- Understanding Today's Underwriting Criteria Makes Refinancing Easier
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With historically low interest rates still available, many property owners are seeking to refinance their loans. However, they should be aware that today's lenders underwrite real estate values far differently than in the past by using a relatively new set
- Waiting for a Wake-Up Call
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The ongoing economic sluggishness, compounded by military action abroad, continues to take its toll on the hospitality industry. Luxury and first class properties in destinations that rely on commercial travelers, air arrivals, and international visitors face room rate integrity issues,
- Catering to Consumers
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Disenchanted with hamburgers and french fries that have dominated quick service and casual restaurant menus for decades, consumers now demand more flavor and variety when they go out to eat. But there's a catch They want it fast. What drives
- Commercial Property Demand Grows in the Garden State
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More commonly known for industry rather than agriculture, New Jersey possesses an enigmatic nickname the Garden State. In fact, when the state's General Assembly introduced legislation to imprint the nickname on automobile license plates in 1954, Gov. Robert B. Meyner
- A Smarter Cell Phone
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Smartphones — the generic label for cellular phones combined with personal digital assistants — seem like an idea whose time has come. Doesn't everyone want to give up carrying multiple gadgets? Who wouldn't like downloading e mail on the road
- Standing Out Online
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In the early 1990s, many commercial real estate professionals perceived the Internet as a distant technological galaxy that would never impact their daily business. Yet in less than a decade, the industry has succumbed to the Web's gravitational pull Today
- Smarter, Faster, Cheaper Products Improve Business Efficiency
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Technology moves at lightning speed and, to some extent, surpasses consumers' needs and expectations. However, it also becomes more quickly affordable, allowing those with fewer resources to invest in basic versions of today's top innovations sooner than they may think
- Making the Corporate Connection
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For years the corporate real estate world comprised a close knit community of executives and their staffs. But as today's shrinking budgets force layoffs in real estate departments, corporations increasingly look to local service providers for assistance with their brokerage
- More States Favor Mutually Dependent Covenants Rule in Commercial Leases
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In most states, commercial property leases adhere to the independent covenants rule, whereby landlords' and tenants' obligations are independent of one another. Thus, a tenant is expected to pay rent even if the landlord fails to uphold some of its
- Perseverance Pays Off in Industrial Portfolio Sale
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A well occupied industrial portfolio consisting of class A buildings located in the thriving Rio Grande Valley on the U.S. Mexico border is an easy sell, correct? Unfortunately, as Michael A. McMahon, CCIM, SIOR, learned, properties that look good on
- New Restaurants Provide Entree Into Local Markets
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Roughly 870,000 U.S. restaurants achieve approximately $426 billion in sales annually, making them a significant part of the economy and a major retail real estate component. To break into this potentially lucrative market, brokers should be aware of current industry
- The Auction Alternative
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Each year, auctions are used to sell billions of dollars of commercial real estate. Once thought useful only for disposing of problem and hard to sell properties, auctions are gaining popularity as an effective sales strategy for all types of
- IRS Clarifies Related-Party Rule in 1031 Exchanges
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Last December, the Internal Revenue Service published Revenue Ruling 2002 83, which clarifies its position on taxpayers buying replacement property from related parties under Internal Revenue Code Section 1031. Due to the considerable confusion about such exchanges, real estate professionals