One factor helping to drive commercial building starts is the aging of America. As the Baby Boomer generation pushes the age demographic ever upward, more senior housing and nursing care facilities are needed. The result is an increase in construction starts for these two areas over last year, according to the Seniors Housing Construction Trends Report 2011.

According to David Schless, president of the American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA), it is an important but modest amount of new construction. “Until the capital markets change and the economy improves, we expect to see relatively muted levels of construction of market-rate seniors housing.”

Senior apartments are responsible for 49 percent of the new units currently under way, of which, only 8 percent fall under the category of market-rate properties. Another 20 percent of the new projects are independent living properties, with assisted living properties accounting for 16 percent and nursing care buildings 15 percent.

Another area of recent activity is commercial building investments in secondary markets across the country. This trend may be led by spiking valuations for office properties in a number of gateway cities.

Canadian firms recently purchased nearly a half million square feet office building space in Bethesda, Maryland and Overland Park, Kansas. In Minnesota, Hempel Properties bought a 393,902 square foot property in Minneapolis, close to their home base in Maple Grove.

In California DIRECTV Inc. recently made the largest leasing deal in years by expanding its corporate headquarters into roughly 630,000 square feet of office space at Kilroy Airport Center, in El Segundo.

Office sales transactions in Columbia, S.C., Asheville, N.C. and Detroit over the last month also added to significant commercial real estate activity in secondary city markets. In Pittsburgh, Highwoods Properties bought the 1.54 million square foot complex of office buildings known as PPG Place.

Investor desires for better returns is likely what’s driving large commercial purchases in second tier cities across the country. Properties in the largest markets, such as New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. may be burdened with fewer risks; however cap rates in those markets are nearing pre-recession levels.

“There are cities at the top end of the market where the pricing is very robust, but the gains [in valuation] have been more limited in places like Houston,” notes Sam Chandan, president and chief economist with Chandan Economics. “These are markets where individual core assets will trade at high valuation, but it’s still not comparable to D.C., New York or San Francisco.”

According to Russell Ingrum, of brokerage CB Richard Ellis, the way to best describe the current environment is there is macro weakness, but there is a lot of micro strength. This could be the new hope for commercial real estate across the country. A focus on what’s going right as it defies overall weakness in the economy.

But what are the positives and negative of this type of financing? That’s what this article is about.
One of the best features of this type of financing is long term fixed rates. 5, 10, and 15 year fixed rates are available. As of this writing rates are competitive compared to conventional bank loans, ranging from 5% – to 6% (The longer the fixed period the higher the rate) often only 30 basis points higher than bank financing.

Also, because life companies are not banks they do not they do not have the same underwriting standards and typical limitations that banks do. This is not to suggest that they are not conservative, which they are. For example most of them are capped at 65% loan to value and 1.3 to 1.35 debt coverage ratios and only like general use properties such as retail, office or industrial. But still they can and will do things that banks cannot. Such as “cash out refinances”, which is currently nonexistent with banks in this market.

Another benefit includes that they do mostly investment properties loans which is still difficult to get done with most banks. The underwriting process is also simplified as life companies normally lend their own money and hold onto and service loans over their life, rather than pooling them and selling them on Wall Street. So for the borrower this means that they don’t have to perfectly fit into a restrictive “Box”.

There are negatives though with working with Life Companies. And they are considerable. Expensive pre payment penalties, higher loan fees and large upfront deposits top the list.

As far as pre payments penalties are concerned the longer the fixed period the higher the pre pay. And they are structured as a yield maintenance type pre pays. Which can be exceedingly expensive.

The loan fees with life companies are normally 2 or 3 time higher than with banks. Expect a minimum of 2% and most likely 3%. Part of the reason here is that borrowers are not allowed to work directly with the lenders but have to go through a correspondent and both parties normally charge at least 1%.

As far as up front deposits, unlike banks that normally require just 3rd party fees, such as appraisal, to be covered at the execution of a term sheet, life companies require borrowers to pay 1% at execution of the term sheet, plus third party fees and one more 1% after the lender issues a commitment letter. So on a $2,000,000 loan amount the borrower will likely have paid out $55,000 out of pocket to secure the loan.

