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Thanks for stopping in to hear the latest from Three West. Hopefully we can offer some expertise regarding commercial real estate, brownfield redevelopment, and business issues in Northern Michigan.

The main purpose for our blog is to educate and help those looking for a resource as it relates to your needs. If you have a specific question, shoot us an e-mail at info@threewest.net and we'll do our best to provide an answer. We'll also post many of the frequently asked questions and answers that we come across on a daily basis. We look forward to hearing from you.

Commercial Real Estate

Cynergy Becomes Part of Three West

Posted by Kevin Endres - Feb 16, 2010

Cynergy Becomes Part of Three West

Three West is pleased to announce today that Cynergy, a local leasing, management and brokerage group, has become part of Three West.

Cynergy members David Frost and Stan Tornga have joined Three West as principals. Cynergy was formed in 2007 and had been part of Real Estate One.

Commenting on the announcement, Three West Principal Rick Deneweth said, “We are very excited, in part because of Dave and Stan’s combined 40+ years of experience and the incredible book of commercial listings they bring. Three West is now able to offer so much more to our existing and future clients.”

Frost has leased more than 400 properties in the last 16 years to tenants such as the State Of Michigan, the U.S. government, Sears, Plante & Moran, Waddell & Reed, Tower Automotive and Wells Fargo. During his time at Real Estate One, he was awarded several Presidents Circle, Division Volume Leader Commercial, and Office Top Producer Commercial Awards.

Tornga is a licensed real estate broker and certified property manager. He has been in the real estate business since 1971. During his tenure, he has sold income-producing properties, provided property management services for office buildings, apartments and neighborhood retail centers.

Three West now offers a complete suite of commercial real estate services for Industrial, Office, Retail and Investment properties to compliment their businesses consulting services for their large and small clients, including:

  • Brokerage with extensive knowledge of the market, evaluation of market opportunities, experience in negotiations, thorough due diligence, Seller and Buyer representation, creative solutions for creative clients all while keeping attention to timing and the details necessary to finalize transactions.
  • Leasing of a large inventory of properties with an understanding of the current leasing market, lease terms, and conditions by maintaining a database of current lease data and expirations. We provide both Landlord and Tenant representation and complete 50+ leases per year.
  • Property Management services are provided with a Certified Property Manager on staff with 20+ years of experience. Our goal is to satisfy the needs of the Tenants while meeting the financial needs of the owners. We oversee and enhance all aspects of operations to create value for owners as well as develop property goals and exit strategies.
  • Consulting services are provided by all staff that includes backgrounds in engineering, finance, construction and development. Services range from land use issues to developing reports on highest and best use for properties. We also provide Owner Representation for development projects.


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Financing

January SBA 504 Loan Rates

Posted by Kevin Endres - Jan 13, 2010

January SBA 504 Loan Rates

The effective SBA 504 Loan rates for January 2010 are as follows:

  • SBA 504 20-Year debenture = 5.79%
  • SBA 504 10-Year debenture = 4.91%

For more information on the SBA 504 Loan program, please visit the SBA Website.

Please contact us about local banks in the Traverse City Area that can assist you with an SBA loan for the purchase of real estate for your business.



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Commercial Real Estate

Proper Environmental Due Diligence Is Key To The Success Of Any Commercial Real Estate Transaction

Posted by Kevin Endres - Jun 17, 2009

Addressing environmental issues, through proper due diligence, has emerged as one of the most significant concerns in commercial real estate transactions today. What is “due diligence”? According to Black’s Law Dictionary, due diligence is defined as "Such a measure of prudence, activity, or assiduity, as is proper to be expected from, and ordinarily exercised by, a reasonable and prudent [person] under the particular circumstances; not measured by any absolute standard, but depending upon the relative facts of the special case."

The strict liability nature of environmental laws has resulted in a heightened awareness of environmental issues in real estate transactions. The primary reason buyers are conducting such studies is to ascertain if property is contaminated, since under state and federal law (CERCLA), an owner of property is strictly liable for contamination on that property; no causation must be proven to impose cleanup liability.

Proper environmental due diligence during commercial real estate and transactions can include Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments. If a buyer purchases a property that turns out to be contaminated, but that person exercised the proper environmental due diligence prior to the purchase that person would then have a defense to liability.

