On paper, this looked like a straightforward industrial sale. In practice, it was anything but, which is exactly the kind of deal where having an experienced team in your corner makes the difference.

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The Situation

Our client owned a 37,600 SF industrial warehouse on a 1.72-acre lot in Union City, and wanted to sell. Rather than list the property broadly, we marketed it off-market, directly to a curated pool of investors and owner-users. Off-market deals can move efficiently and protect a seller's privacy, but they also come with a smaller buyer pool and less competitive tension to lean on, which meant our outreach and positioning had to do more of the heavy lifting.

Complicating things further, the building itself had some real wear on it. Years of deferred maintenance had left it in rough condition, and a prospective Phase 1 environmental assessment raised additional concerns that needed to be addressed before any buyer would feel comfortable moving forward.

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The Challenge

We had an investor under contract early on, but the deal fell through. At the same time, the broader lending environment had shifted into a period of high interest rates, which narrowed the pool of buyers who could pencil the numbers and made everyone, lenders included, more cautious.

Rather than re-list and start over, we pivoted our targeting toward owner-users, buyers who would occupy the building themselves rather than lease it out. That shift in strategy, paired with straight answers about the building's condition and the environmental findings, ultimately got the deal back on track.

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The Outcome

We closed with an owner-user at $277/SF, despite the rate environment and the property's condition. For our client, the sale also became the launching point for a 1031 Exchange. They used the proceeds to acquire six properties: a brand-new Absolute NNN BJ's Wholesale in San Antonio, Texas, a warehouse they now use for personal storage, two Delaware Statutory Trust (DST) investments, and two homes for their daughters.

That's the part of this deal we're proudest of. A sale isn't just a transaction number. It's equity that gets to go to work for a family's next chapter, whether that's passive income, a place to store the boat, or a home for your kid.

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Deal Notes

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