This is before funding occurs. Life companies often put in writing the deposits are refundable if the loan is declined but many borrowers find it very difficult to write these checks.

Bank financing for investment properties less than $4,000,000 remains the better alternative – lower fees, less money at risk, lower pre pays, and lower rates are the reasons. We continue to close investment property loans as well as owner occupied and invite you to contact us for your purchase or refinance transaction.

In today’s business environment, we are seeing interest rates paid by financial institutions of 1% or 2%. The 30 year mortgage rate now is just a little more than 4%. Yet in Commercial Real Estate, we see cap rates being quoted at 10% to 12% for Commercial Investment Properties. So, one has to wonder, why isn’t this a slam dunk? Why isn’t money pouring into these investments? After all, if this is true, this seems like a license to print money.

In some cases, money is flowing toward these investments but before putting your life savings into one of these investments, refer to the opening paragraph – There is no such thing as a free lunch. In many cases, these deals simply are too good to be true. Understanding Investment Property and the way that these cap rates are figured is crucial to your decision to invest.

A cap rate is much like an interest rate. It is an expression of the equivalent return on a series of cash flows. It is based upon the concept of discounted cash flow, which will provide you with a present value of a series of cash flows that extend into the future. It turns out that if you assume that these cash flow last forever (are infinite) that the calculation is quite simple. (PV = CF / discount rate). To get cap rate, we simply rearrange this equation. (discount rate = CF / PV). For these purposes, we then call the discount rate the cap rate, use the sales price as the PV and use whatever the annual income is for the property as CF.

Well, the devil is in the details. First of all, we are assuming that the cash flows are certain and infinite. If you have a strong tenant and a long term lease, this is not really a killer. For periods of about 20 years or more, this is still a good estimate. Unfortunately, people are using these methods to calculate cap rates for much shorter lease terms when these cash flows are much less certain. Complicating this further, in some cases cap rates are being determined by assuming lease rates and terms for properties which are not fully occupied.

A follow up assumption is that the market is setting these high rates when properties devalue. Once again, if you have a quality property with a long term lease and a quality tenant, that is probably a good assumption. On the other hand, if you do not have all of these features, the market may simply be discounting the value of the asset because it understands that the lease terms are not long term or certain. Accordingly, the market understands that there may well be periods of vacancy and subsequent leases may be at reduced rates similar to current market conditions. That is of course, hard to measure but if you could measure it, I suspect you would end up with an expected cap rate more in line with interest rates offered by other investment choices.

A purist might claim that the market is correctly calculating the cap rate and that the high rate simply reflects increased risk associated with this investment opportunity. However it is clear that not all investment properties choices are equal. Given equal cap rates, a property with long term leases in place with a low risk tenant would clearly be a better investment than one having short terms leases or weak tenants which simply assumes everything will work out.

Marketing Materials

Put together a professional flyer outlining the spaces for lease. A good flyer will have pictures of the shopping center or office building and the space, information on the space such as its size and dimensions as well as location in the property, a site plan of the property, demographic information about the market area, traffic counts of the adjoining streets, an aerial depicting the area and showing other traffic generators, and your contact information.

Leasing Signage

You should have a sign at the main entryways and corners of the property as well as a sign in each vacancy in the property which has your contact information. Always have these signs done professionally.

Vacancy Preparation

Showing the space in a positive light is tantamount when marketing it. Have the space thoroughly cleaned with old or stained carpeting removed if it doesn’t show well, the walls repaired and painted, and ceiling tiles and light fixtures repaired and cleaned. You can stage the unit to help in leasing it. If it is unlikely that the next tenant can utilize the improvements in the space, remove them and place the space in a “vanilla shell” condition. Remember to also make sure that the outside of the space looks clean and fresh.

