Is "UNIQUENESS" Marketable?
My wife and I are in a very unique real estate situation. We own nearly all of the historic district of a small Georgia town: Post Office, Cafe, Theater, Bank building, warehouse converted to office/residence, old cotton gin, warehouses on railsiding, vacant lots, all Victorian era brick structures. Most restored to near original.
We believe the value of the whole is greater than the sum of the parts but we will divide it if necessary. Because of family illness we must let it go.
Our town is located less than an hour from two relatively large cities (Savannah and Augusta) and we have listed it with agents in both cities in the past. However, it seems that they were reluctant to advertise as required and they said that the "uniqueness" was a drawback because it limited the pool of potential buyers. Is this true?
We suspect that the buyer of this type of property would most likely not be "local". Are there "national" brokerages that may be able to handle the sale?
The uses of the properties are varied; commercial, residential, industrial. How does one market them?
The properties have very little debt against it so we are flexible with structuring owner financing. We just want it to live on!
We are both professionals, but not realtors, so we appreciate commissions and are willing to pay them.
Can anybody out there help us?!
:-?
Uniqueness is good news and bad. Most people, not just real estate investors, really want to do the same stuff every day. In real estate that means that they have a formula that they try to repeat over and over (buy and flip, rehab and hold, strip centers, whatever). The number of people who are interested in a property which is not a formula are slim, and that smaller market makes it harder to sell.
This is actually one of my formulas for real estate acquisition-- I buy unique and obsolete properties that most people cannot figure out what to do with and I figure out uses.
That said I suspect you are correct abou the whole being worth more than the sum of the parts if you can find the right buyer. But this in turn brings some questions,
Is any part of this space leased to tenants? (other than the cafe) and what are they paying for rent?
If not what are the primary economic engines in the area and what are comparable rents for the available spaces?
What do you think the parts might be worth seperately? Some of them are clearly difficult to move in today's market, other parts I suspect will move quite quickly. One question to ask is how much discount might you take to move it all as one piece and not be left with some remnant for years which would eventually sell for more-- someday.
It is a very interesting property. Can't say I know the area at all, which would make advice easier to give.
I remember that Kim Bassinger bought a small town in Georgia.... maybe she'd like another??
(Sorry, that's probably not much help)
CT
As a developer and licensed agent (I broker 3rd part y development deals for projects we don't do ourselves)in GA I am very curious what town we are talking about here. If you were closer to metro ATL I could probably have a buyer for you in a matter of minutes and I may still be able to help you out. I think more information is needed on the property(s) to determine the best way to market it. So many things come into play with the different uses and cash flows they present a potential buyer. There are a handful of developers in the region that specialize in mixed use projects and this one may or may not be a good fit for that type of deal. What are the demographics for the area? What are the major employers? Is it feasible to redevelop or is it best ot leave generally "as-is?" If it is best to leave as-is is the cash flow there to merit someone investing in it?
I'd be more than happy to talk specifics if you are interested. You can ask Nancy or CommercialKing if I seem to know what i am doing.
Certainly the buyer pool of someone purchasing the entire town is limited and selling off different parcels could in fact yield a higher price. It really all depends on how much of an area you are talking about, the zoning of those respective areas, and the market conditions for that type of product. Post some more info and specifics and I may be able to offer more specific advice.
Thanks y'all for the replies!
Here is more information to hopefully continue the discussion.
The town we are speaking of is Rocky Ford, Ga which is about 50 min. from Savannah or Augusta, 15 min. from Statesboro and 200 mi. from the capitol building in Atlanta.
[Please see website at: www.rockyfordinternational.net]
Our town is an incorporated town with a mayor and 6 member city council but does NOT have a building or zoning code. When I mentioned "historical district" that was in name only. There is no officially designated area in the town so the developer has very few restrictions.
The Ogeechee River is walking distance away which is one of the last undamed, pristine rivers in Georgia.
The first settlers came to the area in 1790.
The Central of Georgia Railroad reached town in about 1846 while it was being built from Savannah to Augusta. We have about 1,000 ft. of privately controlled siding on that line which is now known as Norfolk Southern Railway and is their main line between Atlanta and Savannah. That line is also the same one that runs through the parcel of land that Diemler Chrysler is considering for a major manufacturing plant on it's way to the International Port of Savannah.
