There are always questions that come up when dealing with commercial real estate, whether it is about leasing a space (from the tenant's or landlord's perspective), how NNN expenses work, what an LOI should look like, etc…
For so many people, it is not something that they do every day — so why not tap into resources that do deal with it every day? Of course, I'll be happy to answer any questions that you have. Feel free to email me at nathan [at] bandazian.com (broken down a bit to keep the spammers guessing).
BUT, the reason for this post is to bring another resource to your attention. It is in beta/testing mode right now, but the folks at Loopnet.com have made a push into a Q&A forum that I like quite a bit. I have already answered a few questions, and would love to find more that are waiting for answers! Not only will it be a great resource for the general public, but also a good resource for agents talking with agents. (click here for a Q&A about the Q&A forum)
(And I suspect that particularly good topics that arise in the LoopNet Answer section may spawn blog posts here, as well.)
A few features I would like to see Loopnet add:
-a way to mark certain threads to watch,
-search feature to see if a question has been covered before
-a way to bring up questions that a user has asked/answered
-notification when someone comments on a thread that I started or answered
I do have a word of caution for you when consulting these Q&A's, though: keep in mind that not only do laws differ from state to state, but also customary practices differ. It is always best to consult with a broker/agent that is familiar with your particular market. (search here, if you need recommendations)
That being said, it is also helpful to find out what is customary in other markets and to see if perhaps it is time to change local customs for the better.
Happy questioning/answering
The commercial market is going through what the residential market has been going through. The same psychological and emotional points on the moves through the market decline, draws the same reactions from buyer/sellers – lessor/lessees. It is the same in all markets, sellers don’t believe it, till prices are worst than they thought and buyers want more and more for less.
Our area, Bergen County New Jersey is starting to see a lot of vacancies. We are considered a blue chip area, with income and population. Rents got too high and business no longer followed t support it. The markets go through this cleansing. Then they will once again improve. Mean while it is damage control. The fastest out will survive.
Many many thanks for your blog. I really like it. It is very helpful for who are in need of housing. Thanks once again.
Nice post and helpful to take out the good information about the issue.
Deirdre G
It would be interesting to ask at this date….what is your current opinion of the commercial real estate market? I know there has been some subsantial contraction since this was posted.
BiggerPockets.com is another good place to get questions answered. The forum there has experts who are happy to participate and the result is more like a conversation than the quick one-off answers you often see in a Q and A format.
http://virginia.biz