vinese
07-06-2010, 12:29 AM
HI All,
My wife and I are young entrepreneurs (23). I have been in the Real Estate business since 16. Dad has been buying and selling land for the past 20 years and the majority of my personal business comes from selling his properties.
Dad decided to open a residential real estate brokerage in 2008. He signed into a huge office lease agreement for 2 years. 10k square feet. Way WaY WAy overkill on the office. The most agents we ever had was 20 and we still had many vacant office spaces. Not to mention a huge 3k foot open room on one end that has been used for nothing. I love and respect my dad, but I don't know what he was thinking on that one.?
The business has done well despite the economy except for the lease and huge amount of overhead. (ie 2k utility bill in the winter). We are down to about 15 good agents.
Dad saw there was no money in it about a year ago, but was still under lease. At that time he laid off the office manager and handed it to my wife and I.
It's been a great experience and I know it can be very profitable if the overhead was cut way down.
Dad said he didn't want to fool with the hassle of it all because he was working 2 states over in Texas.
Sooooo my wife and I started looking for office buildings and happened to come across a very nice building on a corner lot, at a stop sign in the middle of one of the towns fastest growing areas.
The building had been on the market for a high price a few months prior, and the listing agent that had it did a horrible job on the listing and let it expire.
After some negotiations we arrived at a very good price, well below the appraised value. The owners are moving out of state, and are wanting to dissolve the corporation. Building is contracted and ready to close within the next couple weeks.
The new building is 8,400 square feet and is divided into 9 separate suites with their own entrance and utilities.
There are currently 4 tenants. Those 4 tenants basically cover the mortgage, the taxes, and insurance on the building. Any additional income from leases, or business will go towards making principal reductions.
I will be using one of the vacant units for my real estate office, which leaves me with 4 vacant units to either rent out or open another small business.
My wife worked retail in high school and has noticed that our town is lacking a decent consignment shop. She will be opening a shop in one of the units. I think it is a great idea. No overhead, and I believe the demand is going to be surprisingly high once things get going.
TO THE POINT
My little venture is a drive through tobacco shop. In my small home town about 30 miles south, there is a drive through tobacco shop and they are always crazy busy. It makes pretty good sense. People who smoke don't like to shop. They know exactly what they want, and they want it as quickly as possible. I was thinking of selling tobacco products, gum, and maybe coffee.
I have a unit on the East side of the building that would work perfect. All I would have to do is install a drive through window on the side of the unit.
The way the unit is laid out I wouldn't even be occupying the whole thing. There is basically a hall that leads back to a storage room. The storage room would technically be the tobacco store. The rest of the unit could be leased out for a discounted rate.
I've found all the papers to file with the county, but I can't seem to find any information on actual suppliers. Google is useless for this kind of thing. Everybody on the web uses the term "wholesale" to describe their products so no luck there. I'm looking for true wholesalers who sell only to retail outlets.
I would like to know some basic supplier information, what kind of profit margins, and also what kind of initial investment.
Being in the real estate business allows for me to have a very flexible schedule. I personally wouldn't be working the window, but I would be handling the management side.
I will also be finishing up on my degree in business this Fall. Sometimes it feels like things in my life are moving too fast, but honestly I am at the point of sink or swim... (I'm more of a floater lol...)
Thanks for any help or input!
My wife and I are young entrepreneurs (23). I have been in the Real Estate business since 16. Dad has been buying and selling land for the past 20 years and the majority of my personal business comes from selling his properties.
Dad decided to open a residential real estate brokerage in 2008. He signed into a huge office lease agreement for 2 years. 10k square feet. Way WaY WAy overkill on the office. The most agents we ever had was 20 and we still had many vacant office spaces. Not to mention a huge 3k foot open room on one end that has been used for nothing. I love and respect my dad, but I don't know what he was thinking on that one.?
The business has done well despite the economy except for the lease and huge amount of overhead. (ie 2k utility bill in the winter). We are down to about 15 good agents.
Dad saw there was no money in it about a year ago, but was still under lease. At that time he laid off the office manager and handed it to my wife and I.
It's been a great experience and I know it can be very profitable if the overhead was cut way down.
Dad said he didn't want to fool with the hassle of it all because he was working 2 states over in Texas.
Sooooo my wife and I started looking for office buildings and happened to come across a very nice building on a corner lot, at a stop sign in the middle of one of the towns fastest growing areas.
The building had been on the market for a high price a few months prior, and the listing agent that had it did a horrible job on the listing and let it expire.
After some negotiations we arrived at a very good price, well below the appraised value. The owners are moving out of state, and are wanting to dissolve the corporation. Building is contracted and ready to close within the next couple weeks.
The new building is 8,400 square feet and is divided into 9 separate suites with their own entrance and utilities.
There are currently 4 tenants. Those 4 tenants basically cover the mortgage, the taxes, and insurance on the building. Any additional income from leases, or business will go towards making principal reductions.
I will be using one of the vacant units for my real estate office, which leaves me with 4 vacant units to either rent out or open another small business.
My wife worked retail in high school and has noticed that our town is lacking a decent consignment shop. She will be opening a shop in one of the units. I think it is a great idea. No overhead, and I believe the demand is going to be surprisingly high once things get going.
TO THE POINT
My little venture is a drive through tobacco shop. In my small home town about 30 miles south, there is a drive through tobacco shop and they are always crazy busy. It makes pretty good sense. People who smoke don't like to shop. They know exactly what they want, and they want it as quickly as possible. I was thinking of selling tobacco products, gum, and maybe coffee.
I have a unit on the East side of the building that would work perfect. All I would have to do is install a drive through window on the side of the unit.
The way the unit is laid out I wouldn't even be occupying the whole thing. There is basically a hall that leads back to a storage room. The storage room would technically be the tobacco store. The rest of the unit could be leased out for a discounted rate.
I've found all the papers to file with the county, but I can't seem to find any information on actual suppliers. Google is useless for this kind of thing. Everybody on the web uses the term "wholesale" to describe their products so no luck there. I'm looking for true wholesalers who sell only to retail outlets.
I would like to know some basic supplier information, what kind of profit margins, and also what kind of initial investment.
Being in the real estate business allows for me to have a very flexible schedule. I personally wouldn't be working the window, but I would be handling the management side.
I will also be finishing up on my degree in business this Fall. Sometimes it feels like things in my life are moving too fast, but honestly I am at the point of sink or swim... (I'm more of a floater lol...)
Thanks for any help or input!