What You Need To Do After Purchasing Commercial Property

Buying commercial property is a huge accomplishment. Take the time to celebrate this achievement and get excited about everything that comes with your purchase. Whether you bought the space to rent out to other companies or build your own business, the property is now your responsibility. Here’s what you need to do after purchasing commercial property.

Do Your Due Diligence

As you begin this venture, take the time to make a checklist. You’ve inherited this property from the previous owner, which means you also inherited all the current tenants and any problems that might be affiliated with the building.

In order to account for every issue and every tenant, you need to complete a list of tasks before doing anything else. These tasks include following up on:

• Tenant history, including the current state of their unit and full payment history
• Air conditioning system
• Outstanding payments
• Upcoming maintenance schedules

As you run through this list and complete different tasks, you might discover there are more projects you need to finish, some of which might require your immediate attention. Add them to the list and work your way through them, taking everything one step at a time.

Check the Settlement Statement

Regardless of the number of tenants you have, you need to secure and check the settlement statement. Ensure the bond has been adjusted in your favor and review whether the bond is being transferred to you or if the previous agent is holding the bond.

The settlement could be with the previous owner, agent, or even a solicitor. Secure this bond within the first week of the purchase and run through it again. Make sure the terms and conditions line up with the original agreement and that nothing was changed without your consent or notification.

Get a Staff Ready

A commercial property may already have a maintenance crew in place. Keeping them on is up to you unless there is a contract involved. In that case, you need to go over the terms and see if you’re comfortable with the terminology.

If there is no maintenance staff currently on hand, you need to start looking into what the building needs and considering who you will need to hire. Check through each maintenance company’s references before agreeing to anything. You’ll need to consider both interior and exterior crews. Make sure the exterior crew includes a parking lot maintenance company.

Check on the Tenants

Even after the ink has dried, there is still a lot of paperwork you need to run through before officially stepping into the role of owner. You also want to ensure everyone within the building knows there is a change in ownership.

Check-in with the tenants and introduce yourself. Notify them of any changes that may be coming to the property and ensure you have each other’s contact information. Encourage them to contact you if they have any questions.

This may seem like a lot to handle after purchasing commercial property, but you can handle it!