Internet Marketing

A good commercial real estate marketing program advertises the available unit on the web by putting it in LoopNet, CoStar, Catalyst, eProperty, Craigslist or any of the other many internet sites including their own. Also, sending out email blasts to the brokerage community and to potential tenants is a must to get the vacancy known.

Advertising

Other forms of advertising would include distributing the flyer to potential tenants, placing fliers in a folder by the front door of the available unit, and placing an ad in a trade publication or the local and regional newspapers.

Trade Shows

Always attend the regional and national trade shows for the industry where there are always potential tenants to talk with.

Qualify Prospects

When you are talking on the phone to prospects always ask them qualifying questions prior to setting an appointment with them. Qualifying questions would include getting information about their experience, the type of business they want to open, how they are going to finance the business and when they want to open the business. Always put together a financial form and credit check form that a prospective client can fill out as a part of their qualifying to lease the space.

Treat Potential Tenants with Respect

Always return their phone calls as soon as possible. Be on time for appointments and ask qualifying questions as you tour the space pointing out the benefits of the space and discussing the market area and the buildings. Put a lock box on the space for ease of showings and convenience.

Lease Agreement

Make sure that you have a lease agreement that is acceptable in the community and for the type of property you lease. Also, know how to negotiate the various points in the lease or hire a professional to handle the matter for you.

Long Term Loans – These loans are up to 10 years in length, are fixed rate loans, usually have a prepayment penalty and are typically amortized over 30 years.

Short Term Loans – These loans are typically up to 3 years in length, have lower interest rates than long term loans and are typically amortized for less than 30 years. These commercial real estate mortgages may suit you if you plan on selling the property within a short period of time and overall would cost you less because it doesn’t have a prepayment penalty.

Conduit Loans – These mortgages usually have low interest rates, with long amortization periods and can be nonrecourse loans. Nonrecourse means that you are not personally liable for the loan. These are good for properties that are stable with credit tenants.

Small Business Administration (SBA) Loans – These loans are insured by the SBA, given through SBA approved lenders and they have some of the most favorable terms such as low down payments, lengthier loan terms, as much as 40 year amortizations and low interest rates. Most of these loans are given to owners who occupy at least 51% of the property and can be used as a construction loan if you occupy at least 60% of the building.

Construction Loans – This type of financing is taken out to fund the construction of a project to completion or leasing to a certain percentage. These commercial real estate mortgages are usually done on a draw basis where the lender funds as the project is being built, have interest only payments and are usually for one to three years in length. Usually, they require a take-out loan commitment at the end of the term.

Mezzanine Loans – Most of these loans go with a permanent or construction loan, as lenders won’t exceed 80 percent loan-to-value. These loans stack on top of the other loan to get you up to a 90 percent loan-to-value. These are usually done on larger projects and they are typically not secured by a mortgage or deed of trust, but they are secured by a security agreement against the ownership’s stock in the LLC.

Bridge Loans – This type of financing is short term financing used to bridge the gap between finding a permanent loan and closing the permanent financing. They help to fund deals quickly.

Stated Income/No Documentation Loans – This type of loan doesn’t require borrowers to show proof of monthly income or income tax returns. This typically requires that you have good credit, the property must have solid cash flow and the property must be in excellent shape.

Hard Money Loans – These loans typically require a large down payment, have high interest rates and require you to pay three to ten points for the loan. These loans can usually close quickly and don’t require good credit. You might use this loan if you have found a really good deal and need money quickly.

As you can see there are many types of commercial real estate mortgages. It is important that you match the loan to your plan for the property. Using leverage or borrowing money on the property can be a good thing if used in the proper manner and matched to your goals. The wrong loan for the property can be a disaster waiting to happen.

A new business trend has emerged in the market. Due to the high cost of living, businessmen have found alternative ways of establishing themselves. Many entrepreneurs are now using virtual offices and serviced premises. Serviced offices are apartments that allow people to put up a trade of their choice. These premises come without the expenses of sourcing, managing, or furnishing.

