Published April 21, 2022

Buying Commercial Property: Sarah’s First Commercial Real Estate Purchase

Written by Taylor Diaz

Buying Commercial Property: Sarah’s First Commercial Real Estate Purchase header image.

Our owner, Sarah Rocco, recently expanded her portfolio by purchasing her first commercial property. In many transactions, you become familiar with the commercial process during the transaction, but due to the way this story unfolds, Sarah is sharing all that she learned after the transaction & what her next steps are.

Sarah was in Tennessee with her daughter when she received the call about this property from her broker highlighting the amazing opportunity that this purchase could be. After hearing this, Sarah was eager to get it locked down because she knew if she waited to be back in town, with the market the way it was, she would risk losing the property. Both Sarah and the seller were on a tight deadline to close before the end of the year so there wasn’t adequate time for Sarah to do the typical due diligence that would be required on a commercial space. Because of this unique situation, Sarah knew that she would be learning a lot after signing, but she also knew it was a risk she was willing to take on.

So where is the property Sarah bought and what does the property look like?

The property is located in Jacksonville Beach, just three blocks from the ocean! It’s in an excellent spot for residents and visitors of Jax Beach to easily access. The prior owner of the building had used it for a singular business space, but Sarah knew from the start that she intended to split the space up. This will allow for multiple businesses to be housed inside of this one building. We can't go without mentioning how thrilled Sarah is to bring this to the community of Jacksonville Beach, such a special and iconic part of the city of Jacksonville. Sarah is committed to making Jax Beach better as a result of this project.

There was an obvious option to split the space into four units as there are already 4 store fronts, 4 electrical meters, and 4 HVAC units, but Sarah had hoped to further split the property into 15 salon suites. Since the filming of this video, Sarah has stood before City Hall and unfortunately was unable to gain approval for the 15 salon suites. However, she is back to the drawing board and will be presenting a plan which will allow different types of boutique spaces for businesses such as retail, office space, a florist, and more to be at the building. These businesses will have different hours of operation and therefore require lower parking requirements per the city planning guidelines, which was the problem presented by the 15 salon suites. Stay tuned to follow this new and exciting opportunity for fresh ideas as this project continues to unfold. Plus, what a good example of the reality of real estate investing! There seems to ALWAYS be some hurdle, or many, in the paths we take. Those who are successful figure out how to jump those hurdles to reach the finish line.

Are you considering investing in commercial real estate? We encourage you to give it a try! It’s a rewarding adventure that is sure to teach you something new and it has the possibility of reaping huge rewards. These rewards could be financial, but could also look like a reward of increased community involvement or the building of community relationships.

We’d love to chat with you about your desire to pursue commercial real estate, or about your interest in space inside of Sarah’s property! In either case, please give us a call or text at 904.204.9494!

And if you’re just intrigued by this purchase, stay tuned! We are excited to share more updates with you across our platforms. You’ll find all our links at the bottom of this post!