Selling residential property can take months, from listing to closing. Selling commercial property is a whole different ball game. It can make residential deal closings feel like a blink of an eye compared to a more protracted process. Commercial property typically involves a longer due diligence period, greater uncertainty, more paperwork and can even involve contingences regarding funding. But can you sell a commercial property quickly? The answer is it’s possible. Whether you’re selling multifamily rentals, auto body shops, gas stations, warehouses or other properties, it’s possible to get deals done quickly. Here are some types that can help you shear weeks or months off the time period and get you from searching to a sale quick.

The state of the commercial property market

Amid a huge shift to e-commerce, warehouses are going strong. Single-family and multi-family also have been robust in many regions, as residents look beyond cities. Statista, for instance, said in 2022 investment prospects for commercial properties were most robust for industrial and distribution properties. Warehouses are in demand. Hotels had actual begun to improve. Retail was still risky, but healthcare uses were starting to spread in the strip mall. Offices also have a question mark, as remote workers change the equation, but that also is leading to downsizing and movement. Overall, as the pandemic retreats, commercial property has been strengthening again.

Get your paperwork in order early

If you’re selling a commercial property, you want to sweep away any potential obstacles that can stall deals. You may not need the paperwork at the start, but don’t wait until the last minute to make sure you have all the paperwork in order. Make sure your title is clear and you have documents you’ll need for a deal. Take care of paperwork out of the gate. If you run into delays, it’s better to run into them now. And if there are problems, such as liens or problems with the title, you want to identify and resolve them first.

Identify any environmental issues

Your property may be free of any environmental issues. But you don’t want to proceed deep into the process and run into a roadblock. If there are any environmental issues, be aware of them. And if not, be armed with the information to show that the property is not encumbered from environmental concerns. If you do have environmental issues, make sure you’re dealing with buyers able to deal with them. At Handsome Homebuyer, for instance, we’ve bought gas stations requiring cleanups. We know how to and have done cleanups. Some others may prefer to stay away.

Have financial data in order

If you’re selling a multi-family building or property with tenants, you’ll need to have the records indicating the flow of rent. People aren’t just buying the building, if you’ve got tenants. The cash flow is a key element. They want to know the revenue, which meant documents showing rent. Make sure you can show them books that indicate what they’re buying, beyond the building itself.

Show proof of improvements

If you’ve done improvements, like a new roof, it’s always good to show records indicating what you’ve done. If the roof has been repaired recently, that’s positive. Any other work also shows that you’re maintaining and improving the building. This is just another part of the paperwork that shows you’re prepared.

Vet your prospective buyers

The only offers that matter are the ones that can close. While buyers do due diligence, sellers need to do due diligence too. If a buyer can’t get a mortgage, then the numbers may not matter. Vetting is a way to identify possible problems in advance. Make sure you’re dealing with serious buyers not someone window shopping.

Cash buyers close quicker

If you do everything right, are prepared and ready to sell, that’s only half the battle. You need to find someone who can close quickly. The best way to do that is to find someone with cash. Real estate investors, for instance, typically have cash on hand to buy properties. Handsome Homebuyer, for instance, buys with our own cash. We don’t take out mortgages, which means we don’t have to wait and you don’t have to worry the cash won’t be there. We also do our own due diligence and don’t need to bring in a bank and wait while they do theirs.

Be cautious with contingencies

Some deals include financial contingencies, in which they only close if the buyer gets the funds. That means that until the deal is done, it really isn’t done. You may be willing to work with those terms, if you think the numbers justify it. But be aware that contingencies are question marks. Deals can still get done, but as long as the doubt is there, the dollars aren’t.

Look for someone with track record

If you’re selling to someone with cash, you can check out their track record. Handsome Homebuyer, for instance, closes more than 100 deals a year. If a company closes a lot of deals, there’s a better chance they’ll close yours. We are able to close in weeks, which, especially for commercial properties, can be great news. Sometimes we close in even less time than that.

How Handsome Homebuyer can help

You should look at all possibilities including which companies have experience in your region. Handsome Homebuyer specializes in the New York metropolitan area, primarily Long Island and New York City. We know that commercial real estate can be complicated. We also specialize in these deals. Going to a specialist can always be a good idea. We have the cash, the commitment and the competence not just to make an offer, but close a deal. If you’re selling commercial real estate, particularly in the New York metro area, we hope you’ll consider us. Either way, keep it in mind closing on commercial estate quickly is possible. We may be able to help you get a good deal done in a good time frame.