Whether you are purchasing commercial property as an investment or to address the needs of your business, there are at least 5 “do’s” and 5 “don’ts” you are going to want to consider when negotiating the Purchase Agreement. The Purchase Agreement in many cases can follow a letter of intent, but letters of intent are most times non-binding. Careful attention must be paid to the terms and conditions of the Purchase Agreement as the details can greatly impact your risks and liability in the transaction.
Do #1: Make sure the property is properly described.
While this sounds obvious, many times errors are made by using tax property descriptions or old legal descriptions that don’t actually reflect the property being sold. This can lead to boundary disputes, zoning problems or worse when you go to sell the property.
Do #2: Allow for enough time for due diligence.
In today’s world of national and international investors and 1031 exchanges the timelines for “clean” deals can be extremely short. Twenty-one days may not be a sufficient amount of time to review the title work, obtain a Phase I environmental assessment, physically inspect the site, review any applicable tenant lease and understand the local zoning ordinances.