The property is planned to be repositioned with the existing buildings to be refurbished and leased with a phase II freestanding industrial development to take place over the next 24 months.

9/1/2010 – Centermark Commercial R.E. 713-461-4750

Many business owners wait until the last minute to stare their search.  This compromises their ability to negotiate and hold out for the ideal property.  On the other hand, if you start 6 months out, you are probably wasting your time because most landlords will not hold the space for 6 months until they get rent.

A few tips when thinking about begining your search:

• Locate a qualified commercial broker…preferably one experienced in the type of commercial real estate you need (i.e. office, industrial, retail, etc.)
• Take a good look at your current facility needs and forecast 5 years out.
• Be sure you are not able to obtain additional space or give up space at your current location to make staying feasible.
• Start your search 90 days out, given you can be fully moved in 2 weeks.
• Open up your parameters as much as possible and then narrow down as the results allow.  Being too specific in the beginning may cause you to miss out on an opportunity just outside narrow guidelines.

Be patient, ask questions and understand your needs so your broker can better assist you.

If you have any questions about commercial real estate, feel free to call us at:

Centermark Commercial Real Estate/713.461.4750 office

Eric Hughes

EricHughes@CentermarkRealEstate.com

Hopefully, we are nearing the end of the fallout on commercial loans.  However, the result of the madness may have permanently reshaped the landscape of loan underwriting thereby changing the future of new commercial development.

Before the drama, a qualified developer could get financing on a pure spec development (i.e. no tenants, all vacant) on terms of 60% loan to value…sometimes even better, with interest only and no real principal reduction required for up to 48 months.  This combined with over inflated appraisals led to loans teetering on default with even the hint of slow lease up.

Fast forward to 2nd qtr. 2010.  While brokerage is my bread and butter and what I really feel I am best at, I also am involved in several joint venture developments.  Although our group has impeccable credit and deal history, we are unable to secure ANY bank/lender money for purely speculative development.  Unless we have a strong tenant in tow for at lease 40% of the project, the only funding that is available is private.  Thankfully, our stable of investors provides us the equity required to pursue the industrial developments with which we have done so well.

This model will become the new norm with smaller spec development deals.  Funded all out of cash thru private investors.  While this definetly can limit the transaction size, it does have its advantages.

• Quick closing process
• No lender origination fees, appraisal fees, bank inspection fees
• No interest expense

There will always be people with more money than sense.  I continue to see development, primarily retail, going up around the Houston area which makes no sense.  Why build in a depressed market which is already oversupplied with product?

Banks are still shedding assets a record pace and this will probably continue for sometime.  There are some great deals out there for tenants, investors and user-investors as well.   You just have to know where to look and what to ask.

If you have office, industrial warehouse or retail needs, please contact us.

Eric Hughes – Broker
 

________________________________________
Centermark Commercial Real Estate
800 W. Sam Houston Parkway N., Suite 300
Houston, Texas  77024
  Office             (713) 461-4750
  Fax                (888) 889-7540
  Cell                (281) 236-9553
 
EricHughes@CentermarkRealEstate.com
www.CentermarkRealEstate.com
www.linkedin.com/in/centermarkrealestate

After 13 years with TNRG, I have formed a new commercial real estate brokerage firm.  CenterMark Commercial Real Estate is focused on Industrial and Office brokerage, with over 18 years of direct warehouse and office leasing, sales and development.  We offer a streamlined approach to servicing our clients and implement “out of the box” strategies for marketing listings and finding property for our customers.

We thrive on challeging circumstances and feel we have the experience and track record which allows us to get deals closed.

Our goal…

To provide our clients thorough, accurate results and bring significant value to transactions that close in a timely manner.

A broker’s job is to bring value to the deal.  How?

• Bring together a market buyer/seller or lessor/lessee.
• Recognize and suggest value add improvements to maximize return on investment.
• Negotiate pricing based on superior market knowledge and skills.
• Understand the sophisticated economic structures of commercial sale and lease transaction.
• Treat all parties ethically, fairly and with honesty.

We are excited about our new endeavor and look forward to adding to our list of long-time customers.  If you have warehouse or office for lease or are looking for a warehouse or office to lease we are your best option.  If you need to sell a warehouse or office or are looking to lease a warehouse or office…again, we are the best option.

Best Regards,

Eric Hughes – Broker/Owner

CenterMark Commercial Real Estate – EricHughes@CenterMarkRealEstate.com

713.461.4750 Office

]]> http://commercialrealestatebrokerhouston.com/?feed=rss2&p=69 0 http://commercialrealestatebrokerhouston.com/?p=65 http://commercialrealestatebrokerhouston.com/?p=65#comments Sat, 10 Apr 2010 21:13:08 +0000 ehughes http://commercialrealestatebrokerhouston.com/?p=65 Every large MSA is unique in its style of office architecture and available lease space, and Houston is no exception.  However, the Bayou City seems to have a void yet to be filled.  That void is office space built to resemble the converted from older, exposed beam warehouses and buildings or actual converted historic buildings.  Loft type office space is in demand and there is not much of it…especially outside the downtown and heights areas. 

Why is “loft” type office in short supply?

This slim supply is partially due to the relative young age of Houston and also in part a result of lagging preservation of historic buildings.  The older style of loft structures comes from some of the first warehouses and manufacturing facilities which featured concrete roofs and often two to three floors.  As technology changed, Houston began to see more steel frame construction or concrete walled buildings with built up tar roofs over steel panels.  The days of the concrete roofs where numbered as multi-floored warehouses were replace with high clear buildings and modern racking systems.   As demand for housing and office space near the downtown Houston area increased, developers did not think twice about demolishing many of the historic structures to make way for modern, more efficient buildings.

