politics of commercial real estate

The FIRST location that seemed perfect for Blow Out! Beauty & Dry Bar was located in the heart of Fort Mill SC. This being my first experience with commercial real estate, I did a great deal of research and concluded that I didn’t need a real estate agent, as you would when purchasing/renting a residential property.

So I called the listing agent concerning the location that I was considering to be my initial location. Unfortunately, there was no answer so I left a voicemail. I was interested in viewing the inside of the property and also inquiring about the leasing info (aka pricing). Five days went by and still no response, so I called again and left a voicemail and sent an email. Another week went by…no response; FINALLY, after about two weeks I received a phone call back. I was very excited about the new adventure and delighted to speak to this agent, but I found out very quickly that the agent wasn’t so delighted. The agent, that I will not mention by name, acted like they didn’t have time for me. I asked to set up a time to come out and view the property. Of course the only available time was at 5:00 pm on a Friday afternoon. I am sure the agent was hoping that I wouldn’t take this time slot, but I did.

After touring the property and getting all information, I was ready to start the contract portion to make this property mine! The agent asked for my business plan, which I provided with all financial information. The waiting process seemed like FOREVER. I waited several weeks for a response stating that our contract was finalized.

I never imagined that I would receive the email response that I did. Not only was the space NOT available, but Blow Out! Beauty & Dry Bar was not allowed in this particular development. Supposedly, there was another salon in the development that had exclusivity. Exclusivity states that they would be the only salon allowed in this development. Wouldn’t you think the listing agent for the DEVELOPMENT would have known this??? There went two months of waiting and negotiating…down the drain.

My initial experience with commercial real estate put a REALLY bad taste in my mouth, but I was NOT going to let it stop me!!!