Questions to Ask a Commercial Real Estate Seller Before Purchasing
If you’re considering a commercial real estate investment there are plenty of questions that you should ask your seller before you end up closing on a deal. The more due diligence you perform, the greater the chance that your investment will turn out to be a success. Hiring a licensed Fort Lauderdale commercial real estate attorney can be a smart move if you want to do everything possible to guarantee that you’re making the right decision for your particular goals.
Ask them if the title is clear
It’s essential that you make sure that the title is clear before you close on any deal. Your attorney can certainly help you do this, but you should also ask your seller if they know about any title encumbrances. You should ask if there is a current ownership report available for the property, but it’s also essential to ask your attorney to perform their own title search on top of this. Making sure that the title is clear is an absolute must as you don’t want to deal with any title defects once you’ve acquired the property.
Ask about the zoning for your intended use
The property needs to be zoned for your particular intended use. You should let your seller know about how you intend to use the property and whether or not it is a good option for your business. If you plan on investing in the property for the purpose of renting it to business owners, you should also find out about the types of businesses that you’re allowed to rent to. Zoning issues can be complicated and burdensome to deal with, and you never want to buy or lease any commercial property with first ensuring that it has proper zoning rights.
Get a copy of the rent roll and lease agreements
If there are any current tenants, you will want to get a copy of the rent roll as well as their lease agreements. Carefully review them, ideally with a Fort Lauderdale commercial real estate attorney, and find out what the current tenant obligations are. There are several parts of the lease agreement that you should carefully go over with an experienced Fort Lauderdale commercial real estate lawyer to find out the current obligations of both the landlord and the tenant.
These are just a few of the questions that you should ask your seller before closing on a commercial real estate deal. Contact Leah Mayersohn today at (954) 779-7009 to learn more about these and other critical commercial real estate questions that you need to ask.
