintenance costs, taxes and insurance.

I have been in Real Estate Finance since 1987, and have many good long lasting friends in the industry, but it seems like the number of working friendships that I have developed in 20yrs, could double or triple in a year, by benefit of this forum.

Then, write the option agreement to include anything you want the optionee to take care of.Since it is commercial, what you're doing seems pretty typical for a NNN (triple net) lease.

They want it and would like to lease it for us for a 10-yr first option triple net.I have been negotiating with the owner and think we can get the building for $200k and would need to put another $200k into it for improvements to lease.I have not started hard negotiations with leasee (waiting until i get control of building, but will not close until executed lease is in hand) but have casual discussion of $9/sf.So we are looking at cap rates in high teens and a hefty cash flow with paying off the building in 10-yrs.

Folks such as this can triple their disposable investment income by making conservative well-secured loans.A bond investment that would provide this kind of yield would be junk-rated with significant risk of default and a very volatile price.

If and when the wall needs some serious patching, rip out the drywall and double or triple up a few of the studs so there's plenty of wood for several tenants to mount their "idiot" panels (old-timers remember the term "idiot box"!).

Yes Tony a TRUE Triple Net the landlord will not pay those costs.Lately net lease companies especially credit rated tenants have been more demanding in trying to get the landlord to cover some costs.It is very important to look at the length of the lease and terms and escalations.With inflation if the rent increases every 5 years is marginal and they want you to take care of certain items with the property it can drastically reduce your returns.It's all about what returns you are seeking versus the security and consistency of the payment.Generally triple net will hover around the 6 to 9 CAP range but will not approach the teens in most situations.For those kind of returns you have to usually chase after value add deals but they are much more work than mail box money from a credit tenant.Credit tenants have risk which is why you also research heavily the health of the tenant today you are acquiring the lease and their growth plans for the future along with reserves.

On commercial properties there are many reasons why a properties full information is not disclosed.1.The property is a vacant REO building and has no numbers besides taxes.2.The bank or receiver took the property over recently and no data was given to them by the old property management company or by the previous owner for adversarial reasons.In these situations you price in the worst case scenarious to be safe.3.In commercial you get many off market properties because the seller doesn't want the sale made public.4.The seller has demanded that minimum info be listed on the listing and only when a buyer is qualified as credible and serious and has signed a confidentiality and disclosure disclosure agreement then the info will be shared.The seller might not want the information of how their property is operating to get into the competitions hands.I do agree that many investors will keep different reserves based on individual preferences.Where this comes in big though is there are industry averages where unless the buyer will be paying all cash or owner finance they will be getting a loan from a commercial lender.This commercial lender will price in reserves to the numbers and marketing costs because if the lender giving the loan has to foreclose they will operate it and value it based on their expenses and not the owner who self manages,does their own pest control,makes their own repairs,etc. to increase margins.This is a number one reason loans do not get funded.An investor shows a deal cash flowing 5,000 a month on a apartment building and the numbers are real.However the commercial lender comes to 3,500 a month cash flow after their analysis of how they would run it an dhow it would perform if they took the property back.This is why owner finance and putting little to no money down to preserve liquidity is the name of the game.Leveraging yourself into as many properties as possible UNDER THE RIGHT TERMS with smart growth taking advantage of the down markets is key.We have real estate niches for a reason.There are different flavors for everyone.It also depends on the investors goals.If they have millions already and are just trying to get a certain return and stay above inflation each year with not much headache then yes turnkey might be the answer for them.If you are going to do that I would go for triple net corporate rated tenants and collect mailbox money than deal with toilets,tenants,and termites,and eviction headaches.I deal with this on my apartments but my returns are way over 7 to 8%.So what you take on versus the expected return is key to doing a deal or not.I find generally landlords once they hit a certain age and life just get tired and want someone to take over their problems.This is when at 36 I still have gas in the tank and I am willing to take on big headaches for big returns.Later in life that might change what kind of portfolio I want to hold and grow.I personally stay away from buyers wanting these little houses for 35,000 that give off 700 a month rent.The investors are out of state and want you to micro-manage for them at 60 bucks a month and it's not worth it.I own many apartment units and even with a maintenance guy and a property manager living on site it can be very intensive to run correctly.It is not as easy as everyone thinks it is especially when most investors will be buying older buildings on value add deals.It's easy when a building is brand new and tenants want to sign up left and right and there are little to no repairs to speak of.When you buy new though you pay a premium for it.If you want to create wealth you need accelerated returns.I have really enjoyed this discussion so far.