Article Synopsis
Explore how dock wells enhance warehouse operations by providing both dock-high loading and grade-level access, and learn best practices for implementation…
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library_books Understanding Dock Wells: Definition, Uses, and Warehouse AdvantagesInformational Tags for this ArticleLocation Tags for this Article
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library_books Getting Started on Warehouse FinderArticle Synopsis
We expect you’ve arrived here looking for useful information about Industrial & Flex warehouse space. That’s our “thing” and we take it very seriously. We’ve been in operation since 2008…
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link Texas Real Estate Commission Consumer AdvocacyArticle Synopsis
The Texas (and other State’s) Real Estate Commission (TREC) exists to implement the state laws established around the practice of Real Estate. The state decided at some point - I used to know the date - that consumers need to be protected from fraud and ignorance in the most consequential transactions in which some folks will ever be involved. TREC has come a long way in simplifying what it thinks the consumer needs to know.
They require a lot of things, but some of the most important center around setting up a relationship with a Real Estate professional. They want you to know that until you have an agreed upon relationship with your Broker, you can not assume that they work for you because by statute, they do not. This doesn’t mean that they are allowed to lie to you - just that their duty is to provide their client with the best possible information, and that until you are their client, you need to assume their client is someone else.
They do a much better job of explaining it than I do with their Consumer Protection Notice, which talks about where to file a complaint, what recovery options are available to you as a consumer, and how to get more information. Add to that their Information About Brokerage Services document, which explains in detail the professionals you will be working with, the minimum duties of these professionals to their client, and more detail about the different ways a given Brokerage can represent you in your Real Estate transaction. This information is critical to you and to your understanding about who to trust and what to share. TREC requires all Real Estate professionals in Texas to provide this information to you BEFORE they conduct substantive discussions with you about your Real Estate needs.
There is a good deal of useful information on the TREC Web Site. You can investigate the licensing status of anyone you are considering using as your Real Estate professional, including complaints lodged against them. Most of it is aimed at the Real Estate professional, so you might well consider it pretty dry reading (not that a Real Estate professional doesn’t…).
Every state has rules set out for this situation. I haven’t reviewed the regulations of any other state in detail, but it is my understanding that all states regulate these transactions to some, and probably to a similar degree.
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library_books Supply Chains and Industrial "Warehouse" RequirementsArticle Synopsis
Overview Many (most?) in the business world have no real need to understand the ins and outs of commercial real estate property types until they experience a need to expand or contract their business. My goal here is to take you briefly through my experience, converting my business experience into an understanding of the Industrial & Flex warehouse market.
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library_books Your Relationship with your Real Estate Agent/BrokerArticle Synopsis
Did you know that your relationship with your real estate broker is fairly similar to your relationship with your attorney? To be sure, there are significant differences - but there are also significant similarities. Of course, we all hope not to have (too) much of a relationship with an attorney - at least when it comes around to legal “troubles.” To judge by current trends in the technology industry, many of us feel the same way about real estate brokers. Is it better to be “cagey” about committing to a real estate broker, or is it better to take the plunge and commit to one?Regulated Industry
Both attorneys AND real estate brokers (and their agents) are tightly regulated by the states (maybe al statesl, but I certainly it’s the case in Texas where I live and believe it applies broadly). They are both expected to be fiduciaries. Attorneys can take upon themselves broad fiduciary responsibilities as defined between themselves and their clients. A real estate broker is generally limited to fiduciary responsibilities in the area of real estate with an extended obligation to only engage in types of real estate in which they are knowledgable. An example would be an agent who has only handled residential suddenly representing themselves as experts of retail or office properties.
In most areas of your life, you can walk around and conduct business for yourself - buy a hot dog, rent a car, etc., etc. There may be rules those you deal with have to follow and prescribed rules around the transactions, but in most cases you have to look out for yourself - buyer beware and all that. In the real estate industry, buyer (and seller) beware applies as well, but the states I know about have decided that you will in most cases have a real estate professional helping to look out for your interests. Yes, you read that right - in most cases, it is strongly encouraged (not quite required) that a primary party to a real estate transaction employs the services of a real estate professional. If you’re wealthy, there are some ways around it that might save you money, but given the way most real estate regulations are structured, you should really be asking yourself why would I try to do it without a broker in my corner? The transaction fees required for their involvement are generally already built into most real estate transactions.