For a couple thousand dollar investment with an Environmental Engineering firm, a purchaser can eliminate the chances of inheriting any environmental liability that could cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars in the future. Be sure your Commercial Realtor is advising you to take the proper precautions in all of your transactions and not just looking to close a quick deal.

Click here for a Citizen's Guide on What You Need to Know if You Own or Purchase Property with Environmental Contamination



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Commercial Real Estate

Just listed this Class-A Office Space in Traverse City, Michigan

Posted by Kevin Endres - Jun 02, 2009

Just listed this Class-A Office Space in Traverse City, Michigan

We just listed this 1,350 sq-ft of finished Class-A Office/Medical space in Building A of Copper Ridge, Northern Michigan's Premier Health and Wellness Development. Copper Ridge is home to the Northwest Michigan Surgery Cecnter and Munson Hospital's Woman's Health Center. 

This space is ideal for a professional, medical, or dental office.  The space has 4 offices, a reception/bullpen area big enough for three people, a waiting room area that could easily converted to a conference room, a small breakroom complete with a kitchenette and a private bathroom.  Each office has incredible panoramic views of Traverse City.  Building-A provides ample parking for staff and clients, and this space comes with two private spaces in the underground parking garage.  For more details click here.



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Commercial Real Estate

Who's Representing You?

Posted by Kevin Endres - Apr 15, 2009

Are you looking to buy a commercial building for your business? Perhaps you need to lease new office space. When you call the phone number on a Realtor’s “For Sale” sign outside of property you are interested in, the Realtor on the other end of line has one interest in mind, the Sellers! How would you like to have someone fully representing your best interests in this transaction, and at no cost to you!

When you enlist the services of a Commercial Buyer Representative, you’ll be served, not sold. Your interests become their interests. You will be working with someone who will go the extra mile in determining what is best for you and your business.  

When working with a Commercial Buyer Representative you will be working with someone who will:

  • Understand your specific needs and wants, and locate appropriate properties.
  • Assist you in determining how much you can afford by helping review your business financials
  • Preview and/or accompany you in viewing properties.
  • Research properties, to identify any problems or issues you should consider.
  • Advise you in formulating your offer.
  • Help you develop your negotiation strategy.
  • Provide a list of potential qualified vendors (such as inspectors, attorneys, lenders, etc.) for other related services that may be needed.
  • Keep track of all the details throughout the entire transaction—to closing and beyond.

It doesn’t matter what kind of business you operate, the real estate decisions you make should align with your business goals. Do yourself a favor and work with a real estate broker that will look out for you and your business interests.



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General Real Estate

Looking for Riverfront or Waterfront Property?

Posted by Kevin Endres - Mar 17, 2009

Looking for Riverfront or Waterfront Property?

Northern Michigan is home to some of the most spectacular lakes and rivers in the world!

Not familiar with every lake up North... no problem. HomeWaters.net includes links to lake bottom maps and lake descriptions so you can do your own research and find the property and lake that best suits the needs of you and your family. 

There are 1,000's of miles of pristine rivers and streams in Northern Michigan to choose from. In addition to providing the most complete and accurate riverfront property listings, HomeWaters.netwas built to be a resource with river maps, conditions and hatch reports, float and fish times, river histories, and other helpful information.

My friends at Home Waters are the most knowledgable Realtors and leaders/pioneers in the rivers and lakes real estate industry.  Besides their expertise, their website www.homewaters.netis the most powerful and user friendly search engine for available river and lakefront properties on the web.  If you are in the market for such a property, a bookmark to their site is a must.  Tell them that Three West, LLC says hi.



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Healthcare

Tough Times Impact Healthcare

Posted by Kevin Endres - Mar 17, 2009

Tough economic times have a negative impact in many industries and health care is not immune. As a manager of two area phyical therapy clinics, I see the impact in the increasing number of patients who are unable to complete their recommended number of treatments, because they can’t afford the copays.

The trend of employer provider health coverages to higher deductible and higher copays has been increasing for a number of years. With the economic downturn, the impact of the higher employee costs are being seen much more frequently. Where in the past we may have had an average of one patient per month decline continued treatment because of costs, we now see one or two patients a week choosing to cut therapy short. Not knowable are the increasing number of folks who are foregoing physical therapy treatment completely, because of high deductibles and $40 copays.

To read more on this topic visit upnorthlive.com

This post was written by Three West Associate Christopher Bosio.

