Warehouse purchase - not advertised

Hi, long time lurker first time poster.

Does anyone have any experience/advice/tips on purchasing a commercial property off-market?

There is a place that is perfect for my portfolio - in the sweet spot for location, size etc... but isn't advertised for sale. It was easy enough to identify the owner, but I obviously don't want to just phone them up and show my interest.

Has anyone done this? What about using a buyers agent? Any other strategies to feel out the owner without revealing too much about myself?!
Cheers

 

A BA can be the way to go but you would want them to have provided you (or have already done) a lot of the due diligence on the site - eg. lease expiries/copy of registered lease from LTO, market rents, exterior condition, S149 certificate (zoning) etc.

The owner may not be considering sale, so be prepared for a knockback or to jump.

 

Thanks, I guess a BA is the most obvious option.

I've got the history of title transfers from the Registry... is there any way to determine historic sale values (apart from trying to chat up the REA?)

 

Historic values have nothing to do with current values - it is not residential so yield is a more valid metric.

Depending upon the state, sites like the six portal (Qld & NSW) have links to sales values. Other states may have the information freely available as well.

 

Yep, appreciate that re:value - just trying to understand the owner's position by identifying what they paid for it.