Outside the Box
ABERDEEN: “When an attorney that we had conducted business with on hospitality related real estate, called following the closing of a transaction we worked on together in December and said, I want to refer a client of mine who wants to sell her property to you. I was all ears, states Richard Santore of Bielat Santore & Company, Allenhurst, Monmouth County, New Jersey. I was certain he was going to say it is a restaurant or a bar or a banquet facility. Instead, he said, she owns a six-acre industrial park on Lloyd Road in Aberdeen, New Jersey. No problem, I will call her,” continues Santore.
The subject property was a fully leased light industrial park. 36,750 square feet of space on 6.38 acres. Another interesting assignment. Find a buyer for an industrial park? Bielat Santore & Company’s expertise lies chiefly within the restaurant and hospitality industry, specializing in the sale of restaurants and other food and beverage real estate and businesses. I had to think “out of the box” and come up with a marketing strategy to attract a new set of buyers; those interested in industrial real estate and not hospitality real estate,” says Santore.
The company initiated a campaign to reach real estate investors within their in-house client database and outside regional investors and/or users of light industrial properties within the New Jersey/New York marketing place. The campaign included telephone calls, email blasts, targeted mailings, and internet postings. The response was overwhelming! The firm received sixteen written offers. A decision was made to send notices to all for “highest and best” offers. Within four weeks from the date of the signed listing agreement, Bielat Santore & Company secured a signed contract of sale. Six weeks later, on February 1, 2024, the deal closed with a purchaser from Brooklyn New York. The seller received a purchase price far above her expectation.
“I was so happy to help the seller in this matter. Her husband, who owned and managed the park for years, died a couple of years ago and left the property and the management of it to his wife. She had no experience with real estate or the management of tenants. It was much too much for her to deal with on a daily basis. This sale eliminated a great deal of stress in her life. She can now enjoy her retirement with a clear mind and money in the bank,” ends Santore.
