Fairhaven Commercial Becomes Retail Property Advisors

May 18, 2012 By Neal Swanson Leave a Comment

Fairhaven Commercial, Inc. has recently been renamed to Retail Property Advisors.  The focus of the company has been gradually shifting to the representation of retail property owners and tenants over the last year and has finally completely shifted to exclusively represent retail properties moving forward.  The background of Retail Property Advisors is in markets where specialization within a particular property class is vital to the proper representation of commercial clients.  It is our belief that the area north of Everett, including Marysville, Smokey Point, Burlington, Bellingham, Ferndale, and Anacortes, has reached a mass that can finally support this type of niche specialization.  Our aim is to provide a much deeper knowledge within the retail property class rather than a breadth of basic knowledge across all property types.

Big thanks to the Bellingham Herald and Bellingham Business Journal for announcing the change on their websites.  If you missed it, here is a sample:

“Retail Property Advisors, a commercial real estate brokerage specializing in properties for retail buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants, has opened in Bellingham.

Neal Swanson, the company’s designated broker and owner of Retail Property Advisors, said the Puget Sound market has grown to the point that clients seeking to buy, sell, rent or lease retail space need a firm focused on that niche, even in secondary markets such as Bellingham.

“Clients need representatives who track new tenants and new developments and offer detailed information about the local market,” Swanson said in a May 15 press release. “Retail Property Advisors also conducts an analysis of various sites and a financial analysis unique to retail properties, not just commercial property in general. We’re focused on depth of knowledge within a property type, not breadth of knowledge across many properties.”

Swanson, a certified commercial investment member, offers extensive experience representing clients that include locally owned businesses, nonprofit organizations and franchises of national companies.

His previous clients include Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Go Big Paintball, Ace Hardware, Subway and the Whatcom Humane Society.”

Neal Swanson is the designated broker and owner of Retail Property Advisors, a commercial real estate brokerage with offices in Seattle and Bellingham specializing in retail and office leasing throughout the Puget Sound.  For more information on site selection, leasing, or investment sales in the greater Puget Sound, please contact Neal Swanson at (206) 718-4963 or swanson@faircommercial.com.  To search retail or office properties for sale or lease, please visit Retail Property Advisor’s website 24/7 here.

Filed Under: Articles, bellingham retail, news/events, retail lease, whatcom county

I’m a Bellingham commercial real estate broker – great, but what does that mean?

March 9, 2012 By Neal Swanson Leave a Comment

What do you do for a living?  As a commercial real estate agent in Bellingham,, WA, I get this question a lot as I meet new people, parents at my kid’s school, or just in general.  This is typically how my answer, and the rest of the conversation, continues:

New acquaintance (NA): What do you do for a living?

Me: I’m a commercial real estate broker in Bellingham, WA.

NA: Oh, yeah, I’m thinking of selling/buying a house this year.

Me: That’s great, but unfortunately what I do doesn’t involve anything around buying and selling homes

NA: Oh, so do you ever sell homes on Lake Whatcom  or in Fairhaven?

Me:  I actually only do commercial real estate

NA: Hmm….okay

This is typically the same response I give a specialized surgeon when he tries to tell me his work is different than that of a doctor.   Of course a specialized surgeon’s work is different from a doctor, but since the technicalities of the answer will likely take a long time to explain, I usually just respond with an “okay” and move on to a different topic.  I’m guessing that is why I get the same response from people whenever I tell them I am a commercial real estate broker in Bellingham.  That, or my breath stinks.

So what is the point of my post?  I wanted to take a quick minute to explain the difference between a residential broker and a commercial broker in Bellingham.  There is an entirely different group of brokers in every city in the United States that specialize in commercial real estate exclusively.   This means they specialize in retail, industrial, office, and multi-family (aparments) properties or land that is zoned to be used within these categories.  There are even more specialties like hotel brokerage or business brokerage, but these are the four primary categories of commercial real estate in Olympia, Seattle, Bellingham, Tacoma, or Acme (look it up).

In residential brokerage, they assist clients with buying or selling a home.  With commercial brokerage, we assist with buying or selling property within the retail, industrial, multi-family, and office asset classes, but we also assist tenants and landlords in site selection and lease negotiation within these commercial property classes.

The larger the city, the more specialized the commercial real estate broker.  At one of my previous brokerages, the most successful broker specialized in representing only office tenants within only the central business district of downtown Seattle.  This is about as specialized as brokers get in commercial real estate.

