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Purchase Your Business Location with Attractive SBA Financing

You only need 10% down to buy your own business location through the CDC/504 loan program!

If you are thinking about purchasing a property for your business, now may be a good time to do it. This is especially true if you have good credit and a history of running your business profitably.  The soft commercial real estate market has created some real opportunities.  Property prices are down, some foreclosure properties are available at rock bottom bargains and interest rates are low.  Plus, the SBA loan program designed to help small businesses own their own property is having a sale for as long as the "Stimulus Funds" last and has eliminated two of their program fees making this sweet deal even more affordable. The CDC 504 Loan program provides 90% financing!

Connecticut Office Space Is On Sale Now!

As Connecticut office space vacancies continue to rise, commercial real estate owners will be decreasing asking rents and making concessions to attract credit- worthy tenants in the market today.  Smart owners will aggressively work to fill their buildings and lock in their cash flow now.  Connecticut office space is going on sale in 2009!  How can your small business benefit from this economic downturn?  If your business is stable, now would be a great time to consider trading up to class A space in that swanky office building you've been longing for.

Is now a good time to invest in commercial real estate?

The credit crunch in the residential real estate market has caused panic on Wall Street, a sharp decline in home sales and record foreclosures.  However, a similar total melt down has not occurred in the commercial real estate market.  Having said that, there is a definite credit tightening for commercial loans and heightened underwriting scrutiny for mortgage applications.  So, is now the time to look at investing in commercial real estate or will there be a similar value crisis for commercial properties? 

It's Electrifying! How tenant electric is charged to you.

On our site, MySquareFeet, the premier on-line commercial real estate listing service, we frequently get questions from tenants about bills or notices from landlords that they don't understand.  And, we try to answer all of them or direct tenants to places where they can find answers.  Occasionally, a question leads to a good blog topic, as this one did.  Last week, a visitor to the site linked to our FAQ's and asked about a line item in her most recent CAM (Common Area Maintenance) bill.  She wanted to know why there was an electric charge in the bill when she paid her electric directly to the utility company.

Maybe we can help shed some light on this topic.  Landlords handle electric charges in their buildings in a variety of ways.  Here are the most common ways electric use is charged to tenants.

Help! My retail rent is too high, how can I lower it?

Unless you have been living in a cave for the last year, you could not have missed the news that the economy is stalled, no one is shopping, spending is at a standstill and millions of people have been laid off nationally.  What’s a retailer to do?

 

The lease you signed a few years ago in the economic boom, which seemed good at the time is now a millstone around your neck and threatening to sink your business – what can you do now?

 

In response to these hard times, many retailers are forced to shut their doors, but if rent alone is the make or break issue in keeping your business alive, perhaps there is hope – if – your landlord is willing and able to work with you, and you armed are with the right ammunition.

Office Suites, A Sweet Alternative

For Valentine's Day, I thought I would examine a "suite" alternative to leasing conventional office space for small businesses.  They go by many names, Office Suites, Executive Centers, Business Centers, Virtual Offices, or Executive Offices, and offer many different service packages and levels, from basic to gold plated opulence, but they all do one basic thing - provide an immediate plug-and-play office for your business.

I had never actually visited one of these services, so I called upon Tom Jamison of Connecticut Business Centers to give me a personal tour and behind the scenes look at his operation.  It was an interesting visit and I now think about the benefits these services can offer a small tenant in a different light.  To quote Tom, "If you tell me you want an office today, you can be in business with a T-1 connection here tomorrow."