Finding commercial tenants. New investor seeking advice

[Rachel Lysak]

I recently bought my first investment property. The top floor is a one bedroom apt and the bottom floor is commercial space that was most recently a liquor store. I won’t rent to another liquor store so I’m wondering if anyone knows of any resources for finding good commercial tenants. Ideally I would like to have a gourmet grocer in that space. They’d make a killing!

[Mike Holt]

I say you're on the right track. You can search for all the gourmet grocers near by and see if they are expanding or would like to relocate. You can post on ad on craiglist. Craigslist is a common place people search for small commercial spaces. You can also have a commercial real estate agent list it for you. If you go that route, their commission is payed all up front after the signing of the lease. Which is typically 3%-6% of the value of the entire lease. 

For example $1000 per month times 60 months = $60,000. 4% of $60k is $2400 due at signing.  

Tenants may also request TI's (tenant improvements) which is payed by the owner to remodel the space for the tenant. Typically this calls for higher rent because you are amortizing the cost throughout the lease. 

Hope this helps a little