Operating businesses in leased premises can cause many problems in the future. Leases restrict entrepreneurs to a fixed address until the expiry of the contract. This can pose a huge loss in cases where the business has to expand to operate efficiently. If an organization needs to expand globally, binding agreements prevent any form of progress. Serviced offices allow you room for flexibility and grant you freedom to respond to change.

Companies offering serviced office space also provide a wide range of services to their clients. Besides having a notable business address, the client organization can also benefit from furniture and cleaning services. The cost of furniture can be overwhelming for small scale businesses. Furniture equipment can be helpful to beginners who only have operational capital. The task of looking for cleaning agents is unnecessary in serviced offices. The service companies offer reliable cleaners to their clients.

Many serviced offices come with staffed reception desks, refreshment facilities, IT infrastructure, IT and phone connectivity.Some of these services are very expensive to acquire, and it is cheaper to have them included in the cost of renting the offices. Moreover, for those who may be willing to launch businesses on short notice, these essential offers save them a lot of time.

The overall cost of using this kind of workspace is far cheaper than leasing premises mostly due to the lack of a binding lease. Although all the services provided factor heavily on the pricing, this rooms are cost effective. There are huge costs associated with shifting to new premises, hiring staff, acquiring particular services. In most cases, businesses may take up to one month or longer to settle in new addresses. However, renting serviced offices reduces time and effort spent in reestablishment of organizations.

Serviced offices are suitable for large, medium and small organizations. Large organizations can move part of their businesses in these premises. For medium businesses, it is possible to move an entire operation into a serviced office in a short time. Small businesses stand to benefit from the lowered costs. A start-up company can use a serviced office as an interim measure before they are operational.

In sum, they need not be temporary residences used by people who have run out of space solutions. These premises serve various purposes and are suitable for any kind of business. Serviced offices have low costs and come with numerous benefits to their occupants.

Commercial rest estate has a natural habit of falling behind the rest of the economy during tough times. The troubled economic times during the past two years has caused a negative impact on sales and rental of units throughout the country. It is looking, at least in the near future, to cause continued lower occupancy rates in various properties that have been hard to advertise and move.

The upside may come from an increase in consumer spending and their confidence in the economy. With more consumers out spending, more entrepreneurs will be likely to open business doors and get into the retail market. This should translate into more rental properties being leased and increased income for property owners. This may be due to more families moving from homes to apartments.

Another vital area that may help the slumping commercial property market is bank activity. Banks are becoming more open to extending commercial credit to business owners in 2011, which will be a vital part of recovery in this area. The situation is also helped by the Federal Reserve’s Asset-Backed Loan Facility. This helps to support lenders to give longer terms those who already have commercial loans. With the extensions, many business owners can stay in business and keep renting valuable commercial property.

Those who have office space for lease have suffered drops in rental space over the last three years. This encompassed not only space that is currently for lease, but also newer office space that is being constructed. For example, the industry saw vacancy rates in 2009 that went from 16.3 percent up to 17.6 percent.

Another commercial real estate area that has seen challenging times is in apartment and residential rental properties. There has been a bright spot here, though. The vacancy rate has actually dropped from 7.4 percent and may get down to around the 6.1 percent mark as we close out 2011.

Retail rental spaces have also seen drops in the past years, such as a rate of 12.7 vacancy rate in 2009. The overall rental space has suffered a steady rate of decline into 2011 as well, challenging property owners and realtors to bring in new business. The new actions by the government, consumer confidence and banks should hopefully help to alleviate this situation.

It is considered as a steady progress for commercial property markets all over the world. In markets like India, commercial property in Gurgaon has seen an increase even though the property volumes are still well below the levels. In the metropolitan cities of India, commercial property is witnessing continual investor demand. People still look at property as one of the strong core assets; but due to lack of market guidance, it hinders direct investment volumes. As more and more developers barge in the industry with their products, investment is projected to increase.

Meanwhile, the South American region experienced a 27% decline in commercial real estate investment volume in the third quarter, amounting up to $12 billion. Considerable declines occurred in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Chile but Argentina saw some increase in volumes.. In spite of everything, on comparing the results of the same quarter last year, volume in the South America region was up by 25% over 2010, where investment reached $17 billion. For the South American market, first half of the year posted somewhat stronger increases in the commercial property arena over the corresponding periods of the last one decade.

