To Buy Existing or to Build New…That is the Question:

The decision whether to buy an existing commercial or industrial property or to build from the ground-up is a dilemma many business owners face. There are many factors to consider in making this decision. As the team at APPRO and CERRON assists business owners find creative and unique property solutions, this question inevitably surfaces. As a result, our team has created a side by side comparison chart of considerations to use in the process of making this decision. 

In this article, you will learn about the top 5 considerations when deciding whether to build new or to buy existing commercial or industrial real estate.

Key Considerations:

As your business continues to grow, you may have found yourself transitioning from a small lease space, to a larger lease space. Eventually, you may have outgrown that, too. Now, you have found that in the best interest of your company, you need to purchase real estate for your next move.  The question is, do  you build it from scratch, or do you buy existing? Both have their pros and cons.

Some common considerations include:

1. Time: The amount of time you have to make a move. It is never too early to start planning your next location. Depending on the size and type of property, the time you need to either build or buy, can make a significant impact to your available choices. If you don’t know how much time you need to build, we would suggest reviewing our Project Timeline (which shows both the timing for choosing a new location & the amount of time to design and build).

2. Location: The location you choose may have future ramifications you need to be aware of today. Considerations regarding zoning, access, restrictions, and incentives are items to consider today. Additionally, considering your ability to make modifications in the future may have impacts you hadn’t originally considered today, but will matter down the road. Will you be able to add on if you should continue to grow?

3. Key building components: Consider the existing structure – are you able to make use of the space as is? Does it have ample parking? If not, are you able to add more? 

4. Future considerations: Will you be able to add more space in the future? What does the neighborhood look like now? What are the future plans? What is your 5-7 year vision?

5. Total costs: Are you considering not just your hard construction costs or costs to purchase? Are you also considering the soft costs? (You may download our free resource, “Total Construction Costs” to see a list of hard and soft cost considerations.)

To Buy Existing or to Build New: 

As you can see, there are a lot of things to consider when purchasing or building commercial or industrial real estate properties. The team at APPRO and CERRON have created a complete Buy vs. Build Comparison Chart going into more detail, beyond this Top 5 Considerations list. Download the complete chart today to add more information to your property solutions toolbox! 

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Please contact our team for more questions, or leave us a message below. 

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