At the other end of the spectrum is small town commercial real estate brokerage.  Brokers in cities with populations under 150,000 are forced to become a general practitioner in order to make a living.  This means they’ll do a retail lease one day, an industrial property sale the next, and consult an office building owner the next.  This results in small town brokers having a great breadth of knowledge with very limited depth to that knowledge since they’re forced to be general practitioners.  Similarily, commercial real estate agents in Seattle typically have a great depth of knowledge within their particular specialization, but very little breadth.

Hopefully this short description of what a commercial real estate broker does helps the reader to understand the difference and appreciate the importance of hiring a commercial real estate broker in Bellingham versus a residential agent.  They are remarkably different professions with different terminology, personalities, time lines, and expectations of all parties involved.  In reference to the above, I usually tell prospective clients wondering why they shouldn’t just use the broker that helped them sell their house, “would you pay your family doctor to perform your back surgery?”  Sure, they’re both doctors, but what they do on a daily basis couldn’t be farther apart.

Neal Swanson is the designated broker and owner of Fairhaven Commercial, Inc., a commercial real estate brokerage with offices in Seattle and Bellingham specializing in retail and office leasing throughout Northwest Washington.  For more information on site selection, leasing, or investment sales in North Puget Sound, please contact Neal Swanson at (206) 718-4963 or swanson@faircommercial.com.  To search retail or office properties for sale or lease, please visit Fairhaven Commercial’s website 24/7 here.

Filed Under: Articles, bellingham office, bellingham retail, generic, tenant representation, whatcom county Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Bellingham Office Space Leased – Blu Sky leases 2,500 SF in downtown Bellingham

March 2, 2012 By Neal Swanson Leave a Comment

Blu Sky Web Solutions, LLC, a Bellingham based web and graphic design & development firm, recently leased over 2,500 square feet of downtown Bellingham office space.  Blu Sky moved their headquarters to suite 200 of  the Puget Sound Energy Building at 1329 North State in Bellingham, WA.

Fairhaven Commercial, Inc. acted as tenant representative for the firm, assisting with site selection and lease negotiation for the web design company.  This transaction provides further evidence that Bellingham office space, and downtown Bellingham in particular, continues to face daunting vacancies figures, but for motivated landlords and quality tenants, longer term deals are being struck as both sides look to prepare themselves as we climb out of the current recession.

For more information on Blu Sky or their services, be sure to check out their website here.

Neal Swanson is the designated broker and owner of Fairhaven Commercial, Inc., a commercial real estate brokerage with offices in Seattle and Bellingham specializing in retail and office leasing throughout Northwest Washington.  For more information on site selection, leasing, or investment sales in North Puget Sound, please contact Neal Swanson at (206) 718-4963 or swanson@faircommercial.com.  To search retail or office properties for sale or lease, please visit Fairhaven Commercial’s website 24/7 here.

Filed Under: bellingham office, generic, new lease Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Blaine Retail Space For Lease & Blaine Retail Properties For Sale

March 1, 2012 By Neal Swanson Leave a Comment

Blaine is a waterfront town that sits on the U.S.-Canadian border about 20 miles north of Bellingham, WA, the largest city in Whatcom County.  The town of Birch Bay, just a couple miles south of Blaine, is also included in the demographics of the city which brings the total population in the area to around 14,000 people.

Blaine has numerous retail properties available for sale or lease at any given time with the largest concentration surrounding the city center in and around Peace Portal Drive.  Office properties can be found on Martin Street, H Street, Marine Drive, Pacific Highway, and other major streets found within Blaine’s central business district.

Just off of H Street is the Cost Cutter shopping center, Blaine’s only grocery anchored neighborhood shopping center, with banks, hardware stores, sporting goods, pharmacies, and other neighborhood shopping center tenants.  Blaine’s other retail property sits in and around Peace Portal Drive where you’ll find a mix of local, regional, and national retailers.

Birch Bay has a separate retail core that caters to the Summer tourist crowd that flocks to this area each year for vacation.  Birch Bay’s retail properties consist of stand-alone one story retail properties offering food and beach related retail goods along Birch Bay drive.

Retail tenants are attracted to Blaine for its proximity to the U.S.-Canadian border.  This allows exposure to the Canadian tourists passing through combined with Blaine’s full time population.  Buyers of retail property in Blaine enjoy relatively low prices on land and retail buildings.  Tenants enjoy relatively low rents, minimal competition, and room for tremendous growth.

