REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-Best Cities for Finding Opportunity

REALTOR® Magazine just posted the following question:
Where are the best cities to live in the US if you want to work hard and get ahead?

I was happy to see that metro-Washington DC made the list. The study, conducted by Forbes magazine, chose the top ten cities based on the number of Forbes' 400 best big companies and 200 best small companies headquartered in each. The study lists locations with high rates of small business successes, identifying what it considered places with the most opportunity.

I work with a lot of small business owners and have noticed the past month an increase in activity, i.e., number of listings I have leased or sold.

I had a 1,500 SF office listed for about half a year in Cascades Office Center, which leased two weeks ago.
And the charming 1,000 SF retail storefront on Battle Street in Old Town Manassas leased last week to the soon-to-opened Oh So Sweet Treats Bakery.

The retail tanning salon space I had listed for lease in Manassas Park Plaza leased in a week!

To me, this indicates consumer confidence is returning and underscores what I believe: Northern Virginia is a great place to live and work.

Best Cities to live to work hard and get ahead:
1. Houston
2. Dallas
3. Minneapolis
4. Pittsburgh
5. Boston
6. Washington, D.C.
7. Austin
8. St. Louis
9. Kansas City, Mo.
10. New York

Source: Forbes, Lauren Sherman (06/19/2009)
Article link:
REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-Best Cities for Finding Opportunity

What it takes to succeed

Like many independent business people, I get together on a regular basis with other professionals to exchange ideas and contacts, in other words to network. Some of these meetings have a structured format, such as BNI; others are governed more by the members of the group. One of these networking groups I attend was started by my broker and business partner, Gayle Bailey. We meet twice a month for breakfast, with a guest speaker joining us for one of those monthly meetings to share an inspiring business success story.

Last week, Gayle challenged each of us in the group to share what we felt was the single most important quality that had contributed to our own success stories.

The business broker in our group, Jeff Neuburg, owner of Piedmont Capital Group, cited perseverance, his ability to overcome life's curves and to stay the path.

Our commercial lender, Byron Schulze with Virginia Commerce Bank , ranked honesty high on his list. If you always tell the truth to your customers, no matter how hard, you will earn their trust and retain their business.

John Richter, the attorney who owns and operates Provident Title and Escrow with his wife, talked about ethics, stating that your name is everything. If you lose that, it is difficult if not impossible to get it back, so you must always do the right thing to retain your good name.

Troy Toureau with First Potomac Mortgage , credited passion for his success in the mortgage industry. He elaborated, adding that he loves what he does and could not see himself doing anything else.

Gayle Bailey, Principal Broker and owner of The Bailey Team Real Estate , has earned his living for the past 35 years on close to a 100% commission basis. He said his ability to seize opportunity and always have options has been the #1 factor in his success.

I recognized my ability to multi-task, or as Gayle would say, have many "irons on the fire" as playing a large part in my success. It's all about juggling multiple transactions and simultaneously keeping track of numerous clients in various stages of their respective deals.

It was interesting to me that while each person identified a different trait, each of us in the room, successful in our own businesses, all share these same qualities. Integrity and hard work certainly come into play. But when you think about it, distilling the concept of success, passion may be the single most important ingredient. You cannot work hard and do your best for people when you are not fueled by passion.

Real Estate Investment for 2009

Investment sales in the commercial market are down. Banks have money to lend, but are looking for good cash flow and a solid down payment from the buyer, as I wrote about the last month. The National Association of Realtors® recently reported that some sectors of the investment market will come out better than others in 2009, quoting Ken Riggs, CRE, president and CEO of Real Estate Research Corp.

His Predictions:

Student housing. The combination of two factors—universities facing a financial squeeze and the surge of college-bound Generation Y members, the second largest demographic in the United States—creates strong demand for student housing.

Medical offices. Aging boomers and their readiness to spend on health care make this a solid investment, especially if located near hospitals and nursing homes.

