Selling commercial property or land in Manchester

A shop, a unit, a yard or a plot. Most of what we buy is residential, so you will hear on the first call whether this is one for us.

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This page was written by the agency. Nothing on it came from the client, and nobody has confirmed that the business buys commercial property or land. It must be read, corrected and approved before this site goes live.

What we mean by commercial

A shop with a flat above it. A small industrial unit on an estate. A yard, a lock-up, a row of garages, a plot with planning or without it. These come up less often than houses do, and we buy fewer of them, but the question people ask is the same one: is there a buyer for this, and how long will it take to find them.

We should be straightforward about the balance of what we do. Most of what we buy is residential. If you have a commercial property or a piece of land, the honest position is that we will look at it and give you a figure, and that figure may be one you decide not to take.

Why the open market is slower for this

The buying public for a house is very large. The buying public for a light industrial unit in one particular postcode is not. Commercial lending is its own market, with its own conditions and its own timescales, and an agent may be waiting for one of a small number of people to be looking that month.

Meanwhile an empty unit is not free to hold. There is insurance that costs more once nobody is in it, there is security, and there are rates. None of that is a reason to sell in a hurry, but it is the arithmetic that usually brings people to a phone call rather than a listing.

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Land, with or without planning

Land is the one where expectations differ most. A plot with detailed permission and a plot with none are not the same asset, and the gap between them is often larger than owners expect. Where there is no permission, what is being bought is a possibility rather than a plan.

We do not advise on planning and we will not tell you what an application might achieve. That is a question for a planning consultant, and it is worth asking one before you decide anything, because the answer changes the value of what you own. What we can do is tell you what the land is worth to us as it stands today.

What we would need to know

More than for a house, and worth having to hand before you ring: whether it is freehold or leasehold and how long is left, whether anyone is in occupation and on what terms, whether there is a lease and what it says about assignment, how the property is accessed, and whether services are connected. If there is a tenant paying rent, that changes what the property is worth rather than whether we would buy it.

Where the title is complicated, and commercial titles often are, it is the legal position rather than the building that decides whether a sale can complete. We would rather find that out in the first week than the sixth.

Questions owners ask

Do you actually buy commercial, or only houses?

Most of what we buy is residential, and we would rather say so than imply otherwise. Commercial and land we look at case by case. If it is not something we can buy, you will hear that on the first call rather than after three weeks.

The unit is empty. Does that make it harder?

Not for us. An empty unit is harder to sell on the open market, because a buyer with a commercial mortgage usually wants income attached to it. We are not borrowing, so vacancy is not the obstacle here that it is elsewhere.

There is a tenant with years left on a lease.

Tell us what the lease says. A property with a paying tenant and a property with vacant possession are different propositions, and which one is worth more depends on the lease rather than on a general rule. We buy either.

Can you tell me whether I would get planning?

No, and you should be wary of a buyer who says they can. Ask a planning consultant. If the answer changes what the land is worth, it is worth knowing before you agree a price with anybody, including us.

If the figure is lower than the one an agent has quoted you, that is the trade you are being offered rather than a negotiating position: a certain buyer now against an uncertain one later. Plenty of owners decide the wait is worth it, and that is a reasonable answer.

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Find out what it is worth to us

One call and a figure. If commercial is not something we can take on, you will hear that straight away rather than after three weeks.

Talk to someone now 0161 806 1235

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