Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Just Leased - 1,766 square feet in the Midtown Center, Brainerd
Cellular Communications, a Verizon Dealer will be opening in February.
Monday, January 19, 2009
What is a Personal Financial Statement?
When an entrepreneur develops an idea for a new business and tries to get a loan for capital, one of the first things that they will need to do is prepare a Personal Financial Statement. I have attached a copy of one for your use. I can also e-mail it to you in Excel form.
Even in tough times, many chains expanding - From ICSC
The current retail malaise is not universal. Amid the sick and wounded there are companies focused on growth, ranging in size from such giants as Wal-Mart and German discount grocer Aldi down to the likes of Urban Active and Noodles & Company, a casual restaurant chain. For these retailers, the industry’s troubles bring a respite from the overheated real estate market of recent years and present the chance to flex some muscle during negotiations.
“There aren’t that many retailers out there interested in expansion,” said C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America’s Research Group, a consulting firm based in Charleston, S.C. “But anybody who wants to open up a store right now is going to get a rock-bottom lease, probably 20 or 30 percent under the market values of two years ago. The value is incredible.”
Whether a retailer is shutting stores or expanding now depends on many factors, but one big determinant is how skillfully a company navigated the red-hot real estate market of the past few years, says Jim Kovacs, managing director of retail services at Colliers Arnold, in Tampa, Fla. “Those that were smart and didn’t overdo it during the high times and don’t have a hangover today are the ones who can really focus on looking for the best centers, the best co-tenancies and the best markets,” said Kovacs. “The retailers that had a good real estate model going into the downturn are the ones that are continuing expansion. Those that expanded for the sake of expansion when the times were wild are the ones in trouble.”
Michael Niemira, ICSC's chief economist and director of research, says 105,000 to 110,000 new stores will probably open in the U.S. this year. What kinds of stores will they be? According to a list compiled for Colliers International by brokers at its affiliate firms, they range from such household names as Costco, Panera Bread and TJX to lesser-known names like Party City, which sells party supplies, and Smart & Final, a nonmembership grocery warehouse chain. Kovacs cites Panera and TJX — parent of HomeGoods, Marshalls and TJMaxx — as retailers with effective real estate models. Panera “has always paid attention to the bottom line and how real estate affects it, and when real estate leasing in power centers and lifestyle centers got out of hand, Panera was fairly quiet,” he said. “Now that real estate is becoming more in line, we’re starting to see more action.” Similarly, TJX “wouldn’t break its model just for the sake of expansion,” he said. “Now they are in terrific shape.” With consumers struggling to make ends meet, discount retailers are more likely these days to have the means and the desire to expand. Aldi says it plans to open 75 stores in the U.S. — fewer than the 100 it opened last year, but a substantial investment even so. Most of those will be in the Midwest and the East Coast, where Aldi already has a presence. Wal-Mart says it plans to continue an aggressive expansion, though its capital expenditures for the current year will be lower than last year. Wal-Mart will open 125 to 140 Supercenters, 17 grocery-format stores and about 20 Sam’s Clubs.
Discounters are not the only ones capable of growth in a down market. Noodles & Company has opened 204 restaurants across 18 states on the strength of its eclectic menu, which features a variety of ethnic takes on noodles. The chain plans to open as many as 35 stores this year, most of them company-owned and in the Denver, Minneapolis and Washington areas. “Certainly, we are still cautious about the economy, and we are certainly being prudent,” said Tim Mosbacher, the chain’s vice president of real estate. “But we have to date weathered the storm fairly well with our comparable sales, and we still believe our brand has opportunities for additional growth.”
Mosbacher says he is getting more calls from property owners. “We have risen to the top of some people’s lists. We probably would have been on their radar screens anyway, but given that so many retail tenants have pulled back, that’s helped our cause.”
That popularity has translated into a bargaining advantage. “Developers are willing to make better deals to fill space,” he said. “I don’t think there have been wholesale discounts, but we are striking some very favorable deals for our company. We’ve been able to get a few things that historically we have not been able to acquire.”
“There aren’t that many retailers out there interested in expansion,” said C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America’s Research Group, a consulting firm based in Charleston, S.C. “But anybody who wants to open up a store right now is going to get a rock-bottom lease, probably 20 or 30 percent under the market values of two years ago. The value is incredible.”
Whether a retailer is shutting stores or expanding now depends on many factors, but one big determinant is how skillfully a company navigated the red-hot real estate market of the past few years, says Jim Kovacs, managing director of retail services at Colliers Arnold, in Tampa, Fla. “Those that were smart and didn’t overdo it during the high times and don’t have a hangover today are the ones who can really focus on looking for the best centers, the best co-tenancies and the best markets,” said Kovacs. “The retailers that had a good real estate model going into the downturn are the ones that are continuing expansion. Those that expanded for the sake of expansion when the times were wild are the ones in trouble.”