Businesses looking to create a retail presence in Birch Bay usually want to cater to the Summertime tourist crowd with many businesses closing in the Winter.  Small restaurants and retail shops have the chance to thrive in this little beach town as the nearest retail competition is miles away.

Retail space for lease in Blaine can be found for $8.00-$15.00 per square foot per year depending on the building and its location in the city of Blaine.  Retail space for lease in Blaine has historically been less expensive than neighboring cities to the South including Bellingham, Ferndale, Burlington, and Mt. Vernon, further adding to the attractiveness for retail tenants.

Retail space for lease in Birch Bay can be found for $10-$20 per square foot per year depending on location.  Some tenants feel rents here can be viewed as twice the asking rate since they have to pay rent year round but business is almost nonexistent in Winter months.

Click here to search for retail buildings for lease in Blaine

Click here to search for retail buildings for lease in Whatcom County

Retail properties for sale in Blaine usually sell for between $100-$250 per square foot depending on vacancy, size, age, and location.  Smaller, stand-alone, retail buildings will typically sell for prices higher than this but still lower than neighboring cities to the South which makes for an attractive investment market for U.S. and Canadian investors.  Retail properties rarely sell in Birch Bay, but there are usually one or two available at around $150-$200 a square foot depending on location.

Click here to search for retail buildings for sale in Blaine

Click here to search for retail buildings for sale in Whatcom County

For more information on Blaine’s retail leasing or investment sales market, please contact Neal Swanson at Fairhaven Commercial, Inc. – (206) 718-4963 or swanson@faircommercial.com.

You can search commercial properties for sale or lease at www.faircommercial.com or follow our blog for updates on this and other markets at blog.faircommercial.com.

Filed Under: Articles, blaine, retail lease, tenant representation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Blaine Office Space – For Sale or For Lease

February 29, 2012 By Neal Swanson Leave a Comment

Blaine is a waterfront town that sits on the U.S.-Canadian border about 20 miles north of Bellingham, WA, the largest city in Whatcom County.  The town of Birch Bay, just a couple miles south of Blaine, is also included in the demographics of the city which brings the total population in the area to around 14,000 people.

Blaine has numerous office properties available for sale or lease at any given time with the largest concentration surrounding the city center in and around Peace Portal Drive.  Office properties can be found on Martin Street, H Street, Marine Drive, Pacific Highway, and other major streets found within Blaine’s central business district.

The office market in Blaine is supported by a mix of U.S. and Canadian companies with many small Canadian companies leasing office space in Blaine for a U.S. presence allowing for easier international commerce.  Many of Blaine’s office workers commute on a daily basis from British Columbia which usually keeps office vacancies relatively low in a strong market.

The most notable office properties in Blaine include the Banner Bank Building at 435 Martin Street between Harrison Ave and 4th Street, the Dockside Mall Building at 215 Marine Drive, the Loomis Hall Building at 288 Martin Street, and the Tradesman Center at 808 Harrison St.  Businesses looking for office space in Blaine can usually find vacancy in one or more of these buildings at competitive leasing rates.

Office users are attracted to Blaine for its close proximity to I-5 and the Canadian border.  Additionally, many of the office properties in Blaine enjoy water or mountain views along with views of White Rock and the lights of Vancouver, B.C., resulting in a very attractive business and investment environment for U.S. and Canadian companies alike.

Office space for lease in Blaine can be found for $8.00-$15.00 per square foot per year depending on the building, the view, the services, and many more variables that account for the array of office options available in the city of Blaine.  Office space for lease in Blaine has historically been less expensive than neighboring cities to the South including Bellingham, Ferndale, Burlington, and Mt. Vernon, further adding to the attractiveness for office tenants.

Click here to search for office buildings for lease in Blaine

Click here to search for office buildings for lease in Whatcom County

Office properties for sale in Blaine usually sell for between $60-$150 per square foot depending on vacancy, size, age, and proximity to I-5 and the U.S.-Canadian border.  Smaller, stand-alone, office buildings will typically sell for prices higher than this but still lower than neighboring cities to the South which makes for an attractive investment market for U.S. and Canadian investors.

Click here to search for office buildings for sale in Blaine

Click here to search for office buildings for sale in Whatcom County

For more information on Blaine’s office leasing or investment sales market, please contact Neal Swanson at Fairhaven Commercial, Inc. – (206) 718-4963 or swanson@faircommercial.com.