Possible Upsides to Using a Broker
This would be a long list if I were to list them all - I’ll list a few from various sources including the Texas Administrative Code, the rules of the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC), and other sources for your consideration. A licensee must:
- “Exercise a standard of duty and care…”
- Behave with “fidelity” by treating all parties to a transaction fairly (yes, the definitions of fairness are defined about as clearly as one could define them)
- Behave with “integrity” by using “caution to avoid misrepresentation by acts of commission or omission.”
- Maintain competence - in other words, you have a right to expect that if you utilize a professional, that this professional knows his/her business and can help you competently.
This list could go on and on, and is highly specific to cases that have been encountered in any given state. If the above list isn’t enough, let me add a kicker that might push you over the edge. If you can prove the broker you hired isn’t what your real estate commission says he/she must be or doesn’t do the things your real estate commissions says he/she must do, that real estate commission has the teeth to enforce the rules they set out by force of law. In TEXAS, TREC maintains a fund collected from licensees to make certain that they can make settlements should they decide there were violations that warrant settlements.
In layman’s terms, find a qualified broker with good communication skills and work with them exclusively. They will put in the time and effort using their resources to find, or sell/lease the property you want. Let them do the work while you manage your business and personal life.
Possible Downsides to Using a Broker
There are probably no real downsides to using the right “qualified” broker to represent you. However, we can touch upon why you want to be careful in your selection. The following is an attempt at a list - which I expect to improve and enhance over time:
- Using a broker who does not have adequate knowledge or the property type and area in which you are interested. They can waste your time, likely miss opportunities, and can possibly expose you to legal action. After all, no one wants to jeopardize a real estate transaction and have to pursue or defend a legal action with or because of an incompetent broker!
- Good communication skills are not as common as you would think among real estate professionals. Some of the most intelligent brokers are not that polished at communicating. The better brokers know what questions to ask, and how to actively listen so that they understand the client’s needs.
Quick Summary
When I was pursuing my license originally here in Texas, I was amazed to see the detail with which TREC describes their expectations for ethical behavior, and for the behaviors they expect in general. Not to brag (well, maybe), but it was not all that difficult for me since the bulk of it was how I strive to do business in any case. Evidently there must be people out there who need a lot of help, guidance, and at least a little enforcement - because the states decided that this industry, along with a few others, requires fairly tight regulation. Please seriously consider willingly letting a broker take you under his/her wing and help you through what tends to be a fairly complex business transaction - sooner rather than later!
See our short disclaimer.
Are you looking for Warehouse, Office or other space in Houston or elsewhere? Do you need to renew your lease?
Contact Warehouse Finder using our Get Started link above, call us at the phone number on this page in the upper right, or chat with us using our chat widget on the page in the lower right.
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link Milestone - 50+1 Real Estate Commissions - All 50 States + Puerto RicoArticle Synopsis
A good while ago - if interested, you can likely tell how long by the dates of some of the posts - I began this journey of creating a web site for commercial real estate seekers. I hoped to fill the site with as much useful information as I could manage. Four or five other web sites under my belt later and I’m back to reassess and push forward. Finally taking the time to finish off the links to nation-wide Real Estate Commissions (however they are named) seems like a great thing to talk about at least briefly - not to mention an excellent way to tell our users about some of the techniques for finding this type of information on our site.
The first thing to know - and if you are reading this you already know 1 way to find this article - it’s the FINDthisSPACE web site Articles and Links structure. Posts on our site are one of two things (so far) - 1) a BLOG Post like this one, and 2) a Link to useful information elsewhere on the web. In both cases, you can view the summary of all Posts, or Articles and Links on our Articles and Links page here. On this page, you’ll find all of them listed in chronological order with “sticky” articles we feel we need to prioritize at the top. If you just want to browse, this is probably where you want to be.
