What Documents Should a Commercial Property Seller Have Ready?

The core of an occupied sale is the rent roll and every lease, amendment, guaranty, and commencement letter behind it. The roll should show tenant, suite, square footage, rent, expiration, options, and deposits. If a number on the roll is not in a lease, fix the roll. Buyers will. So will their lenders.

Add trailing income and expenses, preferably a recent twelve-month statement and the prior year, plus the general ledger pages that explain odd lines. Security deposits should show who holds them. Free rent, outstanding tenant improvements, and leasing commissions still owed belong on a list. Those items become price adjustments when they appear late. The NOI method is how a buyer will rebuild this stack. You can run the same math in the NOI calculator before they do.

Real estate tax bills, including any special assessments you know about, belong in the file. So do utility accounts: which meters exist, who pays them, and what a recent year cost. Insurance policies show coverage, deductibles, and claims you can remember. A buyer is not asking you to be the insurer. The buyer is asking what it costs to carry the property and whether a loss has already happened.

If tenants reimburse taxes or insurance under a triple-net lease, include the last reconciliation and the backup. A summary without bills is a story. Owner-users who pay these costs themselves should still include them. The next owner may not run your business, and the expenses remain.

Include the latest survey, any prior title policy, and environmental reports you already have, each with its date. You do not have to commission a new ALTA survey or a new Phase I on day one. You do have to avoid pretending a report exists when it does not. Old documents still help the next consultant.

Repair invoices, warranties, roof records, service contracts, and equipment leases tell the condition story. Plans, if you have them, help a buyer see additions and the office build-out. Zoning letters or prior approvals help if the use is specific. Personal property that is not part of the real estate should be listed so nobody argues about a rack or a sign at the closing table. Preparing the property for sale is the wider sequence. This page is the inventory.

A leased shopping site needs the tenant stack. A vacant owner-user building needs plans, condition, zoning, and a clear list of what conveys. Land needs surveys, zoning, utilities, and environmental history more than a rent roll. Multifamily needs unit-level income. Medical space may need a description of specialized build-out. Match the list to the property. A twenty-tab index full of blank pages does not impress anyone.

Entity documents and signing authority matter at the contract, and your attorney should handle them. They are not a substitute for the rent roll. When the file is as complete as the property allows, you can price it. How property is valued and the sell page are the next step. Bryan can help you see which gaps a buyer will price around. Your attorney covers disclosure duties.