 



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Commercial Real Estate

The difference between a NNN Lease and a Gross Lease

Posted by Kevin Endres - Mar 12, 2009

If you’re in the market for new space for your business and are looking to lease, it is imperative that you understand the difference between the two common types of leases, NNN and Gross.

The term NNN Lease, or Triple Net Lease, refers to a lease where the tenant is responsible for not only the rent but the operating expenses also. The NNN, or Net-Net-Net, generally refers to the Common Area Maintenance (CAM), real estate taxes, and insurance. In this case, the tenant bears the entire risk of unexpected changes in operating expenses. A Gross Lease is a term used for a lease where the Landlord assumes the operating expenses. A Gross Lease is generally an all inclusive “out the door” payment structure. The Landlord is one who bears the risk of all unexpected changes in operating expenses.

With any lease, it is important to read the details very carefully to determine who pays for what. Some spaces may be advertised for a very low dollar amount per square foot, but have very high CAM fees, creating an overall payment that is more expensive than originally anticipated. The type of building construction will also play a large role in the type of lease advertised for a building. A $14/SF NNN lease for an older building, with old windows, and low energy efficiency will generally have a greater overall cost to the tenant compared to a newer energy efficient building due to the operating expenses required to heat and cool the space. In either case, it is always important to make sure that you have buyer representation, just like in a real estate purchase, looking out for your best interest in any lease negotiation.



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Commercial Real Estate

Class-A Office / Medical Space

Posted by Kevin Endres - Jan 24, 2009

Class-A Office / Medical Space
Are you looking to take advantage of Traverse City's most successful mixed use development? Copper Ridge has just anounced that space is now available in it's newest Professional Bldg. Building E is in white box condition and ready to build out to your specific specs. Highlights of this building include underground parking for tenants, ample parking for customers, and gorgeous views overlooking Traverse City. You can be in your new space in as quickly as 4 months for as low as $140/sf for white box and $200/sf built out. Size of spaces available are from 1,500 sf to 15,000 sf. For more information on Copper Ridge, please visit www.copperridgeonline.com

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Commercial Real Estate

General Growth Close To Bankruptcy

Posted by Kevin Endres - Jan 24, 2009

General Growth Properties, the owner of Grand Traverse Mall, is close to bankruptcy. Short on cash and the banks unwillingness or ability to refinance the retaill giants debt has put it in financial peril. What will this mean for our hometown mall's future? In this economic downturn, and with consumer confidence and spending as low as they are, it would be hard to think that another mall operator would buy the mall outright. The Grand Traverse Mall plays a big part in our local economy, draws tourists, and generates money from outside the area. Having that amount of retail space hit the market could be detrimental to our local Commercial Real Estate market. For more on the story check out http://tinyurl.com/6p4x79

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Commercial Real Estate

Historic Property Preservation Tax Credit

Posted by Kevin Endres - Jan 24, 2009

The governor has signed legislation that beefs up the historic preservation tax credit and helps Michigan downtowns in their redevelopment efforts. If you own, or are looking to buy, a commercial building that is a registered historic building or located in a registered historic business district, your next rehabilitation project with a price tag of $250,000 or less maybe eligible for a tax credit. If you're interested in more information on this topic, please contact me. For more on the story go to http://tinyurl.com/6v5jrg

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Brownfield Redevelopment

Brownfield Projects in Grand Traverse County

Posted by Kevin Endres - Jan 24, 2009

The community must come together to support developers and indivduals interested in utilizing the incentives provided by the Brownfield Redevelopment Act. These incentives are available to everyone in the state and the program is a product of the state legislature. Using the incentives not only helps clean up contaminated properties, but also provides the means to help developers get projects off the ground. We have seen many projects in Grand Traverse County utilize these incentives in the last few years, Copper Ridge, Hagerty, the two "Holes" at each end of Front Street and even the Commons project. I don't think the generaL public, and especially the media, realizes the amount of risk and financial skin in the game that developers have in taking on such projects. The media has portrayed the use of Brownfield funds as money hungry developers stealing money from users such as BATA, the elderly, and the Library. This is obviously false and an intentional use of the media to direct and create policy. The two questions I have are these: 1) "Do you think that the County's Brownfield Redevelopment Authority is vital in helping redevelop properties within Grand Traverse County" 2) "Do you think the media is intentionally trying to drive policy and create controversy where there isn't any to sell papers". Let me know your thoughts.

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