For those of you who want to find information faster, we’ve provided a few ways to narrow things down. We’ve provided:
- Good, old fashioned (I think anyway) Tags,
- Place Tags that help you narrow down to a location,
- Commercial Real Estate Type Tags to help you further focus your article selection.
At this point, all the Real Estate Commission Links/Synopses are Tagged with Consumer Advocacy and State Regulations (I may use more tags as we go along on these). If you see one of these Tags under a synopsis on the BLOG page, you can click on that Tag and it will narrow (filter) the BLOG page by Tag - which I’m calling “tagify.” These links are also available on the BLOG Post/Article page (accessed under News and Info - the Articles & Links (A&L) link) after the article. These links work the same. Note that these Place Tags aren’t links yet - I’m working on that.
As implied above, Place Tags are still under development. They have a good deal of potential. Right now, the best way to get to the state you want without browsing the entire set of posts is to use the “By Metro” under News and Info. Click on your state, and then on any of the Metro areas within that state to get the one you want. Anything Place-tagged with a state will appear with that filter.
The last is the Commercial Real Estate type flag. This, too, is under continued development, but as of now it works as you might expect. There’s not a lot of content currently that requires this filter, but I expect that to change over time.
If you end up finding these tags (filters) useful, you may also want to register with our site. Each of these tag types have their own saving mechanism, as do BLOG Posts themselves.
Thanks for having a look and check back often!
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link Pennsylvania State Real Estate CommissionLink Synopsis
This is the official web site of the Pennsylvania Real Estate regulating body - the Pennsylvania State Real Estate Commission. If you are a prospective or actual buyer or lessee, this is where you can go to learn about what you can and should expect out of the players in your real estate transaction. You can learn about the agents and brokers involved - whether or not their licenses are active (they MUST be for them to deal with you) - and whether or not they have or have had disciplinary action against them. If you are I would suggest that you browse the site just a bit to make sure you know what is there that might be useful to you. Bon apetit.
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library_books Bodegas en RentaArticle Synopsis
Nuestro agente afiliado en el área de Houston
Centermark CRE (Commercial Real Estate)
Vincent Rivera - (713) 775-8560
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link Articles & Links Categories & FiltersArticle Synopsis
This article describes the method provided to help you sort through articles and links on our site. The site uses a system of categories and filters to help you narrow things down to your interests, and lets you save them and archive them so that they won’t be included in the future.
This graphic below is an attempt to illustrate some the first-level methods for sorting Articles & Links (A&L). All A&Ls are grouped in the blue stack box. These can be sorted by CRE Type (yellow) and Metro Areas (yellow). CRE Types in this case will be all types available on our site. Metro Areas in this case will be Metro Areas where there is some activity. In each of these cases, you may save one or more CRE Type or Metro Area (gray) to use directly as filters, and if you have then links will show up for these with a count of the number of Areas or Types. The result of this sorting would be filtered lists of A&Ls.
Additionally, each article - with the exception of “sticky” articles which will already show up - can be saved for later use or eliminated from future consideration by archiving it.
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link NAIOP Terms & Definitions - Real Estate Types, Etc.Link Synopsis
The NAIOP (National Association of Industrial and Office Parks), also known as the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, is an organization for developers, owners and related professionals in office, industrial and mixed-use real estate. This is a link to the Terms & Definitions page for their research foundation. You can navigate these on their web site, but they also provide a link to a .pdf to the right of the “Terms & Definitions” label that I found quite useful.
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library_books Commercial ResourcesArticle Synopsis
Here we list a few valuable resources for the Houston Commercial Real Estate Market:
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library_books Warehouse Space For LeaseArticle Synopsis
By providing basic contact information and space requirements, we will narrow down your search to the right For Lease or For Sale properties. We will personally contact you with you matched property profile.
What You Get
1. Personal Advantages - One on one representation and guidance from a commercial real estate broker
2. Experienced Brokers - 19 years of industrial and office brokerage experience
3. Quick Results - Initial surveys usually provided the same day
4. No endless searches - We are a one stop shop for locating available commercial property, we have premium access to all the major national databases combined with personal knowledge of your market. We are on the streets, familiar with your area.
