What Qualifies as a Commercial Transaction?
Definition of Commercial Real Estate & Policy for Transactions
Any agent with questions regarding commercial transactions must contact their Team Leader and or Darren Merritt the Director of our commercial Division.
Keller Williams Policy on Transacting a Commercial Deals
Keller Williams Danville, El Dorado Hills, & Walnut Creek and El Dorado Hills Offices have adopted a policy regarding commercial deals as noted below:
“Residential” agents may transact and complete one (1) multi-family transaction not to exceed eight (8) residential units in any twelve (12) month period. Any transaction larger than eight (8) residential units or more than one such transaction within any twelve (12) month period must be referred out to a commercial agent for transacting and completing transaction.
All agents must coordinate with their respective Team Leader and work through the Director of our Commercial Division, Darren Merritt. They must receive written permission signed by their Team Leader and Darren Merritt prior to engaging in the transaction.
Commercial Real Estate
Any multifamily residential, office, industrial, or retail property that can be bought or sold in the real estate market.
From Wikipedia:
Definition
Property used in such a manner as to make money. From renting spaces for flea market; to building an office building to run your business out of. Commercial property includes office buildings, industrial property, medical centers, hotels, malls, retail stores, farm land, multifamily housing buildings, warehouses, and garages. In many
states, residential property containing more than a certain number of units qualifies as commercial property for borrowing and tax purposes.
Types of commercial property
Commercial real estate is commonly divided into six categories:
1. Office Buildings – This category includes single-tenant properties, small professional office buildings, downtown skyscrapers, and everything in between.
2. Industrial – This category ranges from smaller properties, often called “Flex” or “R&D” properties, to larger office service or office warehouse properties to the very large “big box” industrial properties. An important, defining characteristic of industrial space is Clear Height. Clear height is the actual height, to the bottom of the steel girders in the interior of the building. This might be 14–16 feet for smaller properties,
and 40+ feet for larger properties. We also consider the type and number of docks that the property has. These can be Grade Level, where the parking lot and the warehouse floor are on the same level, to semi-dock height at 24 inches, which is the height of a pickup truck or delivery truck, or a full-dock at 48 inches which is semi-truck height. Some buildings may even have a rail spur for train cars to load and unload.
3. Retail/Restaurant – This category includes pad sites on highway frontages, single tenant retail buildings, small neighborhood shopping centers, larger centers with grocery store anchor tenants, “power centers” with large anchor stores such as Best Buy, Pet Smart, Office Max, and so on even regional and outlet malls.
4. Multifamily – This category includes apartment complexes or high-rise apartment buildings. Generally, anything larger than a four-plex is considered commercial real estate.
5. Land – This category includes investment properties on undeveloped, raw, rural land in the path of future development. Or, infill land with an urban area, pad sites, and more.
6. Miscellaneous – This catch all category would include any other nonresidential properties such as hotel, hospitality, medical, and self-storage developments, as well as many more.
Other Factors to Consider
Other qualifiers that determine whether it is a residential transaction versus a commercial transaction include, but are not limited to:
• The type of lending, including SBA loans, that may be used to complete the deal. If commercial lending is used or required, then it is a commercial transaction.
• Additionally, existing or proposed zoning for use will qualify whether or not the transaction is commercial or not. These qualifiers should not be overlooked when determining if it is a commercial deal or not.