Tax-credit housing. An unmet need for affordable housing, combined with the federal government’s willingness to provide funding via low-income housing grants and tax-exempt housing bonds, may make this an attractive niche for conventional multifamily developers.

Residential building lots. Smart developers are compiling parcels now so that approvals can be in place.

Neighborhood centers. Retail is risky at best, but people will always need staples, even in the tough times. That’s why neighborhood retail centers are a winner, especially in mature trade areas with a strong grocery or drug store anchor.

My Experience:

In 2004, when my son first went to Virginia Tech, my husband and I purchased a townhouse in Blacksburg which we rented out to 3 additional students (our son was the 4th tenant). The rents from the 3 students covered all our costs. Three-and-a-half years later we sold it for a decent profit. Had we decided to hold it, there is an excellent property management company in Blacksburg that does a great job. In fact, the party who purchased the townhouse was an investment buyer (former Tech student) who lives in California.

Health care industry continues to fare well. My clients who are in health-related industries, such as medical, dental, and all wellness type businesses (such as exercise including gyms, yoga studios & tanning salons) are prospering. Many report their earnings are up from last year, which shows that people do take care of themselves even when they don't eat out as often or cut back on non-essential purchases.

Builders are always looking for residential building lots especially in highly developed areas of Northern Virginia where such lots are hard to find, closer to to Washington DC.

Retail strip centers with long-term leases and solid tenants are a good buy. I also know of several with approved site plans ready for development, the land available for purchase.

There are some good buys out there!

Some Things Beautiful

I have been remiss in updating this blog, but I have also been very busy. This week alone I have been and am still in the midst of preparing and negotiating two sales contracts, both of which I represent the sellers, one letter of intent to purchase (I represent the buyer) and three letters of intent for leases (once again, tenant reps). There is a lot going on in my head!

My husband and I did take time out to visit Florida the week before last for a five day trip. I'd never been to Florida when it wasn't summer, i.e., humid and steamy. So it was a pleasant surprise to find South Beach (Miami) and Florida Keys to be 80 degrees, sunny, breezy and dry every day; 70 degrees, dry and breezy every night. We were extremely fortunate when it came to the weather.


We were also fortunate to stay at the Tranquility Bay Beach House Resort where you could see the sun set over the Coast Guard lighthouse every evening. These pictures remind me that no matter how busy you are, it's good to slow down a little and appreciate the truly beautiful things in life.

Grand Ribbon-Cutting Opening for New Businesses to Gainesville

I think I do what I do because:

1. I find it challenging,
2. I'm good at it, i.e., have met the challenge,
   
3. I enjoy helping people, and
4. I get to see the tangible results of my hard work.
   

Many of the people I work with are opening up new businesses and often are leasing or purchasing commercial space for the first time. It gives me a great sense of satisfaction to see them realize their vision and open their doors to the public. So I was particularly thrilled to attend the Prince William County/Greater Manassas Chamber of Commerce grand-opening ribbon-cutting event last Tuesday, co-hosted by the Haymarket Gainesville Business Association, for the business owners I worked with who are now located at the Piedmont Commercial Center in Gainesville.

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Kid Drop Zone AKA as The Nut House is a large indoor playground where parents can drop off their kids for a few hours. Parents have the options to drop and go, stay and play, or just hang out in our parents-only room. Here kids can do all the things they can't do at home such as jump on the beds and swing from the chandeliers all within a supervised environment. Their build-out, including all the things to climb up, jump on, slide down, or swing from, as well as the party and parent rooms, was done by John Parsons of Commonwealth Construction.

Run under the capable hands of husband and wife, Mike & Shelby, and their business partner, Jen, they have seven girls, ages 1 to 8, between them. They saw a need for the service they now provide: a fun but safe place to leave your children for a few hours while you run errands or enjoy a 'date night'.