5. Valuable Guidance - We will treat your sell, purchase or lease as if it is our own business at stake. Our goal is to insure you get the best deal on the property you need.
6. No Obligation - What so ever…
7. Free Assistance -
Our fees are paid by Sellers and Landlords and we represent YOU.
Free Assistance Areas
1. Lease process guidelines - With 1000’s of leases under our belt, we are able to guide you thru all facets of the leasing process, from negotiation to execution.
2. Purchase process guidelines - As with leases, we also have handled 100’s of commercial sales transactions and we can hold our buyer’s hand from price negotiations to closing.
3. Property Summaries - Our available property summaries provide a map of the availabilities along with a description of each property.
4. In Depth Comparisons - We are able to create personal comparisons of the alternatives which allow our clients to make an educated decision.
5. Negotiation - We pride ourselves on our ability to get a deal done and think “outside the box.” This gives us a substantial advantage in negotiating leases and purchase agreements.
6. Inspection - We provide lists of qualified inspectors and personally inspect properties to make recommendations of additional licensed specialists to avoid missing major issues
7. Survey - A category 1-A survey is recommend for our clients and we will work with the Title Company and attorney to review each survey condition
8. Appraisal - With extensive knowledge of our market we work closely with appraisers to ensure the appraisal report is reflective of true market conditions.
Bodegas en Renta
Looking for Warehouse, Office or other space in Houston or elsewhere? Needing to renew your lease?
Contact the WarehouseFinder.NET Broker Affiliate Network below.
Centermark Commercial Real Estate specializes in Industrial and Office in the Greater Houston area. CCRE is the exclusive affiliate broker for WarehouseFinder.NET in Houston, TX.
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library_books How to Lease or Rent a Small WarehouseArticle Synopsis
When I need to lease a small warehouse, how do I this search? Who will help me, and what resources might I need or want to take advantage of…Informational Tags for this ArticleLocation Tags for this Article -
library_books Commercial Warehouse for Lease - Property CategoriesArticle Synopsis
“Commercial warehouse” as a label is broadly used to describe a number of types of commercial space typically offered for lease or rent. For purposes of this article, we will use Five (5) main categories.
General Office/Warehouse
Typically grade level, this type of building is suited to businesses that provide a product and need to receive materials/items and ship out materials/items which may be at grade level or at dock high. The dock-high loading requirement with smaller freestanding buildings is usually facilitated thru use of in ground dock truck wells where the truck backs down a ramp to adjust for the height of the shipping container.
Bulk Distribution
Used for the distribution of palletized products in large volume, these buildings have true 4’ dock high loading with multiple doors, high clear height and fire protection systems.
Heavy Manufacturing
With grade level overhead doors and ample outside storage yard, these buildings often have large overhead cranes, heavy power and high clear heights.
Flex office/warehouse (aka Service Center Space)
Heavy office ratio and air-conditioned and heated areas used for tech or assembly are common with Flex space. High parking ratios and generally higher end business park settings are also popular with this type.
Truck Terminal w/Cross Dock
Used to transfer goods quickly from container to container, these buildings are usually very shallow and long to allow for a very high number of offloading spaces and overhead doors. Additionally, an abundance of trailer storage area and staging yard is normally required.
These are some of the main categories of buildings in Commercial Warehouses which are found for Lease.
For a more recent article with an updated list, go here.
For help finding a qualified industrial broker in your area and the perfect warehouse for your business call WarehouseFinder.net at 800.814.4214
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library_books Free Rent! Warehouse for Lease! Really? - Let Me Explain...Article Synopsis
“So we need to lease a warehouse - how much free rent can you get us?” That is a common question I get from my clients. It generally does not matter if they are local or global, $100k/year or $100mm/year, everyone wants to feel they got the upper-hand or a good “deal.” But what does “free rent” really mean?