Manufacturing is booming in the area. A few years ago Briggs & Stratton moved their entire manufacturing operations to Statesboro. Many other companies, Lowes, Walmart's largest distribution warehouse, etc. have relocated to the area because of increased worker productivity and lower wages.
The boundary between Screven County and Bulloch County (Statesboro) is the Ogeechee River. Screven County is considered as a Tier 3 county under the One Georgia program which is designed to "level out" the economics of all counties. This means that Screven is eligible for such things as tax incentives, free port status, jobs creation incentives, etc.
Georgia Southern University and Ogeechee Techinical College (both in Statesboro) are growing leaps and bounds.
Rocky Ford is located on the route which Gen. Sherman took on his "March to the Sea" during the Civil War. Hence, it is now on what is called the Civil War Heritage Trail which draws many tourists each year.
Rocky Ford was the original county seat for Screven County and the history is too voluminous to even begin here.
Bulloch County is experiencing growth pressures and land values are going up steadily so many people are looking across the river for land and housing.
All the buildings we have are Victorian era brick structures [The bricks were made in town at the Rocky Ford Brickworks.] that qualify for the National Register of Historic Places which opens the door for grants and low interest loans.
As you can see the development potential is there. We just need the right person or group.
All the Best,
CharleyB
CharleyB,
Thanks for filling in some of the blanks. If you go back over the posts above, I think you'll see that there are still several unanswered question. People might be better able to help if you could address issues such as current tenancies (if any), comparable rents, separate parcels, permitted uses, etc.
Nancy
[quote]
On 2004-11-16 19:15, NancyChadwick wrote:
CharleyB,
Thanks for filling in some of the blanks. If you go back over the posts above, I think you'll see that there are still several unanswered question. People might be better able to help if you could address issues such as current tenancies (if any), comparable rents, separate parcels, permitted uses, etc.
Nancy
[/quote
Nancy;
I apologize for neglecting to answer your questions!
One property is currently leased, the Post Office.
We have rented the cafe and some buildings on the rail siding in the past. The rents have averaged about
$0.75/sf/mo. We have about 15,000 sf rentable space.
The parcels are currently deeded in three seperate sections but they could be surveyed and redeeded with zero lot line type documents.
The town is incorporated with a Mayor and 6-member city council but there is NO zoning code, building code or hisorical district . Nearly any use that conforms with Georgia law is permitted.
All the Best,
CharleyB
Hmmm....
your lease rate averages out to $9/ft/year. Not knowing much about Rocky Ford, I suspect that you are contending with a small population with medium/low income and not much building going on in the area? Is there public sewer available to the property(s) or is it all on septic? If it is still septic that will really limit what you are able to do in regards to redevelopment.
What is the ball park price you are asking for the property? How many total acres are you selling? What type of NOI/cash flow does the proeprty present? Are the streets that your property encompass publicly dedicated right of way that the city maintains or are you as the landowner maintaining the roads? What does the city council want to see happen to the property?
Quote:
On 2004-11-17 23:35, woodsong wrote:
Hmmm....
your lease rate averages out to $9/ft/year. Not knowing much about Rocky Ford, I suspect that you are contending with a small population with medium/low income and not much building going on in the area? Is there public sewer available to the property(s) or is it all on septic? If it is still septic that will really limit what you are able to do in regards to redevelopment.
What is the ball park price you are asking for the property? How many total acres are you selling? What type of NOI/cash flow does the proeprty present? Are the streets that your property encompass publicly dedicated right of way that the city maintains or are you as the landowner maintaining the roads? What does the city council want to see happen to the property?
woodsong;
Answers to your questions:
Yes the immediate area, the city limits, is mostly medium/low income folks however the adjacent counties to the east and south are indeed growing rapidly.
No, there is no public sewer right now, but the city has applied for a grant for a system and expects to have it in six months to a year. There is a city water supply and very good telecommunications services available. (see website)
We have not set a "ball park" price, it depends on what the developer wants to do. We prefer price negotiations be done off the boards so if you wish please email us direct. **Please See My Profile**
The total acres are given in detail on the website.
I do not know what NOI/cash flow means.
The streets that border the properties are indeed public streets maintained either by the city or the state.
The city council has several new members and have been much more receptive to growth.
We firmly believe that this project has value and will certainly grow over time because of the growth in the surrounding area.
All the Best,
CharleyB