5 Tips to Prepare a Commercial Property for Sale

1.      GATHER YOUR A-TEAM

1. Property accountant
2. Experienced Real Estate Attorney
3. Competent Commercial Real Estate Broker
4. Title company
5. Commercial real estate lender
6. Designate a point of contact for the transaction

2.      GET ORGANIZED

1. Work with the property accountant to prepare up-to-date rent roll
2. Gather and organize leases and lease abstracts
3. Profit & Loss Statements – YTD and prior 3 years
4. Pull recent insurance claim history
5. Due Diligence Preparation
   1. Survey
   2. Environmental Site Assessment (Phase I and II)

• Property tax bills (3 year history)

1. Maintenance and systems contracts
2. Building Plans

3.      PRELIMINARY TITLE SEARCH

1. Work with your title insurance provider and broker to pull a preliminary title search to identify any pending title issues
2. Prepare to remedy any issues (liens,

4.      BUILDING INSPECTION AND PREPARATION

1. Identify any deferred maintenance
2. Repair major items, and/or get quotes for repairs
3. Perform landscape cleanup, remove excess debris, clean gutters and windows, and prepare property for showings.

5.      UNDERSTAND THE MARKET

1. Work with a broker to prepare a competitive market analysis
2. Identify any comparable sales that have recently closed
3. Identify current listings on the market
4. Understand relative rental rates in the market
5. Understand underlying land value in the market
6. Determine a listing price supported by the market