Free rent is, in most circumstances, a period of time where the tenant pays no rent or partial rent during the lease. This period is usually front loaded on the lease term. This is a great marketing ploy for landlords and is generally a win for the tenant too. It is pushed as a savings in rent to offset move-in and set-up costs incurred by the tenant. Free rent is also called “Rental Abatement” - which is, as a description, generally more palatable to Landlords. Owners hate to give away money. At the end of the day, owners want to lease their properties up and if they can lease it now, give a few months of free rent and eliminate the risk of additional months of vacancy, then it ends up being a wash for the owner.
Let me explain the tricks around Free Rent. Typically, free rent is never free. Rental abatement is recouped later in the lease. While time value of money may be gained, the Landlord will generally pad his proposal to account for any opportunity costs. As an example, if you as the tenant want to rent 10,000 SF for 60 months and the Landlord gives you 3 months free rent, he will typically add the months to the term of the lease - so 63 months. Now the Landlord will want rental increases in later years and will start those “bumps” in month 13 of the lease. Now the added three months will be at the highest rate in the term, thereby increasing the average rate over the lease.Free rent up front is a plus for the tenant, provided the tenant does not have to pay more in rate over the term in order to get the free rent.
Looking for Warehouse, Office or other space in Houston or elsewhere? Needing to renew your lease?
Contact the WarehouseFinder.NET Broker Affiliate Network below.
Centermark Commercial Real Estate specializes in Industrial and Office in the Greater Houston area. CCRE is the exclusive affiliate broker for WarehouseFinder.NET in Houston, TX.
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library_books How to Use a Grade Level Facility for Dock-High LoadingArticle Synopsis
This article attempts to answer the question “Can I achieve dock-high loading/unloading using a grade-level building?” The fundamental problem addressed by warehouse loading areas - or docks in this article - is how facility team members get materials from the shipping surface of trucks, trains, etc., onto the facility floor for further handling…Informational Tags for this ArticleLocation Tags for this Article -
library_books Commercial Buildings for sale - A shrinking market? How is that?Article Synopsis
Construction of commercial buildings has decreased approximately 28% across the board for industrial, retail and office properties (as reported by Costar,Inc.). This is especially true for speculative warehouse and office buildings for sale by a developer. For the business owner looking to buy a warehouse building or office for his/her operations, this decrease may drive up pricing on existing buildings and reduce availability. I have clients tell me quite often that in this economy there must be a glut of buildings for sale. While that may be accurate in areas of the country with higher than average unemployment and/or a shrinking population, it is quite the opposite in booming cities like Houston, Austin, Dallas, Atlanta, Provo and Phoenix.
While a shortage of funds from lenders for speculative development is a nationwide issue, availability of buildings for sale fluctuates dramatically from city to city. Lender rules for loan approval do not take into account the feasibility of project based on an individual city’s needs and inventory. A bad economy by default forces a migration of people to other, more prosperous areas of the country looking for jobs. This drives up demand in those areas and changes the commercial real estate picture. Tie this surge in demand to a national policy of restrictive lending and you have a shortage of quality buildings for sale.
So, the volume of buildings for sale becomes a relative term and may not correspond to the nationwide economy, especially in a city like Houston, Texas.
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library_books Typical Selection Criteria - Warehouse for Lease, Rent or SaleArticle Synopsis
If you are considering renting, leasing or purchasing a warehouse facility and would like to get off to the best start possible, I advise taking ample time to define your needs in a facility. Here are some specific criteria to consider…Informational Tags for this ArticleLocation Tags for this Article -
library_books Full-Service Lease: Understanding Types of Commercial Leases - Part 3Article Synopsis
A Full-Service Lease, typically applicable to multi-tenant office buildings, offers one monthly rate that encompasses all costs associated with the property, such as electricity, janitorial services, management, property taxes, and property insurance. This lease type allows the landlord to pass along any increases in expenses to the tenants each year.Informational Tags for this ArticleLocation Tags for this Article -
library_books Understanding Triple Net (NNN) Leases in Commercial Real EstateArticle Synopsis
A Triple Net (NNN) lease is a popular type of commercial real estate lease agreement where the tenant is responsible for paying the base rental amount each month to the landlord. In addition to the base rent, the tenant also reimburses the landlord monthly for their pro-rata share of certain estimated…Informational Tags for this ArticleLocation Tags for this Article
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