Found property and am comfortable negotiating- Still needRealtor?

Question

We own a 4 unit building with limited parking and the Jiffy Lube next door is for sale. We are interested in buying it to have two properties and to be able to increase parking. (do you like this idea?) We have located the property ourselves and feel comfortable in a negotiating environment-- Do we still need a commercial realtor? Would we be doing a disservice to ourselves by using a real estate lawyer to review the documents and handle the rest by ourselves? What would a real estate realtor do for us that we couldn't do with the assistance of an attorney?

Andrew Fielder · Answer

@David M. Have you thought about just asking the selling agent if you can do that? There's nothing that says you can't ask these questions to the selling agent and get their advice. I honestly don't think you need a buyers agent for a small commercial property. You will probably have to pay an acquisition fee as commercial agents don't like to share fees on the sell side. So for what I assume is a smaller commercial transaction ie. less than $5M you don't need one.

Joel raised the same point I was going to bring up. If it's just the property and not the business that's for sale there will be something in the lease that talks abut parking. If there's 20 parking spaces currently and in the lease it states a minimum of 5 spaces must be allocated to Jiffy Lube then it's probably fine. However it's all dependent on the lease. I'm sure most attorneys would be able to give you the right advice but obviously a real estate lawyer covers all your bases. If you trust your attorney and they're confident they can handle it you're probably fine.

Russell Brazil · Answer

Well are you versed enough in the law to go it alone? Many people think they are but really have no clue about the laws in place.

The real questions here...if the property is listed....is there any reason not to use an agent? Many people think they can negotiate a better deal by cutting an agent out...and it just isnt true. You will just make the listing agent happy on many fronts.  When an unrepresented buyer tries to buy one of my listings....they get robbed blind, and I convince them of what a great deal they got, then I make twice as much as I would have since there is no buyers agent to pay.

Joel Owens · Answer

Jiffy Lube the business is for sale or the building and land it sits on?

If it's not the business I am sure Jiffy Lube corporate or the franchisee would have some things to say about taking up their parking to use as overflow for the building you own next door. There are likely certain lease protections built in for the tenant.

For an attorney get a commercial attorney and not a residential real estate attorney or a general practitioner. They tend to not be as experienced and make a lot of mistakes.

A commercial broker brings a lot of value to the table. The attorney usually looks at legal aspects but not at many other facets of a transaction or property. They all work hand in hand together.

If you do not want to use a commercial broker and an attorney and want to go it alone you just will not have the right to complain later is something doesn't go as expected.

If the seller has it listed or even if it isn't listed. I usually put in my LOI fee upfront that the seller will pay XX at closing,as a condition of closing.

David M. · Answer

Other than robbing or preventing someone from getting robbed blind-- what else would they do? for example I said its a jiffy lube, would a realtor help check tax liens or suggest environmental tests?

Found property and am comfortable negotiating- Still needRealtor?

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