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Commercial Real Estate Investment/Questions Answered by Expert Mike Fortunato
| Subject | Date Asked |
| interests rates | 1/31/2012 |
| Q: Do you feel 5.95 is a good commercial loan interest rate in today's market? Thanks for your ... A: There are other factors that contribute to whether a loan is good, such as the costs to obtain the ... | |
| Stairwell Fire and ADA Code | 1/25/2012 |
| Q: What are my requirements per fire code? ex. Do I need exit doors to have the floor number painted ... A: As codes vary from region to region, you need to check with the building department in the city ... | |
| getting bank loan to consolidate debt | 1/7/2012 |
| Q: I have two 2-family houses I bought for investment and income supplementation, owned under an LLC in ... A: It really comes down to what debts you're defaulting on, and how agressive the collection efforts ... | |
| getting bank loan to consolidate debt | 1/6/2012 |
| Q: I have two 2-family houses I bought for investment and income supplementation, owned under an LLC in ... A: I would have suggested the same thing as your bank, with one exception. I think you should have a ... | |
| Real estate investment options | 1/4/2012 |
| Q: -I have $20000 cash -My revenues minus my expenses i am left with $300 every month What kind of ... A: Any analysis of potential investment should include an overview of your entire financial situation. ... | |
| Alternative Investments | 12/18/2011 |
| Q: I am a beneficiary in an inheritance Trust and would like to invest it in the stock market. The ... A: Real estate is a particularly good investment, especially now that prices are depressed and interest ... | |
| Annual Operating Budget Monthly CAM Calculation | 9/8/2011 |
| Q: I am building an annual budget for an office building. I seen to be having a problem getting a ... A: It's difficult for me to determine what may be wrong without seeing the spreadsheet, but your ... | |
| Finders Fee | 9/6/2011 |
| Q: Good Afternoon; I know of a 20 unit apt bld in the Bronx, NY that is for sale, and due to my ... A: There is no set rate for finder's fees -- it's up for whatever is being offered. There really is not ... | |
| renting primary home to a file company | 9/6/2011 |
| Q: a film company in Philadelphia has been interested in our home to shoot a movie. they have been out ... A: Unfortunatelty, there is no general idea or rate4 schedule -- it's whatever you can negotiate. ... | |
| Tackling a Leasing Challenge | 8/22/2011 |
| Q: Our non-profit is currently half way through a 3 year lease of a small commercial property which ... A: Your concern for the owner is admirable, but there really isn't much of a chance for a compromise ... | |
| Tackling a Leasing Challenge | 8/22/2011 |
| Q: Our non-profit is currently half way through a 3 year lease of a small commercial property which ... A: Unfortunately, I get this question a lot, and there's really not much you can do relating to ... | |
| Real Estate | 8/10/2011 |
| Q: My name is Rashad. I have invested in real estate for a living a few years back. I am in the ... A: Unfortunately, with little capital and no or bad credit, your only option would probably be to find ... | |
| LLC and refinancing | 2/23/2011 |
| Q: I own two 2-family rental investment properties as an LLC, with a business partner. I have been ... A: No other alternatives I can think of. You're correct in that loan fees to refinance will be ... | |
| THE USE OF RAILROAD STAIRS IN A COMMERICAL PROPERTY | 2/22/2011 |
| Q: Would you recommend using railroad ties as stairs in a commercial property? ANSWER: I would be ... A: There are no specific requirements applicable to railroad tie stairs as far as I know, but I imagine ... | |
| dissolution of LLC | 2/9/2011 |
| Q: I currently own two 2-family houses with a partner, as an LLC. We bought these eight years ago as ... A: Quite frankly, I see her point. If she's planning on an exit strategy where you will buy her out, ... | |
| Capitalization Policies | 1/10/2011 |
| Q: I need to create a formal capitalization policy for a commercial real estate company that would ... A: Sorry, but I don't have a sample of what you're trying to accomplish, and most likely it will need ... | |
| Parking Lots | 12/15/2010 |
| Q: My question for you is with regard to purchasing a parking lot as an investment property. I live in ... A: You can start your search online at sites such as www.loopnet.com or www.costar.com. Or, you can ... | |
| Mandatory 3-year mortgage renewals | 12/4/2010 |
| Q: My evil mortgage company "renews" my commercial mortgage every three years. The first three years ... A: Absent any strange rules in your state, there is no maximum 3 year loan term. Most lenders will have ... | |
| Site Locator | 10/7/2010 |
| Q: I had previous worked for a very successful Developer/Contractor as a Project Manager on large ... A: As you might imagine, developers aren't nearly as active as they once were, and of course that ... | |
