Time to Refresh

Refresh is a common word in our modern vernacular. It may be time to refresh your lease or your office space. I'd be willing to lend my time to review your lease, provide comments, enlighten you about market rents, and take a look at your digs to see if there may be a need or an opportunity to negotiate in a renewal situation.

Lock In Your Lease Now

I anticipate a slow and steady increase in commercial lease and sales activity. Rates and prices will remain level over the next 12 months.
Tenants:
Now is good time to negotiate a long term lease and lock in the rates landlords are offering.

Self Directed IRA - Real Estate

I’ve had a few discussions with people about self-directed IRAs and the possibility of investing your IRA in real estate, so I did some research and found some information about them and a group that specializes in them.

The answer is yes, you can tuck property into your retirement account.

Over the last few years, stocks have cratered. Despite their recent rebound, millions of retired and almost-retired have been forced to extend their working years just to maintain a minimum standard of living.

While your 401(k) plan may not offer real estate in any form, the fact is, you can own real estate in your retirement plans. Retirement plans are by nature long-term investments. You can't get much more long term than real estate. But you must keep in mind that you'll be able to invest only for income and appreciation. You can't deduct depreciation, as you can in a taxable investment.

You have to be very careful how you do it. A single bad move can create a major tax disaster.

An all-cash transaction is probably the easiest. If you don't have sufficient cash, your retirement plan can purchase a partial interest in a property. That's known as a tenant in common interest.

You can borrow the money to finance the property but will also need to pay the Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT). Depending on aggravation level, costs, tax rates and rates of return, the leverage may be worth the tax cost. Call for a recommended provider.

Clarifying Gold's Gym Location Challenge

If you wondered, like I did, why Gold’s Gym would move into a building that is difficult to access the answer will soon be evident. American Furniture Warehouse purchased all of the adjacent land and will now build an roadway with access of Highway 6&50 into the commercial development. A map of the proposed access is included on the second page of this newsletter.

American Furniture Warehouse has multiple locations in Colorado. You can check out their website at www.afwonline.com.

In case you missed the Sentinel article “American Furniture Warehouse owner Jake Jabs said he plans to open a 150,000-square-foot building on the property that will include a warehouse and a showroom. The store could open as soon as early 2011.

Jabs said the store will need about 150 staff members for sales, office, delivery and staging work. He said he wants to hire local contractors to construct the building.

Jabs said he opened an American Furniture Warehouse store in Grand Junction in 1984, but it closed the next year due to poor economic times in the area. A growing number of American Furniture Warehouse products being delivered to the Grand Valley prompted Jabs to return to the area.”

Anderson, E. (2009, Dec 31). The Daily Sentinel.

Sales in Grand Junction So Far

According to Mesa County this year there have been 19 commercial real estate sales through the end of March. The local MLS indicates 4 additional sales through May 20th. The top 5 sales are as follows:

715 Horizon Ct – 3,100,000

2285 River Rd – 2,875,000

607 24 Rd - 2,322,600

551 Kokopelli Blvd – 1,800,000

230 Lynwood St – 1,220,000

Mesa county reports 32 sales for the same period in 2009, and 42 sales in 2008.

There were several business opportunities that sold including two liquor stores in Fruita, and B&B hotel in Colbran.

Some of these sales have come at bargain prices. There are other bargains for both users and investors. Sellers are not finding as many buyers in today’s market. Some of these sellers are in difficult situations and are no longer looking to make a profit.

Looking forward to summer sales. In 2008 Mesa County reported 35 sales from June through August, 18 in 2009, and based on the results from the first 5 months I anticipate 16 sales over the summer in 2010. Will your property be one of them?

City Market: F 1/2 Road Parkway

City Market is out of the ground on their 24 and F Road store. The above picture is a diagram of the proposed F 1/2 Road Parkway approved by the city in 2005. A portion is already complete from 24 Road north of the new 14-plex cinema to Market Street.

City Market built a culvert to provide access to their new store off 24 Rd, which will facilitate Redlands residents primarily. However, because the 24 Road access is only a ¾ intersection residents from the north will not be able to make a left turn into the parking lot. Instead they will have to gain access from Market Street. From Patterson Rd (F Rd) there will be numerous lights, making the location inconvenient. From 24 Rd a left turn will be required to F 1/2 Road then another right onto Market Street.

The simplest path to City Market for the majority of residents in the North Area will be realized when the F ½ Road Parkway between 24 ½ Road and 24 Road is built. It may still be easier to access the Horizon Dr. Safeway from the North.

I am interested in spearheading a public demand for the construction of the F 1/2 Road Parkway, in lieu of other frivolous city projects, such as spring clean-up. Please let me know if you are interested.

MBA - Marketing Strategy

The Marketing Strategy course for the MBA program opened my eyes to what is involved in effective marketing. It is a very in-depth and time intensive undertaking to create a marketing plan. The process helps clarify the current situation, goals and objectives, strategy, competitive advantages, implementation schedules, and evaluation controls. I'm going to begin applying what I've learned to the properties I have listed. Finding buyers in the current market has proven challenging and presents a good opportunity to get sophisticated in order to bring the best value to customers and clients.