What's Important In CRE Today

The current catchphrase being applied to office leasing, "hub-and-spoke" was derived from the supportive design of early wagon wheels.  The energy for motion originates at the hub and is then transferred outward via individual spokes, thereby generating motion. I'm sure you remember learning about covered wagons during your American History class in school.  Well, their large wooden wheels with massive hubs and spokes kept those behemoths rolling across the plains of the U.S., and make an excellent graphic illustration of how "hub and spoke" works with businesses.  Historically, it was considered a business distribution method, but with the advent of Covid-19 and the ensuing disruption to a centralized business workforce, it is now being applied as an office/work model for an increasing number of large companies.   With the government enforced lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic, in order to keep "rolling" companies had to figure out a way for their

  Flood map changes came in January of last year, now the previously announced Risk Rating 2.0 has just gone into effect.  For the majority of property owners in the Greater Houston Area and the Gulf Coast region, it means an increase of between $10.00 to $20.00 in the premium cost.  Good real estate agents will familiarize themselves with all of the changes and will interview insurance providers in order to determine those who will be best able to explain coverage to their clients.  Just as with property inspectors, it's incumbent upon good agents to provide a list of vetted insurance agents for their clients to review as possible options. I highly recommend all agents, commercial or residential, read the following article as part of their awareness program. Community Impact - MAP: With FEMA’s new risk rating in effect, see how Houston-area community flood insurance premiums change

Everyone would love to have a crystal ball so they can see events before they actually unfold.  About the best we can do is avail ourselves of the learned opinions of professionals and academians in whatever field we're concerned with.  The following video is from the KW Commercial Symposium that was held on Tuesday, March 1, 2022 in Houston at the KW Commercial Energy Corridor office and is a presentation given by Dr. Mark Dotzour, formerly Chief Economist of the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University in College Station. regarding impending economic changes here in the U.S. and how he believes they may pertain to commercial real estate in Texas over the next year or so.  In a nutshell, Dr. Dotzour sees rapid growth in industrial demand and development, especially along the NAFTA routes between Mexico and the U.S., and a boom for the Houston Ship Channel, and ancillary deepwater ports such as Freeport.

 Most agents, especially residential agents, think there is only one type of survey. Think again.  There are actually seven types of surveys used in conjunction with land sales, development, etc., with the most detailed being an ALTA survey, which is required in most Texas real estate contracts, especially those promulgated by the Texas REALTORS® Association (TXR). The seven types of surveys are: 1. ALTA/ACSM Survey The purpose of this type of survey is to provide a title company and/or lender with the necessary location and survey data to issue an American Land Title Association or Extended Coverage Title Insurance policy. An ALTA/ACSM survey usually shows the relationship between existing improvements on a particular parcel of land relative to the boundaries set forth in the property’s deed. This is one of the most comprehensive types of land survey because it covers all of the features and characteristics of the property.  It is literally a survey "map" of the property.  I

Rock Island Cemetery, Washington, Tx If you deal with land sales of any kind, eventually, you'll have to deal with a cemetery. When this happens, it will be helpful if you're aware of several points and laws dealing with them in the State of Texas. 1) Can a Cemetery be Moved?  Technically, yes.  In certain circumstances, the owner of a property on which there is an abandoned cemetery or which is adjacent to an abandoned cemetery on unclaimed land may petition the Texas Historical Commission to have the remains removed.  For such a petition to be granted, the cemetery must be more than 50 years old with no, more recent burials, and the individual or entity who gets approval from the State of Texas must bear the cost of the relocation from start to finish, including any permits. That expense alone is almost 100% prohibitive.   Once granted the bodies must be disinterred under the supervision of "a professional archeologist, and, when appropriate, with the assistance of a phy

One of the side effects of Covid and the federal government's associated SBA loans to affected companies and investors has been a huge backlog in approval time required for any SBA-backed loans.  What used to take three to four months, now in reality takes a minimum of eight months in most cases, and in some cases over a year.  Obviously, sellers aren't wild about waiting over a year for a contract to close, so the option many investors are using is what's called a "bridge loan".   When third-party financing is involved, such as an SBA loan, a bridge loan "bridges" the gap between the closing and permanent funding and is generally granted via a short-term conventional or personal bank loan at a higher interest rate than the anticipated final loan from the SBA.  Bridge loans can also be used to bridge the gap between the closing and approval of a standard conventional commercial loan.  When that is done, it's generally by acquiring a "hard money&

This event hosted by the Houston/Gulf Coast chapter of CCIM runs $110 for non-members and $85.00 for members until January 28th, and will provide you with 4 MCE TREC credit hours.  There's currently quite a cross-section of brokers signed up to attend, including some of the heavy-hitters in Houston.  If you have the time and inclination, it would be a good event to attend.  Registration after January 28th will be at a higher rate, which has not yet been posted. Registration Link for CCIM 2022 Commercial RE Forecast Competition