Although the demand in real estate in Indian region is rising, the investors are advised to follow the right guidelines to nail the best commercial property. You must be forewarned that without the right perspective about investing in commercial property in Gurgaon, you will not be able to get onto the right track or stick with it for the long haul.

Commercial property in Gurgaon is rising because people now have more purchasing power. As their income is rising, so are their requirements. Of course buying multi-crore properties is not something most people can qualify for, though they can invest in smaller property deals and get benefit out of it. It is advisable thought that while buying commercial property in Gurgaon, it is always beneficial to know people who can help you find the right deal.

Buyers are also expected to exercise caution in terms of location, rate structure, practicability and basic infrastructure, as for some of the highly known brands have suffered major financial losses by not considering these factors in the beginning.

Pros of a Fixed Price Property Management

The main advantage that you can get from a fixed price property management service is that you will be spending a fixed amount regardless of how much money your property could generate. It can either be an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on the performance of the property, but let us assume that it can generate $10,000 per month. If you are going get a commission-based property management, you will be spending 30%, in most cases, of the total revenue, which is $3,000 for this example. A fixed price property management service on the other hand will be charging a lesser, say $1,000 per month, which increase your total revenue every month.

Cons of a Fixed Price Property Management

A fixed price service is only disadvantageous for you if the property that you have doesn’t work well to generate more than what you are going to spend for the company. Everything looks good if your property could generate $10,000 per month, right. But what if you are only generating less than $1,000? That is exactly the problem of a fixed price service; you need to spend the same amount for years regardless of the income that you are generating from it. Aside from this, you cannot expect the company to do everything to increase the income that you are generating from your property, since the payment that you will be making on them won’t depend on the income that you generate from the property.

To make it easier for you to choose, a small property or something that is not performing well would be best with a commission-based service. Those are the huge or are performing far better than expected would be great with a fixed price service. Both option will work for you, depending on the performance of the property that you have, so it would be better if you are going to take it into consideration first.

What all can you expect to be taken care of by property management services? For starters, you can expect them to be at all board meetings. This is extremely important to them as it is the time they can share what they have been doing. By requesting attendees to share their concerns, or areas they want to improve, every member involved in the commercial building has the chance to achieve what they desire. Whether you want to share your thoughts in these meetings or not is your choice. If you want more privacy with your requests you can do this by communicating solely with the property manager who will speak for you. Everyone has the right to bid and with the help and recommendations from property managers every member will leave these meetings satisfied.

Aside from assuring that the commercial building runs smoothly and everyone involved has a chance to speak, property management also keeps track of legal data and finances. Any paper work can be trusted in their hands. With commercial buildings there will be mounds of important documents that can be easily lost or thrown away. When given to property managers they will organize them and present the financial situation in board meetings. By having someone keep track of the expenses for the entire commercial structure you are able to see where you can bring down costs and where you can afford to improve.

Another thing property management offers commercial buildings is the promise of their help at any time of day when needed. With large structures, problems are occurring all the time that need immediate attention. Whether it is a problem with the building or an employee they will be happy to put an end to it. With employees there can be problems with them not following the set of rules designed by the board. In order to make for an ideal structure they will enforce the rules to bring peace back in the workplace. You can be sure to count on property management to keep your commercial building a place you are happy to be a part of.

