[schema type="organization" orgtype="LocalBusiness" url="http://4salebydonna.com" name="Real Estate Agent Donna Baker" description="Real Estate Agent showing homes for sale and available real estate in Monrovia, Pasadena, Arcadia the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California." city="Monrovia" state="Ca" postalcode="91016" email="donna@4salebydonna.com " phone="(626) 408-7766 "]

Business Real Estate Strategy for Monrovia Entrepreneurs

 Most Monrovia small businesspeople will recognize this post-startup scenario. It’s the moment when the whole idea of long-range planning first starts to make sense.

Although everyone who stakes his or her claim in a new business hopes for success, in the beginning, that outcome is far from certain. Throughout the early going, the first order of business has been simple survival—and that’s been a full-time job. You work your tail off 25 hours a day, tackle all the expected (and unexpected) challenges, and if the best happens, see the bottom line begin to brighten. And then, the reality dawns: your brainchild actually has a future—and it might just be a really bright one!

Last week, Forbes published a piece of business real estate advice for anyone in that happy position. It urges paying attention to one strategic area that can prove to be a “stealth benefit”—one significant enough to make the struggle that much more worthwhile.

In brief, Forbes recommends that as soon as you determine that your business has a future, it’s time to focus on establishing its permanent quarters. That means seizing control over your Monrovia business’s real estate future. There are two directions:

  1. Long-term lease. Stability can be vital for a fledgling enterprise, making a five- or ten-year (or even longer) lease essential for providing your business real estate the requisite permanence. Commercial leases are more complex than typical residential ones. That complexity makes it essential to evaluate competing offers using an apples-to-apples approach. A single net lease, for instance, carries relatively few obligations other than the monthly lease payment, whereas a double or triple net lease includes variables like property insurance and taxes—and even maintenance. Identifying the best offer takes a sharp pencil plus an awareness of the need to account for future unknowns—plus (as Forbes points out) the counsel of an experienced CPA.
  2. Direct ownership. Here, you buy the property. It’s a considerable obligation, but your accountant can advise on the best ways to take advantage of some “stealth benefits” of becoming your own landlord. For instance, when your business pays you rent, that cash is passive income (you pay no payroll tax). Your company might also pay all of the property’s expenses, while you deduct depreciation and interest. If and when the property appreciates, it accrues to you. And ultimately, should you sell the business, you might lease your Monrovia property to the new owner—creating a retirement income stream.

Long range business real estate planning may seem like a pie-in-the-sky abstraction when you first start out—but soon enough, its impact on your bottom line can become real enough. I’m here to help you make the most of the Monrovia real estate opportunities that are out there!

Equifax Hack Victims Include Monrovia Homeowners

When news of the Equifax hack first broke, the credit ratings giant scrambled to minimize fallout from this massive personal information breach. After an initial embarrassing misstep (they tried to have affected consumers sign off on Equifax’s liability), the company moved to ameliorate the hack by offering free ID protection to consumers.

Monrovia homeowners and potential home buyers had reason to do more than shake their heads at yet another electronic pratfall. In one way or another, most Monrovia real estate transactions involve creditworthiness appraisals that are managed by the three credit reporting agencies (Equifax is one). That means that among the 143 million consumers it admits could be “potentially impacted” are certainly a lot of current and future Monrovia home buyers. The stolen information includes names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses—and for hundreds of thousands, credit card numbers. Even some California driver license data figured in the Equifax hack.

Given the obvious potential for identity theft, the company’s Chairman went online to make an unprecedented offer: his firm will furnish a comprehensive package of credit file monitoring and identity theft protection to everyone. Literally.

To every consumer in the United States. For a year. For free.

With few exceptions, it was left to us to take the initiative to take them up on the offer. That factor might shrink the size of the undertaking, but even so, delivering on this scale was unlikely to be accomplished without a few hitches.

Hitch #1: when this many millions of people try to check in on any site, no system can handle it all at once. So contacting this Equifax Trusted ID Premier link results in varying lengths of delay before enrollment can be confirmed.

Hitch #2: because it is now obvious that sophisticated thieves are active in the credit reporting industry, it will be doubly necessary for Equifax to make certain that you are who you say you are. That makes multiple email confirmation back-and-forths unavoidable­­.

It’s a cinch that Monrovia residents who decide to sign up for the free protection should also be extra vigilant in monitoring their financial transactions. An additional step is also possible: you can contact any one of the three credit agencies (Equifax, TransUnion, or Experian) to request that they place a 90-day “fraud alert” on your file. It’s free, and whichever agency you contact is required to notify the other two. Fraud alerts obligate any lender to contact you before they issue credit in your name. You can renew the alert as many times as you wish—and cancel at any point.

Your credit score is a vital ingredient when it’s time to look for favorable home loan offers, so even before the Equifax hack, it’s always been well worth protecting. Give me a call or a text when questions about this or other Monrovia real estate matters come up: I’ll be minding the phone!

Selling Your Monrovia Tenant-Occupied House

 Even investors whose Monrovia rental homes have served long and well as income-producers can eventually decide it’s time to sell. Given today’s tight housing inventories, the current market does stack up as one where selling your tenant-occupied house can be a timely financial move.

But if that is under consideration, what should you do about the current tenant? Is it better to wait until the current lease expires—so that the vacated property can be shown without having to deal with an inconvenienced (and possibly miffed) tenant? Or will it be better to go ahead and list the property while it’s still occupied? California landlord-tenant laws will have to be observed in any case, and specifics depend on the terms of the rental agreement, but experience teaches that following a few straightforward guidelines will usually solve any tenant-occupied Monrovia rental home sale issues before they become problematical.

As with so many “people” matters, keeping the lines of communication open should be the first order of business. For the planned sale of a tenant-occupied house, that means letting your tenant know as soon as possible that the house is going to be put on the market, and that you and your agent will actively minimize any inconvenience that might result. This is also the most opportune time to suggest that they consider buying the place themselves—an option that eliminates further complications.

If that’s not a possibility, be prepared to address their likely concerns, such as—

  1. Having to allow strangers into their home. Impress on the tenant that showings will only be conducted for qualified prospective buyers who will be escorted by your agent—a California-licensed real estate professional.
  2. Having home life suddenly interrupted. Let them know the terms of your agreement with your Realtor® specifying the required advance notice for all showings.
  3. Having to move. This is only a possibility since their good history as a tenant increases the possibility that the new owner may choose to continue to offer the property as a rental.

The solution depends on the specifics. If you are selling a property that tracks well as an investment, tenants may be a plus. If you are selling an upscale property, having it vacant and staged to the 9s may well be your best bet (and a good one, too!).

In any case, the most accurate advice will come when you give me a call to come out and see your property. That’s how we can develop the right game plan!