| Acquiring a Hotel Property. | 9/16/2010 |
| Q: Hey, Can you tell how can I find financing for acquiring a hotel property in the middle east. I ... A: Sorry, but I don't have experience financing international properties. I would imagine you'll either ... | |
| Owner Financed Commercial Loan | 9/14/2010 |
| Q: Being in California, you may not be able to address all aspects of my question, so I am going to ... A: For seller financing on a commercial property, 7% is actually not a bad rate. In fact, I doubt you ... | |
| Purchasing Commercial Real Estate on a Gov't Grant | 4/29/2010 |
| Q: I like to obtain information on how to go about obtaining a commercial government grant to purchase ... A: I'm unaware of any specific government grants to purchase commercial real estate. There are ... | |
| Multi-tenant vs. Single tenant retail properties? | 4/5/2010 |
| Q: Hey Mike, I'd trying to decide on which type of property i should focus on. What is the difference ... A: The single tenant retail investment is normally less risky (assuming a strong credit-worthy tenant). ... | |
| Rezone question | 3/18/2010 |
| Q: I live in Sacramento, CA in a mostly residential neighborhood. On the fringe of this area is an ... A: Typically, as part of the rezoning application, the applicant (as required by the Planning ... | |
| Commercial Real Estate Finders Fee | 2/23/2010 |
| Q: Mr. Fortunato, Greetings, I'm following up from a previous question concerning finders fee for ... A: Unfortunately, I have to give another vague, pretty much useless answer! There is no standard fee ... | |
| Commercial Real Estate Finders Fee | 2/23/2010 |
| Q: Mr. Fortunato, Greetings, I'm following up from a previous question concerning finders fee for ... A: Unfortunately, I'm in California so I'm not familiar with Colorado real estate regulations. You ... | |
| TI's and NNN | 1/29/2010 |
| Q: I have a question about TI's and NNN leases. 1. When an owner says he will give $20/SF for TI's ... A: 1. A TI allowance is normally what the landlord will pay towards the improvements necessary to make ... | |
| Sell commercial real estate at a loss? | 9/21/2009 |
| Q: I purchased a small commercial office ($1000/sq ft) in the Trenton, NJ area to run my small business ... A: Unfortunately, I don't know of an online investment calculator that would be of any help. Simple ... | |
| Sell commercial real estate at a loss? | 9/21/2009 |
| Q: I purchased a small commercial office ($1000/sq ft) in the Trenton, NJ area to run my small business ... A: In simple terms, if you sell for $140K, less the costs to sell (commissions/costs), and less the ... | |
| LLC formation | 9/20/2009 |
| Q: I have 16 units I just acquired over the last 9 months (7 unit, 4 unit, 2 unit, 3 single family ... A: You'll need the advice of a tax attorney on this, but many investors choose LLC's to hold their ... | |
| Administrative fees | 9/13/2009 |
| Q: Is it common for a landlord to layer fees such as admin fee, management fees, ... A: Sometimes there are various fees which are legitimate, but I'm unable to determine what is ... | |
| commercial r.e. | 8/26/2009 |
| Q: Sir, I'm living in europe( Belgium). I have quiet a lot of Hotels and shopping centers for sale in ... A: I would normally recommend that you utilize the services of a comm4ercial real estate brokerage ... | |
| Commercial Real Estate Pre-Foreclosure | 8/24/2009 |
| Q: My fiance owns a commercial business (carwash) in NJ (has for the last 25 years). Due to many ... A: If the lender doesn't get paid, they will likely foreclose. If they don't receive enough money from ... | |
| Commercial Real Estate Pre-Foreclosure | 8/23/2009 |
| Q: My fiance owns a commercial business (carwash) in NJ (has for the last 25 years). Due to many ... A: I happen to be dealing with this very same situation for a car wash tenant in one of the properties ... | |
| Raising CAM fees | 7/22/2009 |
| Q: What advice do you have from a commercial property management perspective for raising CAM fees if ... A: Most commercial leases allow you to charge the tenants an estimated monthly CAM charge (based on a ... | |
| Raising CAM fees | 7/22/2009 |
| Q: What advice do you have from a commercial property management perspective for raising CAM fees if ... A: As you might imagine, particularly in this market when tenants' businesses are suffering, a 50% CAM ... | |
| Thinking | 7/18/2009 |
| Q: I never owned property before. I just have been using master card for over 15 years. I know I have ... A: You'll need to refine your goals a bit more before I can comment further, but overall your plan is ... | |
| CAM Fee Calculation | 7/13/2009 |
| Q: Can you share some of your expertise on some common practices/methodology on calculating the common ... A: Yes, that is a defensible position. Of course, any tenant would need to lease in that project ... | |
| CAM Fee Calculation | 7/13/2009 |
| Q: Can you share some of your expertise on some common practices/methodology on calculating the common ... A: 1. It would be nearly impossible for you to determine (and monitor) usage on the roadway per ... | |