You can search commercial properties for sale or lease at www.faircommercial.com or follow our blog for updates on this and other markets at blog.faircommercial.com.

Filed Under: Articles, blaine, office lease - renewals, search office, whatcom county Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tenant Representation: I’ll show you mine if you show me yours, Mr. Landlord

February 14, 2012 By Neal Swanson Leave a Comment

As we’ve seen in recent years, landlords of retail and office properties sometimes need to be vetted just as much as tenants and can share similar risk of financial default.   One deal I recently completed when representing the tenant called for the landlord to pay about $100,000 in a tenant improvement allowance on a small retail space.  The sum was due within 30 days of the tenant finishing their build out of the space and submitting the receipts to the landlord for reimbursement.  I wanted to make sure the landlord had the ability to pay this $100,000, so I requested a review of the landlord’s financials.  The response I received was, “we only own retail properties and we own over xxxx dollars of retail property, so we obviously have the money to pay them and don’t need to show our financials.” Since this transaction was happening during the depths of the recession, when landlords (especially retail landlords) were giving properties back to the bank daily, my response was, “well in that case, we REALLY want to see your financials.”  My gut told me the retail strip my client was trying to go into was not the only one within this landlord’s portfolio that was not staying occupied and financially performing for them.

After about a month of back and forth, we saw the financials.  They had just enough to cover the allowance, but not much else.  They tried to claim that other properties, owned under other entities with other groups of owners would somehow fund the difference if they didn’t have the money.  Good luck with that plan long term.

We proceeded to lease the space and performed our build out followed by the submission of receipts to the landlord for reimbursement within 30 days.  Guess who didn’t have the money?  It took six months and a couple threatening letters from my client’s attorney before they finally paid.  The result?  The landlord has taken all of their other properties out of the running for this rapidly expanding national franchise.

How does that help you, the tenant?  Don’t assume that because the landlord owns the property you’re going into that they will be in a financial position to provide a tenant improvement allowance or any other financial obligation as part of the lease.  Landlords are constantly asking to see the financials of tenants they’re negotiating with, so there is nothing wrong with requesting to see landlord’s financials, they just don’t like to show them.  For smaller sums of money, just ask to see a bank statement that shows they have the money they’ve promised you.  Ask yourself, if the landlord didn’t pay one dime of what they’ve promised, would I go out of business?  If so, you might want to rethink your strategy before proceeding.

Neal Swanson is the designated broker and owner of Fairhaven Commercial, Inc., a commercial real estate brokerage with offices in Seattle and Bellingham specializing in retail and office leasing throughout the Puget Sound.  For more information on site selection, leasing, or investment sales in the greater Puget Sound, please contact Neal Swanson at (206) 718-4963 or swanson@faircommercial.com.  To search retail or office properties for sale or lease, please visit Fairhaven Commercial’s website 24/7 here.

Filed Under: Articles, generic, lease clause, retail lease, tenant representation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tenant Representation: Oft overlooked, but vitally important lease clause for tenants

February 14, 2012 By Neal Swanson Leave a Comment

Most landlord leases are heavily weighted in their favor unless you are a very powerful tenant that demands landlords bend to your demands, not the other way around.  Among the various lease clauses that landlords attempt to sneak past tenants, is the default provisions.  Essentially, landlords say that if the tenant steps out of line in any way for more than a millisecond, the landlord can terminate the lease and recover “damages.”  In almost all cases, the same lease includes language that protects the landlord from their own default and makes any action by the tenant to recover lost business difficult, if not impossible.

All that being said, what about language in the lease pertaining to tenant bankruptcy?  The lease usually contains a clause stating the tenant will be in default if it files for bankruptcy or is filed against for involuntary bankruptcy.  Yikes!  If three creditors team up against the tenant and file for involuntary bankruptcy, then the tenant is in default of the lease and must cure the default (usually in an unrealistically short time period) or the landlord can force them out and terminate the lease.

So how do you, the tenant, protect yourself? Ask your attorney to adjust the lease to reflect default only in the event the tenant is “adjudicated” bankrupt.

Neal Swanson is the designated broker and owner of Fairhaven Commercial, Inc., a commercial real estate brokerage with offices in Seattle and Bellingham specializing in retail and office leasing throughout the Puget Sound.  For more information on site selection, leasing, or investment sales in the greater Puget Sound, please contact Neal Swanson at (206) 718-4963 or swanson@faircommercial.com.  To search retail or office properties for sale or lease, please visit Fairhaven Commercial’s website 24/7 here.

