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How to Tenant Your Commercial Property at Closing

Ever dream of buying a commercial property for sale that's vacant and then tenant it the day you close? It's the best of both worlds.  You get the forced appreciation that the tenant creates and you buy at a value based on zero income. We've worked with investors who've structured such deals. Here are 4 tips on how they've done it: 1.  Find a broker selling an empty building and ask them about tenants interested in the property. Work the tenant relationships through the broker to purchase and tenant at closing.  Remember, most owners selling vacant buildings don't want to reinvest in the property, so they won't have interest in tenants wanting their space.  They want to sell. 2.  Find a broker with a tenant or two in his pocket in the market for space.  Offer to buy them a building when they find what they want.  When you're in the right place at the right time, you can hit a double, triple, or even a home run. 3.  Prospect tenants directly.  Call on your relationships with companies looking to relocate and offer to assist them as an owner-partner. You'll handle the acquisition and build out of what they need if they'll agree to commit to a long-term leasing relationship.  Retail developers who work with CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, etc. know what they're seeking. They find it, obtain commitment, then build it. 4.  Call local and regional contractors who contacted by companies pricing build-to-suit projects.  Offer to acquire the site and finance the construction. They earn fees. You keep the building and tenant. Our most successful transactions have involved repositioning empty buildings by obtaining letters of intent from tenants and then sourcing investors to purchase the property.  Our seller clients are happy to sell and our investor clients are thrilled at obtaining a building at a discount with immediate upside built into the acquisition because of the new leases we put in place.