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Brain Zoom is an extended learning center for children ages 3 to 11. They offer workshops that explore science and technology, foreign language, and healthful cooking (fun foods combined with nutritional awareness) as well as the more traditional math, reading and writing. Conceived by husband and wife, Patrick and Carolette, their business concept grew from their passion to create a stimulating, fun, creative environment to enhance a child's love of learning.


There are a number of rooms dedicated to these various themed activities, all organized, inviting and brightly colored. They also offer themed birthday parties in the party room, summer and holiday camps and a retail store full of creative play things. Their doors are now officially open!

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Zed's brother, Tam, who is also the chef, did the official honors at the ribbon cutting ceremony for Zed's Bistro and Wine Bar, for which a full review can be read here.

Working Together to Complete an Office Build-out

Some agents specialize as leasing reps, others as tenant reps. I work with clients on both sides of the transaction. It gives me a good perspective on landlords and tenants, and how each is willing to work with the other to make for a signed lease and a long-term landlord/tenant relationship. The experience served me well in the leasing of an office in The Ponds.

The Ponds is a commercial condominium development off Route 50 in Chantilly, Virginia. Gill and his family purchased their 1,900 square foot unit as an investment, but like many purchasers of small office condos, had little or no experience leasing out commercial space. When I saw Gill's For Lease by Owner sign in the window, the space had been empty for close to two years. I gave him a call and proposed working for him. I know the area and had successfully leased two other units in The Ponds.

Gill's unit was in cold dark shell condition. When I listed it the third week of July, I suggested Gill proceed with a standard office build-out. This can take three to four months to complete, and most tenants for smaller offices do not have the time to wait. They generally want to occupy the space within a month or two. Gill proceeded to contact a contractor to complete the build-out, which would include installing the HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioner) system, electrical panel, plumbing, drop ceiling and lighting, and interior walls to create offices and a kitchenette, as well as finish work (paint, flooring, etc.)

In the meanwhile, I met Bill. Bill's company had a small office in Washington DC, and they were looking to move to Virginia. The Tyson's area made the most sense, and he called on one of our office listings in Vienna. That office did not meet his space needs and we started to talk about what he was looking for. It has been my experience that company offices are usually geographically close to the company principal's home. Bill lived in Virginia Run and The Ponds is a few miles down the road. When we began to talk about Chantilly, Bill was open to the location.

Not only did Bill find the location ideal, his business model was such that he had time to wait for a build-out. He was also excited to custom design his new office. By mid-August, tenant and landlord had agreed to all terms and by early September the lease was reviewed and signed. Bill contacted several contractors for estimates, but ultimately decided to work with Gill's contractor. Casey Cao of NorthEast Construction Corporation in Springfield did an excellent job. He was knowledgeable of Fairfax County building requirements and brought the project in pretty much on-time and as budgeted.

The office had some build-out challenges. It is an irregularly shaped, interior unit with the only natural light coming from the front windows. Bill's design ideas included lots of interior glass to capture and maximize the available light. Some of his requirements were standard, such as a nice reception area, but he also had some special requirements, including a large computer room with additional A/C needs that could be 'showcased' and on display to his customers.


By early January, the final inspection from Fairfax County was issued, and Bill and his company, Francis & Goodwin, could move into their new office. Landlord and tenant had a good start to a long-term relationship as they worked together to get the office completed, and I know I had a hand in facilitating both that relationship and a successful build-out.

Lease-Back Deals on a National Scale

A few weeks ago I wrote about a sale/leaseback transaction we handled in Manassas, Virginia.

The New York Times has a recent article, "Cash Hungry Companies Turn to Lease-Back Deals" worth a read. Small to medium sized business owners are not the only commercial property owners exploring this option. The article reports that large corporations looking to divest themselves of their real estate holdings are turning to sale-leaseback deals to free up cash and pay down debt by becoming tenants of the real estate they formerly owned. AT&T and Deutsche Bank are two major companies who have successfully negotiated sale-leasebacks. General Motors was not.