For John Reinke, the building at 222 Little Canada Road was more than just a property he owned. The building was constructed in 1980 to house the Gopher Electronics Company and the company is still the tenant today. John worked for Gopher Electronics for over 25 years and served as the CEO before retirement. As part of his retirement strategy, John and his wife, Pat, wanted to move some of their hard assets into more financially liquid investments and simplify their estate for their children. Furthermore, the objective was to strive for a transaction that was good for the tenant, buyer and seller.
When selecting a real estate broker, John needed someone he could trust, someone who could understand the situation and help maximize the building’s worth.
John met Cory Miller, a commercial real estate broker from Ackerberg, through one of his trusted network connections. Cory was initially hired to consult on how to update the lease for the tenant with the intention that John would one day sell the building. Lease rates, terms, who was responsible for what in the building — basically everything needed to be updated.
At first John wanted to sell the building to Gopher Electronics Company or Gopher’s corporate management but that transaction never transpired. The next option was to sell the building on the open market and he wanted Cory to find a buyer.
Cory completed an opinion of value for the property. The selling price for the property was listed at $2.3 million based on the current tenant’s lease. Within a period of time, a potential buyer was interested and made an offer for $2.1 million.
John was apprehensive because he wanted to maximize the building’s proceeds but he also wanted to complete the sale. Cory advised John that “patience was key” and recommended a counteroffer that would meet the buyer halfway. An offer was agreed to at $2.2 million. During the buyer’s due diligence period, the buyer was unable to obtain financing so the sale transaction died.
Ultimately, patience paid off. Cory re-marketed the property and within 30 days John had multiple offers. A 1031 exchange buyer was interested, however, he required a 4-year lease extension by the tenant in order to make the sale work. John was able to extend the lease and sold the property for $2,250,000 to the investor in March of 2018.
John received the cash from the sale and is very pleased with the results. “Cory communicated on a regular basis, answered my endless questions and brought a steady hand to the process when things were not going well. I would be more than happy to recommend his services to others needing professional commercial real estate broker services.”
Cory Miller
CoryMiller@Ackerberg.com
612-924-6509
Cory Miller specializes in representing small to mid-sized companies who want to lease, purchase or dispose of office and industrial properties. He builds solid relationships by sorting through the data, managing the variables and finding unique solutions for his clients who require relocation, consulting, consolidation, investment and financing assistance. Cory understands the value of relationships and communicating the strategic and financial impact real estate decisions have on a client’s future.
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