Georgia On My Mind
Just got word that my offer was accepted on a vacant commercial building in Georgia, my first deal in that state. Now we have to get to contract. Are there "pecular" Georgia practices I should be aware of? Clauses in the standard Georgia realtors form I should watch out for? Fortunately the seller is from NY and unlikely to have access to this wonderful source of information so maybe I can gain a bit of leverage here.
If yiou do not mind me asking, what sort of deal/property is this?
John
[addsig]
I don't mind at all John. The building is a 29,000 square foot one story old mill building with about the same amout of vacant land. It was operated for many years as a sewing factory where they made coats (almost all the old sewing machines are still there) but has been vacant for at least 10 years. It sits just off the town square in a small town in an area where the economy is pretty good in part because there is significant tourist income from the adjacent Smoky mountains.
Clearly the need for sewing factories in N. Georgia is greatly reduced these days. My plan is to convert the building to some more modern use. The original plan was self-storage and work shops but the current zoning requires some sort of retail so my guess is some sort of small shopping plaza. There is city parking adjacent and I can get about 4 or 5 parking spaces per 1,000 feet of sales floor on the vacant land so between the two I should be fine on the parking front.
All that can come after I get it under contract, however.At the price they've agreed to I'm pretty sure I can make something work.
sounds goog. Congrats.
How did you find the out of state property?
Do hazmat/previous use issues concern you at all, or just part of DD?
Thanks Chet,
Well I was actually driving on my way back from a Florida vacation and had a lunch date in this town with a woman I had met through an internet site (hey, real estate isn't the only thing they talk about on this thing, don't cha know). So after lunch I walked the lady back to her car, looked up and there it was. Big "For Sale" sign that had obviously been there for years, faded and tattered. Building standing wide open (how can there still be sewing machines in a building thats been open or years? Trust me it don't work that way in Chicago). All the signs of "nobody knows what to do with this thing". Went back to my car to get a pen and paper to write down the number when, low and behold, there's a newer version of the same sign over the brokers office right in front of me across the street.
About 50 e-mails, 6 or 8 phone calls and half a dozen offers later I think we have a deal. I think I just wore them out.
Oh, the Hazmat stuff is a concern, but not a big one here because there aren't that many hazardous materials used in a sewing shop. Now the two gas stations I'm trying to buy in Chicago, thats a different story. In fact I have to run meet a tank guy to see how big a story it is.
Anyway, does anybody want to discuss my original question? Are there any pecualarities of Georgia law or the "normal' Georgia contract that I should be aware of?
[ Edited by commercialking on Date 06/22/2004 ]
Isn't that a great story?
He drove to Florida (frugal)
Met a nice lady thru internet
Kept his eyes open for business (kept his eyes on the prize)
Last week I went on a mini vacation and saw a couple of billboards on sale. Th owner claims they bring good income and are easy to maintain. My wife thought those were really small potatoes. Does anyone have any experience with those?
Commercialking,
Congrats on the acquisition.
Georgia laws are pretty much straight forward. The biggest difference that you will find is that only lawyers are allowed to close RE transactions. Therefore, we do not have title companies. We have a transfer tax of $1 per $1000. Usually the Seller pays the transfer tax but this is negotiable. Also, since your Seller is a non resident the State will require that 2% (I think) of the purchase price be withheld and sent to the Dept of Revenue.
Good luck!
ahmedmu,
Ted Turner's + billion dollar fortune started with billboards.
I didn't know that; thanks.
The billboards are about 3 hours' drive from my home. How do I maintain them? The guys says they were always rented. He has 2 billboards, gets $300 per month for each, wants $30k for both. Is that a good deal?
Thanks so much Bill and pspiers, those are very helpful comments.