Estate agents are the most obvious choice since it is their business to source and to sell properties. Estate agents take a commission on every property sold. See them as your outsource partner to obtain properties. Do not worry about the commission that you pay for the property. Your calculations should make sense with or without the commission. If you do utilize estate agents make sure that the estate agent understands how commercial property works and that value is calculated based on the income streams generated from that property. Many estate agents are mainly involved selling residential real estate and do not necessarily understand business property since it is different from residential property. I have seen many estate agents wanting to calculate value the same as residential Best Realtor near Marana AZ property and advise their clients incorrectly.
The internet is a good source to find business property for sale. Many estate agents and private sales are advertised on the internet. Finding business property for sale on the internet takes a huge amount of time to sift through the properties attractive to you. It is best not to outsource this function since an outsourcing partner will provide you with a large number of properties that you will have to sift through in any case.
Classified directories are also a good source if somebody is selling property. Have a look under the business property section of the classified directories and you will normally find a fair share of properties that may be attractive to you.
Auctions provide an abundance of properties of people wanting to sell properties. Many sellers opt for this option where they have a captured audience and the audience bid on the business property for sale. Gone are the days where auctions are associated only with distressed properties. You may well still find distressed properties on auction. Beware of auctions though. Ghost bidders and egos drive up the price. Be sure to set your limits upfront and do not be drawn into an ego battle to obtain a specific property. Make sure the deal still makes sense. The one biggest drawback is that you buy on the terms of the seller and not on your terms where you make the offer. You will not have the luxury of completing a full due diligence on the property. You will have to assume risk when buying on auction.