With a booming population and growing business centers located on the outskirts of Houston and in surrounding suburbs, the need for office space to lease in these areas often outpaces supply.  The trend of “green” LEED certified buildings unfortunately is rarely mixed with the older “loft” style design.

While style and design are personal preferences, it would be nice to see a few new office projects laid out along the lines of the older loft style combined with modern, effecient materials and mechanicals.  The layouts can be very efficient as a result of the open concept.

If you are in need of office space to lease in Houston and desire an architectural layout like the old warehouses in the downtown area, you best find a very knowledgeable and resourceful office broker to assist you in your endeavor.

Eric Hughes – Commercial Real Estate Broker – 281-236-9553 Cell

Office and Industrial Specialist

www.Warehousefinder.NET  * www.LeaseOfficeHouston.com  *  www.CommercialRealEstateBrokerHouston.com

Email us at Info@Warehousefinder.NET

Commercial loans

The report estimated that $1.4 trillion worth of commercial loans will be due between 2010 and 2014, and more than half are considered “underwater,” meaning more is owed than the property is worth. Mortgages on apartments and other multifamily housing make up about a fourth of all commercial loans.”
Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/04/02/2086404/texas-tenants-may-feel-fallout.html#ixzz0k31EimTH

As a commercial real estate broker and owner of commercial property, I have mixed feelings on the future of commercial real estate as it relates to potential foreclosures and the collateral damage extending to the consumer.  It does not take a rocket scientist to understand that owners got greedy, pushed rent rolls to the extreme and under-reported expenses in order to maximize leverage.  Irresponsible accounting combined with a horrible economic climate compounded the problem and now there is potentially in excess of $700mm dollars in commerical assets which may be worth less than what is owed in the property’s loan.  Not mentioned in the article is another problem.  Even on “above water” properties, many lenders are unable or unwilling to renew or refinance existing loans as they mature thereby hanging the borrower out with no resource to pay the existing loan balance and thus creating another foreclosure situation.  So, not a pretty picture for many owners and lenders.

Who stands to prosper?  Attorneys, accountants and savvy investors with cash.

My real estate attorney friends are reaping a windfall of profitable foreclosure work and will continue to do so for several years, in my opinion.  With foreclosures come bankruptcies…and more legal work, more fees, and more padding the attorney’s pockets.

All of the fallout revolves around accounting and therefore requires CPA services and creates more work for accounting firms.

And lastly, the cash laden investor who has a good commercial real estate broker hunting for value add investment property on the brink of foreclosure.  With several such pre-foreclosure sales in the works now with my investors, I can tell you from experience that there are some incredible deals to be had in the market today.  As things continue to flow back to the lenders, I feel more outstanding “value add” properties will surface.  90% of these deals never make to market as they are scooped up behind the scenes through attorney, lender, broker and investor relationships.  These “brother and law” transactions are good for buyers but absolutely destroy any hope of getting a true market price for the properties.  This further stifles property values, worsens lender losses and adds salt to the wound of the borrower.  Again great news if you are an investor sitting with cash.  Another opportunity for investors with cash is to offer funds to the “trapped” borrowers to payoff the existing loans at the cost of exorbitant interest rates and loan fees with short payoffs and low LTV’s.  These are last chance lenders  who stand to either make a substantial return on the money lended provided the borrower performs…or in the event of default, get the asset back with a very low basis and still be way ahead of the pack.

Make no mistake, there are and will be hundreds of millions of dollars made in this “down” economy.  How deep the fallout…and profit, is yet to be seen.

Eric Hughes – Commercial Real Estate Broker

Centermark Commercial Real Estate/713.461.4750 office

National Search site:     www.Warehousefinder.NET

The often missed step here is finding a smaller facility with all the utilities in place for the existing office and then adding the warehouse as needed.  Very rarely can you, especially in today’s market, build for less than you can purchase a comparable existing industrial facility.

For example, let’s say you need 100,000 SF of office warehouse, of which 5,000 SF is office.  You could theoretically add warehouse to a 5,000 SF office building, provided adequate land area exists.  While that is an extreme example, it is feasible.  The more realistic alternative to this scenario is locating a 20,000 SF + office warehouse with extra land and adding the warehouse area.  This size facility is more likely to have the office area, parking and electrical service you will require for your ultimate layout.

Why can this be cost effective?  An existing facility with offices, restrooms and potentially other utilities such as natural gas, already has some of the more costly construction items in place.  The cost to add office area from the slab up can be $45 PSF+.  The cost to add plain metal warehouse can be as cheap as $15 PSF, including the slab!    Not to mention your architectural and permitting should be a breeze compared to full drawings for utilities, office, curb cuts, etc.  You may still have to cover detention for any increase in impervious coverage on the site and its related drainage.

So open your mind to smaller properties with the office you need (or close) with immediate warehouse expansion in mind and you may save a substantial amount of time and money.  Hire a qualified commercial real estate broker…preferably one with some development experience.

Eric Hughes

Eric@commercialrealestatebrokerhouston.com

(713) 744-7402 office direct

(281) 236-9553 cell

Hempstead 8311 Flyer

7,882 SF total (6,518 SF warehouse/1,364 SF office)

$725,000 sale  /  Call for lease info

This property is fully fenced and paved with great access and visiblity inside the 610 Loop on Houston’s NW side.  Great for any service company,  light storage, manufacturing or an office conversion.  Click on the link above for more information.

This is one of several listings which TNRG has in the area.