The industrial property in Calhoun has finally closed.
- Location: Calhoun, Georgia
- Land: 4.78 acres
- Existing building: about 21,000 SF
Many people think buying commercial property in the US means signing a contract, getting a bank loan and letting the attorneys close it. In reality, this deal took almost a year from the first conversation to closing.
What happened in that year
- The purchase and sale agreement (PSA) went through many rounds of edits
- The buyer's and seller's attorneys kept trading revisions
- A 30-day due diligence period
- ALTA survey, title commitment, environmental review and zoning all re-checked
- The closing date moved twice
- In the last few days, I was on the phone with the listing agent and attorneys almost every day
At the hardest point, even I wondered whether it would close. In the end, it funded.
Commercial and residential are two different worlds
A home purchase is mostly about emotion and lifestyle. Commercial real estate is about cash flow, financing structure, land value, expansion potential, industrial zoning, future NOI, cap rate and exit strategy.
This project especially. The buyer was not just buying an old building. They saw that the land has room to expand: the real value may not be today's 21,000 SF but what the site can hold later.
Behind every opportunity is a lot of unglamorous work
People say opportunity is everywhere in America. Few see how much tedious, complicated back-and-forth sits behind a real one. For a commercial deal to close, attorneys, the bank, the surveyor, the title company, zoning, the buyer, the seller and the city and county all have to move at the same time.
After the last signature I sat in my car and felt like I had just finished a long fight. Congratulations to the buyer. I am sure great things are ahead.
The property is now for lease, for trucking, logistics, warehousing or yard use.