Michael Niemira, ICSC's chief economist and director of research, says 105,000 to 110,000 new stores will probably open in the U.S. this year. What kinds of stores will they be? According to a list compiled for Colliers International by brokers at its affiliate firms, they range from such household names as Costco, Panera Bread and TJX to lesser-known names like Party City, which sells party supplies, and Smart & Final, a nonmembership grocery warehouse chain. Kovacs cites Panera and TJX — parent of HomeGoods, Marshalls and TJMaxx — as retailers with effective real estate models. Panera “has always paid attention to the bottom line and how real estate affects it, and when real estate leasing in power centers and lifestyle centers got out of hand, Panera was fairly quiet,” he said. “Now that real estate is becoming more in line, we’re starting to see more action.” Similarly, TJX “wouldn’t break its model just for the sake of expansion,” he said. “Now they are in terrific shape.” With consumers struggling to make ends meet, discount retailers are more likely these days to have the means and the desire to expand. Aldi says it plans to open 75 stores in the U.S. — fewer than the 100 it opened last year, but a substantial investment even so. Most of those will be in the Midwest and the East Coast, where Aldi already has a presence. Wal-Mart says it plans to continue an aggressive expansion, though its capital expenditures for the current year will be lower than last year. Wal-Mart will open 125 to 140 Supercenters, 17 grocery-format stores and about 20 Sam’s Clubs.
Discounters are not the only ones capable of growth in a down market. Noodles & Company has opened 204 restaurants across 18 states on the strength of its eclectic menu, which features a variety of ethnic takes on noodles. The chain plans to open as many as 35 stores this year, most of them company-owned and in the Denver, Minneapolis and Washington areas. “Certainly, we are still cautious about the economy, and we are certainly being prudent,” said Tim Mosbacher, the chain’s vice president of real estate. “But we have to date weathered the storm fairly well with our comparable sales, and we still believe our brand has opportunities for additional growth.”
Mosbacher says he is getting more calls from property owners. “We have risen to the top of some people’s lists. We probably would have been on their radar screens anyway, but given that so many retail tenants have pulled back, that’s helped our cause.”
That popularity has translated into a bargaining advantage. “Developers are willing to make better deals to fill space,” he said. “I don’t think there have been wholesale discounts, but we are striking some very favorable deals for our company. We’ve been able to get a few things that historically we have not been able to acquire.”
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Lenders Backlogged By Refinancing Rush
Lenders Backlogged By Refinancing Rush
By Dina ElBoghdadyWashington Post Staff Writer Friday, January 9, 2009; Page D01
Borrowers are rushing to refinance their mortgages at record low interest rates but face unexpected delays as swamped lenders struggle to cope with the surge at a time when layoffs have sharply cut staffing.
Bank of America, which started shedding 7,500 employees after its July merger with Countrywide, recently yanked 300 workers from its home equity line department to help deal with refinancing requests, said Matt Vernon, the bank's national sales executive.
Joy Siegel, a Bethesda real estate lawyer, said some borrowers have been told they would have to wait two weeks for a call back from their lenders. "That's incredible considering rates sometimes change on an hour-by-hour basis," she said.
Given the jam, Wells Fargo no longer allows its loan officers to lock in rates for less than 90 days so there's enough time to close the loans, said Bill Malkoun, branch manager at Prosperity Mortgage, a joint venture of Wells Fargo and Long & Foster.
"It's as if the entire nation woke up one morning and decided they all wanted to refinance at the same time," he said. "Sometimes I pick up one message, return that call and then find four more waiting."
Refinancing activity took off after Nov. 25, when the Federal Reserve announced it would buy mortgage-backed securities to help loosen consumer lending. Mortgage rates immediately plummeted well below 6 percent, breaking a psychological barrier. Refinance applications have soared each week since, though they tapered off around New Year's.
See the rest of the article here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/08/AR2009010803493.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter
By Dina ElBoghdadyWashington Post Staff Writer Friday, January 9, 2009; Page D01
Borrowers are rushing to refinance their mortgages at record low interest rates but face unexpected delays as swamped lenders struggle to cope with the surge at a time when layoffs have sharply cut staffing.
Bank of America, which started shedding 7,500 employees after its July merger with Countrywide, recently yanked 300 workers from its home equity line department to help deal with refinancing requests, said Matt Vernon, the bank's national sales executive.
Joy Siegel, a Bethesda real estate lawyer, said some borrowers have been told they would have to wait two weeks for a call back from their lenders. "That's incredible considering rates sometimes change on an hour-by-hour basis," she said.
Given the jam, Wells Fargo no longer allows its loan officers to lock in rates for less than 90 days so there's enough time to close the loans, said Bill Malkoun, branch manager at Prosperity Mortgage, a joint venture of Wells Fargo and Long & Foster.
"It's as if the entire nation woke up one morning and decided they all wanted to refinance at the same time," he said. "Sometimes I pick up one message, return that call and then find four more waiting."
Refinancing activity took off after Nov. 25, when the Federal Reserve announced it would buy mortgage-backed securities to help loosen consumer lending. Mortgage rates immediately plummeted well below 6 percent, breaking a psychological barrier. Refinance applications have soared each week since, though they tapered off around New Year's.
See the rest of the article here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/08/AR2009010803493.html?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Friday, January 2, 2009
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