Selling a Commercial Property

We can assist you to sell your commercial property through a comprehensive market sale process.

Our team have owned and leased commercial property themselves, so understand what is involved as both an owner, seller and buyer of these assets.

Whether you are selling an office, warehouse or a specialised commercial property, there are a number of costs you will need to take into consideration. These include:

  • Solicitor fees – solicitors often carry out conveyancing for a fixed fee and you may be able to negotiate to a lower fee. It is worth obtaining a number of quotes. The fees you pay will also depend on how smoothly the sale goes.
  • The brokerage / success fee for us to sell your property – Bespoke Commercial Property will provide you with our proposal in black and white so you know what you will need to budget for.
  • Mortgage break or early repayment fees – if you have a mortgage on your commercial property and you pay this off early, you may be liable to pay additional fees to your lender. It is a good idea to check with your lender so that you are aware of these costs in advance, if any.
  • Capital gains tax – you should speak to your financial advisor if you are selling a commercial property as you might be liable to pay capital gains tax
  • Removal costs – if you have equipment, furniture or other assets in your commercial property and these are not part of the sale, you will need to arrange for these to be removed at your costs.

Market Appraisal

Bespoke Commercial Property will help you price your property right for the current market conditions, saving you hours of research time.

We keep up with the current industry and economic trends, as well as any significant recent sales in the relevant area. We will use a sales comparison analysis to determine a fair but realistic listing price for your commercial property, but will allow room for negotiation with potential buyers.

Preparing buyer information

Before marketing your property, it is important to understand what your buyers will be looking for. Their primary considerations will probably be location, suitability and property price. You should ideally look to prepare a buyer pack to give to prospective buyers so that they have everything they need to make a decision.

Here are some of the items you should make readily available:

  • A Section 32 statement as required by Victorian property law. Your solicitor/conveyancer will prepare this document on your instructions.
  • Details of property charges the buyer will be liable for (e.g. council rates, body corporate fees, and so on).
  • Any other information that must be disclosed to the buyer for transparency. Note that there are certain matters that you must disclose as required by Victorian law.

Both Bespoke Commercial Property and your solicitor will be able to provide you with more information on what you should provide to prospective buyers.

Getting your property ready to sell

Just like you would with a residential property, it is important to prepare your commercial property for the sales process. It should be presented so that any prospective owners can imagine running their business from the premises or holding it as a secure long-term investment, and to appeal to a wide audience. All clutter should be cleared, and the premises should be presented in a tidy and clean condition.

Accepting an offer

All offers you receive for your commercial property will be dealt with by Bespoke Commercial Property. If you receive a number of offers, here are some ways you can determine which buyer would be the better option.

  • Consider the profile of the buyer and their financial status
  • Are they a cash buyer or do they require finance?
  • Are their finance arrangements already in place?

If you decide to accept the buyer’s offer, Bespoke Business Brokers will brief your solicitor so that they can provide a Contract of Sale for the parties to agree upon and exchange. It is important to remember that a buyer can withdraw their offer at any time and that the deal is not sealed until you have exchanged contracts.

An offer may be subject to detailed due diligence by the buyer, particularly for more complex commercial properties (such as manufacturing sites or similar).

Arranging valuations

A valuation report may be requested by the buyer’s mortgage lender. These are usually coordinated through Bespoke Commercial Property to arrange access to the property, and can take anything up to a couple of hours. You should ensure that all areas are made available to the valuer, especially if you have an older property as these will usually require a more detailed and in-depth report. Specialised commercial property will also require more in-depth and complex valuations (for example, manufacturing sites as opposed to a straightforward box warehouse).

Your solicitor

In addition to the assistance Bespoke Commercial Property provides, your solicitor/conveyancer is also at hand to help you through the legal steps to ensure the successful sale of your commercial property.

We can recommend legal firms to you if you do not currently have a solicitor/conveyancer. (Bespoke Commercial Property receives no referral fees for making any such recommendations to you.)

Choosing the right solicitor from the start will help to ensure a quick and efficient commercial property sale. Your solicitor is there to provide assistance throughout the process, so feel free to ask them any questions as and when they crop up.

Exchange of contracts and completion

Once contracts are exchanged, your buyer will pay a deposit to the Bespoke Commercial Property Trust Account (usually 10% of the sale value, although can differ depending on the specific circumstances), and a date for completion will be agreed between all parties.

On the completion date all legal factors of the sale are completed and the mortgage lender will release the remaining money for the buyer to complete their purchase of the property. You will get a phone call from your solicitor to tell you that the money has been received and is on its way to your account, and you will need to hand over the keys and any other items to the new owner.

This is a typical description of the commercial sales process, but it is worth noting that all sales are different and depend on the nature of the sale and any complications that may arise during the sales process.

Contact us to appraise your commercial property today.