The strategy behind leasing vacant space should incorporate the facts and pressures of the local property market. Here are some ideas to help:

1. Established rentals from comparable properties will have impact on the way in which you market your property today. For this reason it pays to survey and research the other available vacant properties.
2. Look at the trends of the agreed rentals and leases over the last two years so that any rental benchmarks can be identified.
3. Local levels of supply and demand will change if any new property developments are expected to soon be released on to the market. Keep on top of the approvals for new developments by regularly visiting the local planning office.
4. Changes to the local property precinct or zoning within the local development plan may also have an impact on your leasing strategies. You should have a current copy of the local development plan and understand the criteria of the nominated zonings as they impact occupancy and property usage.
5. The proximity of any comparable properties nearby that will compete with the subject property will have impact on your marketing campaign. On this basis your marketing campaign should be more professional and more pronounced than the competition properties.
6. Understand and study the reputation and history of your property in the local business community. Are there any identity factors which could frustrate or enhance the marketing campaign? What is the history of the property as the community sees it? Is it good or bad?
7. The impact of lease incentives should be considered in any leasing strategy. The availability of lettable space in the local area will have a direct flow through affect to the availability and type of lease incentives. Most experienced local agents will be tracking this incentive number and performance criteria.
8. The levels of enquiry in today’s market will vary from location to location. As the local real estate agent, you should have an idea of what the enquiry is doing and what they are looking for in today’s terms.
9. The target market that is most suitable for the vacant area should be identified and assessed for levels of enquiry. This is where the database maintained by the local real estate agent becomes critical in the leasing process.
10. Every property will have levels of improvements, services and amenities that support occupancy. These should be assessed for compliance and suitability to the target market. As a property gets older, its attractiveness to new tenants will become an issue unless the property is well maintained.

These are some of the important factors to consider in the leasing process of a commercial property. A specialist commercial real estate agent will handle these matters with efficiency and effectiveness. On that basis a property landlord will be wise to choose the local leasing agent with the greatest levels of experience and relevance to the property type.

Many of the condo developments overlook the waterfront, and a lot of these also have boat access, an added attraction for a certain type of interested party. They can be high, mid, or low rise buildings, in addition there are coach, or carriage homes available, plus town-type houses, and holiday homes, which prove extremely popular. Everything about Cape Coral just seems so classy, with architecture of the highest standard. Cleanliness leaps out at you, all the landscaping is to a quality specification and seems so sharp and eye catching.

The views are in the main, simply fantastic, always helped of course by the blue skies and shimmering heat. The tiny bays add to the scenery, making the purchase of any Cape Coral condo for sale, a much sought after transaction. The properties can be aimed at single or multi-families, so come with many different numbers of bedrooms and bathrooms, ranging from 2 up to in some cases 6 or even 7. The gardens are often shared, but are all impeccably kept and simply add to the attractiveness of the surroundings.

The Cape Coral economy is based on local government services, and promotes business relocation into the area. Retail, health care, and construction, also feature prominently too. The city has expanding private and public school systems, both of which perform to extremely high standards. Just like any progressive place, Cape Coral does not stand still, with developments constantly springing up and adding to the already excellent assets it has in its location. Culturally, a 180 seater facility for performing arts, is always very well received, plus the historical museum allows visitors and residents alike, a chance to retrace the incredible journey the city has taken in its brief 54 year history.

As this city is situated in Florida, the wildlife is full of interesting species. The area supports dolphins, gopher tortoises, song birds, waterfowl, wading birds, and all manner of reptiles. Within the boundaries is Rotary Park which is the adopted home of raptors, foxes and some of the most beautiful butterflies on the planet. If nature influences decisions, then a Cape Coral condo for sale ought to be snapped up quickly, because there are some of the most exotic creatures in the state, right on the doorstep. Basically, this city just oozes quality.

You can develop a presentation model which focuses your listing sales pitch and system. Here are some ideas to help:

1. Every listing that you pitch for should be a prepared process. That means inspecting the property before the presentation, and understanding the precinct in which it’s positioned. Take plenty of photographs of the property so that you can use the photographs as a ‘slide show’ on your lap top computer during the presentation. This has far more impact on the client than showing them other properties or general presentational slides. The client’s property is more important to them than anything else. That is why the photographs of their property attract their attention and sustain it. You can talk to the pictures and they will listen.
2. Your confidence in the presentation should come through in many aspects. This will be in how you appear, your knowledge of the property, the facts and performance of the local property market, the needs of the client, and your strategy to handle their property pain. If these elements are lacking in any way, it is likely that you will not win the listing.
3. The pitch for the property listing should be a two way process. This means plenty of questions to the client built around your ideas and strategies; this helps break up your listing pitch and the client does not feel that you are ‘selling them’.
4. The client wants to be understood from the outset so respect their ideas and needs through deliberate questioning. When they say something, ask more questions around it and paraphrase their comment into your words. This shows the client that you respect and understand their opinion.
5. Every sales or listing pitch should be well organized and the information you need should be available at your fingertips. Understanding the history of the property and its position in the local area will help you greatly. Take a walk around the area surrounding the property before you do the listing pitch. It will give you fresh ideas and points of comment to be used in the presentation.
6. When the client objects, seek to understand what they are saying and why. Do not debate with them as it will ‘close the door’ on any positive outcome. Confidence is the key.
7. Every client wants to know that they are dealing with an experienced real estate agent. They want to choose the agent that really understands the local area and has the best skills in creating enquiry and negotiating to a final outcome. On this basis you should have some success stories to tell from the local market.
8. Exclusive listings or controlled listings are the best way to sell or lease a property. Your agency is then the selected agency to market the property over a given period of time. You can then focus on the required processes of target marketing and give the client accurate and timely feedback throughout the campaign. Should the client choose to move towards an open listing with many agencies, then the client should be explained the significant service difference between sole or exclusive agency and open agency. Open agencies only create a ‘tired property’ and frustrate the marketing process.
9. Vendor paid advertising in any listing situation is desirable from the outset. It allows the property to be correctly marketed in a directly designed program. In simple terms you can reach the right target audience.
10. Ask for the listing every time. Do not be afraid to go for a decision on the listing right there and then. If the client asks for more time, you will lose control of the listing pitch process.

In this property market when it comes to listing or your sales pitch, you must be focused on confidence, control, and information. Everything you say and do must be relevant to the property and the needs of the client.

When you’re trying to find a new property for your business, such as a new retail unit for your shop, or a new office for your company, then you’ll know that the market is full of options, but sometimes there are so many places to see and things to do that it can be quite difficult to find what you’re looking for straight away. So where do you start? Well, before you start viewing properties, it’s best to sit down and make a list of what you need at your new property. This list can include anything you like, but start with the basics first, such as toilets, a kitchen or kitchenette, internet access, a phone line, and most importantly during the winter: central heating. Once you’ve got down the basics, you can start looking at the specifics, such as what floor you want to be on, easy access for wheelchairs, if required, and security systems. Once you have your list you will find it a lot easier to narrow down the amount of properties that you will view.

Some people find it much easier if they have help from a third party when their looking for their ideal space, such as help from commercial property consultants, who will be able to guide you through the property they have on offer, and as they will have professional relationships with the owners of the buildings they are viewing, they will be able to advise you on the building, its history and any other information that you might need to know.

When you view properties, the temptation can be to go for the first property you see, but remember that there are other properties out there, so if you have time to spare, then use it wisely, view all the available properties. While this can take up a lot of time, it will be worth it, as you don’t want to move into a property that’s unsuitable for your business, or a property that’s not in a good condition.

You cannot make good commissions when you cut corners.

The common operational problems we see today are usually:

• Lack of support staff to assist the sales team with their listings, advertising, database, and contract or lease documentation processes.

• The sales team spending too much time on administrative duties therefore not getting into the market and meeting enough of the decision makers.

• Little or no database support to capture the qualified enquiry accurately and in a timely way.

• Little or no marketing material to assist the sales team with their sales presentations and pitches.

• Poorly constructed marketing campaigns that have little relevance to the property precinct or the listed property.

• Lack of consistent prospecting and cold calling systems and strategies on the part of the sales team.

• Sales staff that do not know how to handle technology in the presentation and marketing process.

• Selection of under experienced staff with little or no market presence.

Let’s face the facts; today’s commercial real estate market is challenging and competitive with many agents chasing the same listings. This means that your agency and the sales team should have all the required tools at their fingertips to move on a potential listing and take it to market as quickly and effectively as possible.

