Services

Client: Family Limited Partnership
Property: Industrial building - 68,464 SF, Rancho Dominguez, California
Description: Single-tenant, light assembly/manufacturing facility
Transaction: Lease – LAREM is the lease listing agent for this property

Summary: The property comprises a free-standing industrial building totaling 68,464 square feet situated on 135,907 square feet of land. The property was developed in 1986 with features to accommodate light assembly/manufacturing uses, i.e., a grade-level facility with substantial front office area, ample parking, heavy power and minimal dock-high loading capacity. Since constructed, the local industrial market has shifted from what was once a market heavily populated by manufacturing companies to a predominantly logistics oriented market with importers, warehousers and freight-forwarders generating the greatest demand. The property was recently vacated after a long-term lease and was in need of significant refurbishment.

Challenge: Reconfigure and refurbish the building, identifying the appropriate amount of office space that would be attractive to the majority of users in the market to lease a 68,464 square foot industrial facility. Price the property appropriately to lease to a more limited target market comprised of manufacturers, assemblers and fabricators.

Solution: LAREM guided the ownership through the analysis of how much of the existing office improvements needed to be scaled back and what refurbishment items needed to be completed to effectively market the building. This included negotiating with the vacating tenant the reimbursement of demolition costs for additional office areas built by that tenant. It also included soliciting competitive bids from contractors for the repainting of the interior and exterior of the building and for the repairs of the asphalt throughout the parking and loading areas. LAREM's asset management team worked closely with the marketing group to complete all the improvement work in time to showcase the reconfigured and refurbished property to the brokerage community during a “Broker Open House” event. Significant renewed interest in leasing the property was generated as a result.

Result: Through aggressive marketing of the property, a five-year lease with an apparel manufacturing company, MNM Fab, was consummated at a prevailing market rate. The property owner's investment in the reconfiguration and refurbishment of the property was justified as the cash flow from the new lease made this real property investment viable once again.

Client: Family Trust
Property: Carmenita Corporate Center - 200,000 SF, Norwalk, California
Description: Multi-tenant industrial park with units ranging in size from 2,000 – 50,000 SF
Transaction: Lease - LAREM is the lease listing agent for this project

Summary: The Carmenita Corporate Center is a modern, state-of-the-art, multi-tenant industrial park that houses 12 tenants with varying lease term expirations. When the family trust acquired this project eight years ago, it interviewed numerous industrial brokerage firms to select one that would act as its leasing agent.

Challenge: Maintain a high occupancy rate, while minimizing rent roll turnover and associated vacancy and re-tenanting costs. Accomplish this goal while still keeping pace with market lease rates that were increasing faster than inflation.

Solution: As leases approached expiration, LAREM presented existing tenants with current market lease-comparable data as back-up to the owner's proposed lease-extension terms. Strong business cases were made for retention of existing tenants, and, wherever possible, leases were extended, avoiding costly vacancies. However, when vacancies were unavoidable, LAREM offered them at fair-market rates that provided for timely lease-up to creditworthy tenants, whose uses were compatible with other tenants in the project.

Result: The Carmenita Corporate Center is 100% occupied at fair-market lease rates, facilitating a steady increase in the value of the project over time.

Client: Family Trust
Property: Carson Industrial Center - 125,000 SF, Carson, California
Description: Four stand-alone industrial buildings, ranging in size from 20,000 – 40,000 SF
Transaction: Lease - LAREM is the lease listing agent for this project

Summary: The North Carson Industrial Center comprises four aging stand-alone industrial buildings occupied by five tenants. The buildings were originally designed for manufacturing/fabrication. However, as the market transitioned to more of a logistics environment, demand for such facilities slackened, eroding lease rates and diminishing the quality of the tenants. To address the functional obsolescence and associated depreciation of the project, the family trust ownership sought to hire a leasing agent that had the experience and foresight to guide the family through the much needed repositioning of the project.

Challenge: Upgrade and reposition the buildings to better suit the more prevalent warehouse distribution uses without severely interrupting rental cash flow.

Solution: As each building lease approached expiration, LAREM recommended reconfiguration upgrades to suit warehouse distribution uses. Truckwells were added in yard areas, where previously none had existed, to provide truck-high loading access. Excess office areas were eliminated, and outdated offices were upgraded. Fire prevention systems were enhanced to accommodate high-pile storage requirements of warehouse distribution companies. Building refurbishments were completed, including replacement of roof membranes and asphalt paved yard areas. Cosmetic enhancements included modern exterior paint schemes and revitalized landscaping. By tackling the project transformation one building at a time, LAREM managed to minimize interruptions to cash flows and to budget improvement costs over a more extended period of time.

Result: The buildings were leased at rates significantly higher than previously attainable to good quality, long-term tenants. The project has low turnover and has realized a healthy appreciation in value.

Q:

How do LAREM's charges for brokerage services compare to standard industry rates?

A:

With LAREM, you pay the lowest commission rate possible without any deterioration of service. This is largely due to LAREM's low overhead costs, which are below those of our competitors.

Q:

If I sign a six month listing agreement with LAREM, and am not 100% satisfied with the service I receive, am I obligated for the term of the agreement?

A:

LAREM is so confident you will be 100% satisfied with the service provided that we offer a seven-day cancellation provision for any listing contract.

Q:

Can LAREM provide my company with brokerage services outside of Southern California?

A:

LAREM principals, Jay Jasaitis and Ed Whittemore, have more than 50 years' combined industrial real estate experience, out of which has grown an extensive network of industrial brokers covering every major city in the United States. Through our proven network of seasoned brokers, LAREM offers clients convenient and timely access to any market of interest.

Q:

Should I buy or lease a property for my business?

A:

There is no right answer to this question. It truly depends on the length of time you anticipate occupying a property before you need to expand. Typically, the longer the occupancy, the greater the justification for a purchase. But let the professionals at LAREM help you assess your specific needs and assist you in this very important decision.

Q:

Why should I work with LAREM versus one of the larger real estate brokerage firms?

A:

When choosing a brokerage firm, you're actually choosing a team of individual brokers who will assist in satisfying your company's real estate requirements. Whether that team comes from a large firm or small firm is not as important as the experience that the team brings to your project. LAREM's industrial brokerage team has market knowledge and transactional experience second to none. In fact, our transactional history and list of satisfied customers equals if not surpasses those of our competitors in Southern California.