Blog #COVID-19

Lee and Associates Los Angeles - Long Beach is pleased to provide 3D virtual tours with the use of Matterport. Per Matterport's website: sell at a 4-9% higher sales price, decrease time on market up to 31% and 90% of buyers are more compelled by a listing with a 3D tour. Additionally, generating higher engagement and interest may be the key to closing the deal and getting that buyer/tenant.

Here are a few additional benefits 3D Matterport tours:

Enhanced Visualization: Matterport 3D tours provide a realistic and immersive experience that allows potential buyers or tenants to virtually explore the property as if they were physically present. This immersive experience can help them better understand the layout, size, and features of the space.

Remote Viewing: Interested parties can view the property from anywhere, eliminating the need for them to travel to the location. This is especially important for international or out-of-town buyers who might not have the opportunity to visit the property in person.

Time Efficiency: 3D tours enable viewers to navigate through the property at their own pace, focusing on areas that interest them the most. This can save time for both the buyer and the seller by pre-qualifying potential leads before in-person visits.

Comprehensive Information: 3D tours provide a comprehensive view of the property, showing not only the layout of the space but also details like fixtures, finishes, and amenities. This helps in reducing ambiguity and questions potential buyers might have.

Increased Engagement: Interactive features within the 3D tour, such as the ability to measure rooms and spaces, zoom in on details, and navigate between floors, increase engagement and hold the viewer's attention for longer periods.

Differentiation: Utilizing Matterport 3D tours sets your commercial real estate listings apart from the competition. It demonstrates that you are leveraging modern technology to provide potential buyers with a more advanced and convenient way to explore properties.

Marketing Value: Incorporating 3D tours into your marketing materials, such as your website and online listings, can attract a broader audience and generate more interest in your properties.

Reduced Foot Traffic: By offering a virtual tour upfront, you can minimize the number of in-person visits to the property, which can be beneficial for both the property owner and potential buyers or tenants, particularly in situations where physical visits might be limited or inconvenient.

Flexibility: Matterport 3D tours can be viewed at any time, allowing potential buyers or tenants to explore the property during their preferred hours, including evenings and weekends.

Client Convenience: Offering 3D tours demonstrates your commitment to providing convenience and value to prospective buyers and tenants.  Click here for a demo.

Originally posted February 3rd, but things have changed considerably since with the global coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and social unrest!  With the desire to socially distance and find open spaces one must wonder if people will be motivated to avoid the dense urban centers and move to the more spread-out area of the suburbs.  This would be a bit of a countertrend to previous years with the TODs (Transit Oriented Developments) and mixed-use developments in city centers.

On the other hand, the desire to avoid crowds and packed retail buildings, more folks are using ecommerce.  This will only increase the already overwhelming demand for warehouse space, especially in the areas close to the population base where faster delivery is possible.

These changes have only led to a stronger argument for this trade idea!

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This trade seems to make more and more sense for the commercial real estate investor of late.  Multifamily appears to have peaked after an extended run and is experiencing downward pressure over concerns with governmental/legislative issues, especially regionally here regionally in Southern California.  Meanwhile, Industrial is starting to take over as the hottest commercial real estate segment.  Also, some apartment owners no longer have the tolerance to deal with the higher demands and maintenance needs multifamily typically requires or they have moved out of the area.

The solution?  Sell your Multifamily Assets and Trade into Industrial Real Estate Properties.  Why Industrial?  Ecommerce and its explosive need for space.  With all the big box retail giants like Sears and Toys R Us shutting down, ecommerce has disrupted the industry transferring the need for space from store to warehouse.

In 2017 e-commerce accounted for 9% of all retail sales in the United States and is expected to grow to 12.4% this year!  Based on those numbers e-commerce appears to still have a lot of room to run.

It’s also normally considered an easier asset to manage with less demands.

So, what’s the first step if you’re interested?  Get an idea of what your Apartment Building is worth, so you have an idea of your budget.  Next get a list of available properties to trade into.  This can include leased properties with stabilized returns, upside potential or vacant properties with proforma projections.  A good broker should be able to help you with this, feel free to reach out if you do not know where to start.

A California Commercial Real Estate Legislative alert went out last Friday from AIR about SB 939, a COVID-19 related measure.

The proposed legislation could require lessors to defer CA rent obligations for more than a year or allow the tenant to negate the lease and walk away with no responsibilities for tenant improvements.

If passed the measure would be in effect for 22 months from March 2020 or for two months after the end of the state of emergency, whichever is later.

As mentioned in the notice the proposal mysteriously (or as they say unfairly) doesn’t apply to any publicly traded companies or one that is owned or affiliated with a publicly traded company (franchisee).

Included in the notice are better potential options like the proposal put forth by Toni Atkins.

For more information, read the full bill or to send a letter opposing SB 939 CLICK HERE.

In addition to PPP, the SBA will now pay your new or existing SBA mortgage for six months!  Our office recently had a buyer who got the first 6 months of their mortgage covered by the SBA and the first 3 by their bank.  Additional debt relief is also available, if you need more information a good broker should be able to point you in the right direction, CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

An additional $250B for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was recommended today to help small businesses (less than 500 employees) reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.  For those who have not already seen, the PPP is designed to provide small businesses help with funds to pay up to 8 weeks of payroll costs including benefits, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities.  Click here for more details as well as the link to apply for funds.

A few key takeaways:

• A Force Majeure provision does not necessarily alleviate the tenant from having to pay rent.
• Some landlords are seeking to provide some kind of relief to tenants, especially to small and mid-size firms in the most affected segments.
•  While most tenants have received legislative relief, landlords largely have not.

Click to read more...