Marketing a property today is not an experiment for inexperienced salespeople; the clients and property owners that you deal with really require the best salespeople to help them complete the transaction as effectively as possible.

There is a place for having property cadets learning the trade behind your experienced people; this provides for some succession or growth in the sales team. There is no place for employing poorly skilled or untested salespeople in today’s market; they will cost you money and waste your time.

Key Strategies

Here are some key strategies to help you with the development of a real estate agency in today’s property market:

1. A new agency business with inadequate funding from the outset will be difficult to sustain momentum. It takes about six months of hard work to get an agency presence and dominance into the local precinct. Signage presence will always help you here but the skills, focus and consistent actions of the sales team will require funding for a solid period of time before leads and opportunities are easily coming to your office.
2. The agency should have an established business plan focusing on the periods of one year, two years, and five years. It takes about one or two years of sustained hard work with a successful sales and leasing team to break even. The second year will be the year for focusing on the generation of profit, leading into the five year business success plan.
3. The branding of your real estate office should be consistent across all marketing materials and signboards. All listings should receive a signboard at the time of listing. Signboard presence and dominance will strengthen your market share.
4. Always strive to get a sole agency or exclusive agency on the properties that you list. Some property markets will let you do this although open listings are more common at the early stages of opening a real estate office. The transition from taking open listings to exclusive listings should therefore be part of your business plan.
5. Staff training and development should be a regular weekly process. Even the most experienced salespeople will have issues to be developed and improved.
6. Technology has become a central part of the real estate business for both the agency and the individual salesperson. Up to date computers, mobile telephone technology, and database systems will be needed to support the sales team.
7. Build your property management portfolio wherever possible from the successful sales and leasing transactions that you undertake. It is a well-known fact that property management portfolio fees will assist the commercial agency to function over the long term during dips or troughs in the property market or economy. The property management portfolio will also become a saleable commodity if extra cash flow is required in the future within the agency.

When you plan your agency business well you can move forward with the right steps. Always test and measure your progress so you can see when something is not working; then take the right remedial action to fix it.

The city has many notable residents including: actress Angela Watson, illustrator Echo Chernik, Olympian Jason Smith, Stacy Carter the professional wrestler, former Major League Baseball Player Mike Greenwell, NFL players Greg Spires and Earnest Graham, plus Hilary Hemingway the writer and producer, who is also the niece of Ernest Hemingway, the Pulitzer and Nobel prize winning author. Its situation, just 14 miles from Southwest Florida International Airport, makes it all the more appealing as a great get away destination. Although there is no rail link to the city, bus services are very good, and a short trip across the Cape Coral Bridge into the adjoining city of Fort Myers, opens up even more options.

Many of the communities are continuing to grow, and lots of them are either boating or golfing themed. A high proportion of people who take up the lifestyle do so as a retirement plan. The Cape Coral real estate offers an added security for potential buyers, with many of the developments being gated. Amongst the most popular communities are: Cape Harbour, Blue Water, Island Cove, Four Mile Cove, Porto Vista, Pine Key, Tarpon Point, Trafalgar Woods, Tuscany Court, Marina View and Paradise Point, to name just a few.

Cape Coral is fundamentally a city of 4 quadrants, over an area of over 100 square miles. The northern quarters in the east and west are quieter, being a lot less populated, so for those wanting the quiet life these would be the areas to look at first. The south eastern sector is probably the most established, but the real activity seems to be in the south west, where many of the new builds are taking place. The Gulf of Mexico is accessible from all over the Cape, giving another great reason to move into the area.

The crime rate is extremely low and ranks very well when set alongside other Florida cities, indeed it is easy to forget that the city is in the sunshine state, as it is far removed from the hustle and bustle of the other major destinations. Analysts at the top of their profession are convinced that now is the best time to move into area, with prices of Cape Coral real estate offering excellent value. It really is a marvellous opportunity in the making and one that more and more people are becoming increasingly aware of.