Hello. My name is Matt, I am 22 and about to graduate college. I plan on making a career out of REI. I have a great opportunity right now to gain some experience, but I am looking for some advice.
Long story short…my family owns a building restoration company. About 5 years ago, the company purchased a small building as an investment property. We have successfully rented out all 4 offices and maintained full occupancy for the most part.
About 2 years ago, the city of Piqua, Ohio approached the company with a deal on another property located in downtown Piqua. The building was a foreclosure, and needed a little work. We bought the building, fixed it up, and are now trying to rent it.
The Details- the existing mortgage on the property was for $814,000. We practically got the property given to us with the condition that we would restore it. Paid $10,000 for the building. Put about $140,000 in restoration. So as of now we have about $150,000 invested in the property.
The Property- The building is actually a great property. It is located on Main St. right in the heart of downtown Piqua, Ohio. It is has 4 floors, each with about 5000 sq. ft. The first floor has a great store front.
Now that restoration is completed, we are having a lot of trouble getting any interest at all in the property. Many in the company want to just cut our losses and sell the property. They are tired of dealing with trying to get it rented. As a last ditch effort, they have decided to turn the building over to me and see if can do anything with it. I think it would be a horrible decision to sell right now, but I need to get it rented to prove this.
I know the economy is really affecting things, but this building has too much potential to sell in this market.
I am looking for any ideas on how to market this property and get some interest in renting it. They have already tried using an agent, but they did not get any results. I put it on Craigslist trying to utilize some free advertising, but I too have yet to see any results.
Any advice would be great. Thanks in advance