Filed Under: Articles, lease clause, office lease - renewals, retail lease, tenant representation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Blaine Office Space: Three new office leases signed in the Loomis Hall Building

February 7, 2012 By Neal Swanson Leave a Comment

Blaine office space is plentiful as of late.  Some of the major office properties in Blaine have been largely vacant since the recession began and have struggled to attract new tenants despite huge drops in asking rents.  The good news is that there is still some activity happening in Blaine.  A portion of that activity is happening at the Loomis Hall Building, located at 288 Martin Street in Blaine, WA.

Neal Swanson, of Fairahaven Commercial, Inc., recently acted as landlord representative in the successful lease negotiation of three new office tenants in the Loomis Hall Building:

Drew Pike – Farmers Insurance Agent – Suite 101

Dr. Erika Creydt – Counselor – Suite 202

Alphay International, Inc. – Suite 205

The Loomis Hall Building includes roughly 10,000 square feet of Blaine office space for lease along with a small warehouse and creative work loft with rooftop deck.  The building is also for sale and details can be found here.  If you are an individual or company looking for office space in Blaine to lease or purchase, you can search for free here or contact us at the number below.

Neal Swanson is the designated broker and owner of Fairhaven Commercial, Inc., a commercial real estate brokerage with offices in Seattle and Bellingham specializing in retail and office leasing & investment sales throughout Whatcom & Skagit Counties.  For more information on site selection, leasing, or investment sales in the greater Puget Sound, please contact Neal Swanson at (206) 718-4963 or swanson@faircommercial.com.  To search retail or office properties for sale or lease, please visit Fairhaven Commercial’s website 24/7 here.

Filed Under: blaine, new lease, office lease - renewals, search office, whatcom county Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Met with our accountant yesterday, thought this joke was appropriate

February 7, 2012 By Neal Swanson Leave a Comment

Joke of the week:

____________

The local bar was so sure that its bartender was the strongest man around that they offered a standing $1000 bet: The bartender would squeeze a lemon until all the juice ran into a glass, and hand the lemon to a patron. Anyone who could squeeze one more drop of juice out would win the money. Many people had tried over time but nobody could do it.

One day this scrawny little man came into the bar, wearing thick glasses and a polyester suit, and said in a tiny squeaky voice, “I’d like to try the bet.”

After the laughter had died down, the bartender said OK, grabbed a lemon, and squeezed away. Then he handed the wrinkled remains of the rind to the little man. The crowd’s laughter turned to total silence as the man clenched his fist around the lemon and six drops fell into the glass.

As the crowd cheered, the bartender paid the $1000, and asked the little man “What do you do for a living? Are you a lumberjack, a weight-lifter, or what?”

The man replied, “I work for the IRS.”

___________

Neal Swanson is the designated broker and owner of Fairhaven Commercial, Inc., a commercial real estate brokerage with offices in Seattle and Bellingham specializing in retail and office leasing & investment sales throughout Whatcom & Skagit Counties.  For more information on site selection, leasing, or investment sales in the greater Puget Sound, please contact Neal Swanson at (206) 718-4963 or swanson@faircommercial.com.  To search retail or office properties for sale or lease, please visit Fairhaven Commercial’s website 24/7 here.

Filed Under: accounting/taxes, generic, joke Tagged With: , ,

Want to lower your property taxes? This could be the answer.

February 6, 2012 By Neal Swanson Leave a Comment

A great friend of mine just launched a company called WiseUpTaxDown to assist property owners with lowering their taxes.  Normally I don’t endorse outside companies, but since I personally know the owner I can vouch for the professionalism and ethical approach to this frustrating topic.  Check it out and see if it is right for you.

Neal Swanson is the designated broker and owner of Fairhaven Commercial, Inc., a commercial real estate brokerage with offices in Seattle and Bellingham specializing in retail and office leasing & investment sales throughout Whatcom & Skagit Counties.  For more information on site selection, leasing, or investment sales in the greater Puget Sound, please contact Neal Swanson at (206) 718-4963 or swanson@faircommercial.com.  To search retail or office properties for sale or lease, please visit Fairhaven Commercial’s website 24/7 here.

Filed Under: Articles, generic Tagged With:
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