2/23/23 Atlanta Mastermind Group Meeting

Atlanta February 2023 – Key Takeaways

• Expected to pass sports betting legislation, which might make officials more comfortable with casino legislation. (Rick Lackey – REAL Professionals Network)
• Still a lot of activity with EV charging stations, and legislative efforts are moving forward. (Rick Lackey – REAL Professionals Network)
• Real Professionals is expanding, with South Carolina splitting into two groups, progress in Tampa, Milwaukee is up and running and Nashville is doing extremely well. (Rick Lackey – REAL Professionals Network)
• Work is moving forward with land deals and car dealerships, though there are obstacles with sellers in Buckhead. Sellers are turning down outrageous offers. There is an apartment development site hitting the streets next month and should be covered by the Business Chronicle. (Steve Massell – Massell Commercial Real Estate)
• Many clients are looking two years out so the current inflation and interest rates aren’t affecting their strategies. Some land listings have been going to home builders again. (Steve Massell – Massell Commercial Real Estate)
• Owner of a swimming pool business that has been operating virtually is looking for a new facility – small building (5-10K sq ft) with outside storage in North Atlanta. Primarily office, some warehouse / storage. (Rick Lackey – REAL Professionals Network)
• There have been some small projects with multi-family and a few other smaller jobs, but otherwise pretty quiet. (Kevin Griggs – Capitol Photography & Video)
• Lots of industrial clients are doing good work and getting buildings finished and ready for market. (Warren Tingen – Tingen Creative)
• Lots of interesting new uses for properties, including a project in Milwaukee converting Class A office space to residential. (Warren Tingen – Tingen Creative)
• Environmental due diligence group has been slow since November. Some of the companies they work with have seen a 30-40% decrease in orders from consultants. May be due to interest rates and less activity with banks. (Steve Jarvis – Apex Companies, LLC)
• Work cleaning up contaminated sites and environmental work with municipalities has been strong. (Steve Jarvis – Apex Companies, LLC)
• Some sites may need recon video for environmental issues and may not be reachable with drones, but can use helicopters. (Kevin Griggs – Capitol Photography & Video)
• Lots of growth is happening in Savannah with Hyundai and affiliated industries, but also seeing land owners reject good offers. (Rhett Mouchet – Colliers)
• Many property owners and municipalities still don’t think their communities are going to change. (Rhett Mouchet – Colliers)
• Multi-family continues to surge in Savannah. Looking for a 25 acre tract of land close to Savannah, but the numbers don’t work out in the real world. (Rhett Mouchet – Colliers)
• Multi-family is good but industrial is better. Less than 1% vacancy in the port area for industrial. Some owners are looking to get re-zoned for industrial use. (Rhett Mouchet – Colliers)
• There is some pull back due to interest rates and also construction costs. (Rhett Mouchet – Colliers)
• Some clients have become indecisive about projects. (Peyton McWhirter – McWhirter Realty)
• There is a low vacancy rate in hard to buy buildings. Users want to come into Atlanta but think it’s too expensive and will look at outside and smaller markets. Manufacturing may be coming back with interest in surrounding communities. (Peyton McWhirter – McWhirter Realty)
• Residential guys for land have run into a lot of zoning issues, particularly in Cobb County. (Peyton McWhirter – McWhirter Realty)
• Source Advisors is a national company located in Atlanta that offers tax strategies to help owners accelerate depreciation to save money on federal taxes. (Debbie Rodkin – Source Advisors)
• Source Advisors also works with energy efficiencies. Multi-family apartments and housing may be eligible for 45L or 179D. (Debbie Rodkin – Source Advisors)
• Source Advisors is very busy and has closed about 85 projects already with a large number in the pipeline.  (Debbie Rodkin – Source Advisors)
• In slower times, tax advisors can help brokers bring value to previous customers or clients looking to do renovations. (Debbie Rodkin – Source Advisors)
• There are new IRS rules that affect manufacturing and software companies doing research, but there are other ways to find tax savings. (Debbie Rodkin – Source Advisors)
• Has a client buying a property asking for 60 days of due diligence, but the seller is asking for the same and feeling it should go both ways. (Rick Ferguson – ATL Commercial Real Estate, Inc.)
• Leasing is low and not consistent. (Rick Ferguson – ATL Commercial Real Estate, Inc.)
• Some out of the box thinking may be necessary to get deals done. (Michael Dvorscak – AD Commercial Real Estate)
• Client asking for $20-30K in earnest money for a residential deal, which is far higher than would be expected. Should be around 2%. (Justin Campagna – Emergent Financial Group, Michael Dvorscak – AD Commercial Real Estate, Rick Lackey – REAL Professionals Network, Tim Knight – Knight Commercial Real Estate)
• If you’re selling a property with a bad roof, it’s most profitable to have it fixed yourself. (Adam Slutzky – Slutzky Realty Group, Tim Knight – Knight Commercial Real Estate)
• Issues can arise when representing buyers in commercial deals. Buyers agreements aren’t always signed, and even when they are buyers sometimes circumvent the agent. There are options for legal recourse. (Adam Slutzky – Slutzky Realty Group,(Rick Lackey – REAL Professionals Network)
• Closed on 40 acres in Bartow County on Highway 411. Looking for a tenant or buyer. (Tim Knight – Knight Commercial Real Estate)
• Market has changed. Spec market has dried up due to the financing issues. There is still demand, but industrial construction has a lot less activity. Rents are holding strong and there is still a lot of activity for leases. (Tim Knight – Knight Commercial Real Estate)
• Contracts take longer these days. Need at least 6 months for contract periods, longer if there is zoning required. (Tim Knight – Knight Commercial Real Estate)
• Important to keep sellers and/or their brokers updated as you work through the contract process. (Tim Knight – Knight Commercial Real Estate)
• There are opportunities for brokers to work together where both parties can make money. (Michael Dvorscak – AD Commercial Real Estate)