How to Get Your Commercial Property Ready to Sell in 2020

The world has completely changed in the last few months and it can seem overwhelming to consider selling in the current market. There are still, though, plenty of opportunities for you to advance with the selling of your commercial property.

While it is a buyer’s market, the buyers are out there and looking for good investments. You will need to prepare thoroughly in order to appeal to them but, if you are able to do this, you can seal the deal and make your sale.

Read on for advice on how best to do this.

Provide extensive information

Buyers that are looking for the perfect investment will be drawn to those properties that are able to provide them with as much information as possible. Crafting the perfect listing will mean outlining all of the important features of your property so that buyers can see immediately whether this is the right opportunity for them.

You should include the tenure and location of the property, of course. Besides this, include the square footage- usually only of the floor space that is able to be used for conducting business. The price of a property per square footage or meter is an important point of comparison for buyers. If you need help to provide the buyer with the exact information about your property, you can refer to eXp Realty Canada, especially if you are living in the area of British Columbia.

Explain the zoning permission of your property or the planning class. Outlining this information will allow a buyer to see whether the property can be used for their intended purpose or what they can use it for in the future.

For example, in the UK, if a property is classed as B2 it can be used for general industrial purpose and if it is A4 it is zoned for use as a restaurant. There are situations where the use of a commercial property can change without the need to get permission. This is usually in the case of changing within the same category such as ‘A’.

The location of properties that are used for retail, restaurants or the like are particularly important. Therefore, any ad for these should involve details about the neighbourhood and foot traffic.

Prepare the property

Getting the premises looking its best can go a long way in making a sale. You need to do general maintenance and fix anything that is looking a bit worse for wear.

Ultimately, you want the buyer to be able to envision themselves running the business. Creating the right setting for this image will often take a lick of paint and a lot of cleaning.

You will also need to get high-quality images and, perhaps, video of the property that can accompany the ad. Particularly as the whole world has moved increasingly online- especially after the pandemic. Buyers want to be able to get a good idea of what they are investing their time and effort into before they see the property in person.

Deciding on a value

It can be a tricky task landing on the right value for your property- even more so when the market is very different to what it was six months ago. Ideally, though, you want to compare your property to others that are similar to yours so that you can make sure you are competitive.

Getting help from a professional will allow you to have confidence settling on the advised value. There are several ways that professional will determine the value of your property.

Communication

The most important part of any negotiation is communication. You need to keep communication open with the buyer and the buyer’s solicitor. Draw up a Heads of Terms and share as much information with the buyer as possible about the property.

They will be conducting due diligence before purchasing and so hiding anything from them that comes up later will only scare them off the deal. If you communicate with the buyer, they are less likely to be scared off by small problems.

Author: Bruce Hakutizwi, USA and International Accounts Manager for BusinessesForSale.com, the world’s largest online marketplace for buying and selling small and medium size businesses.  Bruce has over 7 years’ experience working within the US business transfer marketplace connecting buyers and sellers.