You want to sell your commercial property. Therefore, you advertise your property in newspapers and on online platforms. So far, so good - you might think, but you have already made what could be a serious mistake.
Which is it? How do you avoid it and its serious consequences when you sell your commercial property? I'll tell you in this blog post. I also give you 2 solutions on how to avoid this problem.
What could be the fault?
You would like to sell a commercial property. What is your first step? You will probably advertise the property for sale on various platforms and newspapers. However, the decision for an open sale turns out to be a mistake.
Only a short time later, the first employees come to you and want to know if they are losing their jobs. Apparently money is tight if you have to sell the office. Suppliers are also unsettled.
And already, instead of selling, you are busy clearing up misunderstandings and reassuring staff. But the effects of your mistake can go even further, as I can tell you below from my experience.
The impact: 2 serious consequences of open selling
If a commercial property is to be sold, many business people do not even think about the consequences of an open sale. Yet it can cost them time, money and image on the market. I would like to take a closer look at the two most serious scenarios.
Scenario #1: Rumour mill bubbling among employees
Their employees have heard about the planned sale. Now rumours are doing the rounds that the company will have to close.
Let us now assume that you only want to relocate. In my many years as a real estate agent in Tyrol, I have all too often experienced that simple relocations become complicated challenges when fear has spread among employees due to the rumour mill.
The undertaking becomes even more annoying when it is a question of a site closure. If information has already been leaked to the staff, you will have a lot of explaining to do.
Even if your staff can now partially adjust to the closure of the site, you will certainly be chalked up for the lack of transparency towards the team.
If employees feel betrayed by you, this can have far-reaching consequences: from complaints to refusals to work due to alleged sick leave.
Scenario #2: Trust of business partners gambled away by false impression
Suppliers or other business partners learn about the sale of the property either through an advertisement or the employees. If the suppliers now assume that you no longer have any money, you may stop deliveries for the time being until the situation has been clarified. After all, your business partner wants to have the assurance that you can pay him.
Again, a clarifying conversation will have to take place on your part, which costs time and nerves.
To prevent these mistakes from happening to you when you sell your commercial property, you can, for one thing, communicate the sale openly with all parties. In this case, you save yourself the trouble of clearing up misunderstandings, badmouthing and dubious speculation.
On the other hand, you can also opt for a discreet sale of the property. How do you do that?
Discreet sale of commercial property: you have 2 options
So that you do not get into explanatory trouble in front of business partners and employees, you should opt for an anonymous sale. You have two options for this.
Possibility #1: Sell independently (partially) anonymously with box number advertisement
If you want to sell your property anonymously on your own, I advise you to place a box number advertisement. This way, instead of your contact details, a box number code is forwarded to the interested parties.
Enquiries from potential buyers are thus received by the platform or newspaper in which you have advertised. These offers are then passed on to you.
Pictures of the property do not have to be provided immediately for the advertisement. This can happen at a later stage, for example when you contact the interested party.
Please bear in mind that it can sometimes be difficult to sell a commercial property without appropriate visual material. Searchers are not addressed directly and a box number code may not be the ideal point of contact for queries from prospective buyers.
In addition, you must provide your contact details for viewings at the latest. So it is only partly an anonymous sale.
Option #2: Completely anonymous sale with real estate agent
With an estate agent, you can handle the sale of your property discreetly and remain completely anonymous.
As the middle man between you and the prospective buyer, the estate agent takes over a large part of the preparations for the sale and supports you during the negotiations and the conclusion of the sale. The estate agent acts as a contact person for potential buyers and does not pass on your data.
If you turn to an experienced estate agent, he already has a large network from which he can profit. Accordingly, your chances of sellingincrease.
As a tip: Rely on an estate agent who is also a Tyrolean real estate appraiser specialising in commercial and industrial properties. He or she will be able to give you an immediate sales price in line with the market. This way, you will not give away any money by setting the price too low or too high.
If you are put off by the broker 's commission, you should definitely read our blog on the subject of broker's commission when selling commercial property. It will tell you how the agent's commission is usually split in such cases.
Conclusion: Selling commercial real estate discreetly reduces sources of error
Of course, there is no 100 per cent guarantee. However, a discreet sale of your commercial property is a comparatively safe solution on how to sell the property without much fuss.
If you rely on a box number advertisement, you should be aware that you will have to provide your contact details at the latest for arranging appointments for viewings, and that this may again be how any parties find out about the sale.
A real estate agent takes care of the sale after the order has been placed and preserves your anonymity. He helps you with the sales process and represents your interests in the negotiations.
Do you have a commercial property that you would like to sell discreetly? You are welcome to contact us for a free initial consultation. Contact us by phone(+ 43 512 580 242), e-mail(immobilien@arealita.at) or via our contact form.
With kind regards
Yours, Bernhard Großruck
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My name is Bernhard Großruck. I work as a real estate agent and appraiser in Innsbruck and would like to give you helpful tips about real estate in this blog.