| Office building | 6/1/2009 |
| Q: I own a medical office building valued at $3,500,000. I have a note of around $2,700,000. If the ... A: A lot more goes into a decision to sell or keep an asset, than the likelihood of inflation. You ... | |
| buss VS comm'l lending | 5/15/2009 |
| Q: mike, can you help answer a few questions......? what's the difference between a buss loan and a ... A: Both loans have their own qualifiers, and are very similar with respect to getting approved. The ... | |
| Commercial Real Estate Investing | 5/15/2009 |
| Q: My intention is to invest in apartments, but to be totally honest I don't know where to start, and ... A: You're correct in that there is a great deal of information out there on real estate investing. Some ... | |
| Commerical Real Estate: Change in Lease Amt Paid | 5/9/2009 |
| Q: With the tough economic times, our tenant asked to pay a lower monthly amount than what is ... A: Without being able to review the exact wording in your emails, I won't be able to determine how the ... | |
| Syndicating Real Estate Property | 4/19/2009 |
| Q: I had a question on syndicating real estate projects/properties. I would like to buy small ... A: There's no single correct way to form a syndicate. I suppose you can make use of the packets you ... | |
| Appropriate Equity Investor Finder's fee | 4/15/2009 |
| Q: Mr. Fortunato, I have a professional contact that is trying to put together the purchase of an ... A: before i read your last paragraph, i was going to say the same thing -- there's no one correct ... | |
| Tax and Surety Bonds | 4/15/2009 |
| Q: I had a question on Tax and Surety Bonds. The company I work for was doing a condo conversion and I ... A: Surety bonds are required to ensure completion of the parcel map process (including final ... | |
| Purchase of apartment rezoned as Low Density Residential | 4/5/2009 |
| Q: I am looking at purchasing a 1975 built 12 unit apartment that sits in an area that has been ... A: That property is probably grandfathered in to the previous zoning, so it probably won't become a ... | |
| selling commercial property | 1/4/2009 |
| Q: I have a shop building that I am trying to sell. I have a buyer and he wanting to know if I would ... A: The usual procedure is to structure the lease so that it includes an option to purchase provision, ... | |
| how to start buying comm'l R.E. | 1/1/2009 |
| Q: my husband & i would like to invest in comm'l prpty. we know alittle about NNN being the better ... A: There's way too much to consider when purchasing commercial property for me to outline in a simple ... | |
| Tenant Estoppel | 12/19/2008 |
| Q: Is there a specific way you need to get a tenant estoppel? Can we simply post/mail the estoppel for ... A: It usually depends on what the notice requirements are in the tenant leases. Sometimes leases call ... | |
| real estate database | 12/6/2008 |
| Q: I would like to know if you could help me. I have build a 300-600 sites concerning world commercial ... A: I'm sorry, but I really don't understand your question. If you're asking if it's possible to sell ... | |
| Green building project | 11/20/2008 |
| Q: Mr. Fortunato. I hope you can help me! I'm a professional published writer. A character in the ... A: Ordinarily, a broker's role in a new development would be to handle marketing the homes to would-be ... | |
| error in commerical | 10/30/2008 |
| Q: Question if someone has a lease and has been paying amount indicated in lease then about a year ... A: A lot depends on the language of the lease. If the rent is listed as a flat amount, then the ... | |
| commercial real estate purchase contract | 10/25/2008 |
| Q: My husband and I saw a 1200 sf office condo in Northern Virginia that we would like to buy and use ... A: Your first mistake (as you probably know by now) is using a residential broker for a commercial ... | |
| Development proformas | 10/23/2008 |
| Q: I'm a commercial property developer and have always constructed my own spreadsheets. I am looking ... A: Fred, Like you, we have always constructed our own custom spreadsheets as well (tailored to fit ... | |
| Usual length of an agreement | 10/16/2008 |
| Q: We just purchased a large rental building. We occupy one half and are looking for a renter for the ... A: If you are referring to the length of a lease for your tenant, in commercial real estate, one year ... | |
Commercial Real Estate Investment
Answers by Expert:
Mike Fortunato
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
Can answer questions on all aspects of commercial real estate investment & development.
Experience
20 years of real estate investing & development. Own & operate a commercial real estate company in southern California.
Organizations
IREM; CAR; NAR; BOMA
Publications
BOMA educational course
Education/Credentials
Licensed California real estate broker
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