how to find a good Commercial property

Hi, newbie here . We are a small family business looking at establishing SMSF for purpose of property investment. the property would be leased back to our family business (well aware of "arms length" lease terms etc.). We just figure better for us to pay rent to our SMSF etc. We are in process of getting financial / tax advise to firm this up.
What we don't know is how to find a good property. for example, in our local area there are a number of light industrial properties available, all in the same complex. That raises red flags for me - the fact that there are probably 5-10% of units available for sale at the same time.
And then there are options for off- the -plan purchases for new developments in our general area. How do we know if these are valued realistically? who can we trust for advice? surely the agents are going to be biased to the seller? just don't know where to start to minimise our risks in making a sound investment.

 

Sounds like you could benefit by hiring a good commercial buyers agent (yes, I'm biased). But there are BAs in some of the bigger firms in Sydney, who have specialist BAs for commercial.

 

Hi newbieSue,

Buying in a SMSF and leasing to yourself is quite common, and generally a good move (but speak to your accountant for more specific advice).

Your best bet is to look at recent sales and compare them to the subject property (in terms of vehicular access, height, take into consideration zoning, quality of the area and neighbours etc).

If there are multiple units for sale in a complex, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It could be a coincidence - just make sure there are no dodgy neighbours which may be the cause of the move.

I'd advise against believing most agents - most of them are very short-sighted and just want a quick sale. I would ask for comparable sales they could provide to back up any claims.

I am an industrial agent in Western Sydney but don't work on properties under 1,000sqm so I probably won't have any properties for you if you're looking for a small unit, but happy to offer some unbiased advice if you want to contact me. I used to work the smaller market so know most of the areas and complexes pretty well. I also know all the new developments and can let you know if the developer is renowned for being dodgy or not!

Best of luck with your search.

John