Author Archives

Garrett Scanlon

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The Demise of Office Space? Not So Fast

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The latest conventional wisdom insists that …

  • People are discovering how easy it is to work from home,
  • Companies are discovering that their associates can perform just as well remotely,
  • These challenging times have shown us that office space is no longer a necessity.

However, many people I have talked to think the exact opposite is true.

They say that Covid 19 has revealed to business owners and colleagues alike, that:

Office Space
  • They do not feel as productive at home as they do in an office setting,
  • Distractions pop up at home that often keep them having the laser-like focus they need to accomplish projects,
  • They miss the energy that comes from interacting face-to-face with their teams. Turns out they are people-persons!
  • They are more disciplined when it comes to diet, exercise, and work when they have the structure of an office setting.

As Mark Twain might have told us, reports of the demise of office space is greatly exaggerated!

An early indicator might be the 2 office parks I listed right in the middle of COVID 19

It turns out, that of the 200 office suites ( all located just north of the Columbus Outerbelt):

  • Only a tiny handful of tenants have reported any difficulty in paying rent during this time,
  • Many of the tenants have businesses that were largely unimpacted by the slow-down, and
  • There have actually been 4 new leases signed, at prices higher than the 2019 rate.

Why is this particular style of office space particularly favorable right now?

Tenants do not have to worry about following protocols of large office buildings:

  1. No shared lobbies to navigate with other tenants. Every office has 2 entrances that go directly into their place of business.
  2. No restrooms shared by other tenants.
  3. No elevators; so they don’t waste time dealing with restrictions of 1 or 2 people at a time.
  4. No parking lot protocols.
  5. More control over coming and going as they please, as often as they wish.

Tenants want two things. An office they can go to, and a haircut!

To view an information package for Dublin Center Office Park, click below:

Dublin Center Info and Photos pdf

To view an information package for Westerville Center Office Park click below:

Westerville Center Info and Photos pdf

For proformas and additional information, call Garrett Scanlon at (614) 774-0300 or email him at gscanlon@castoinfo.com.

 

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32 Questions To Ask When Buying Apartments

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I was in my office one day, when a real estate investor called me on the phone. He said, “Garry, I just had one of my tenants move out – and they took the refrigerator with them! They said it was theirs.” Uh oh.

Image of a Multifamily investment property checklist for buyers of apartments

They took the refrigerator!

I immediately called the seller, who explained that those particular tenants had previously sold their home, and so they had brought their own refrigerator with them. He had simply forgotten, and there was no mention of it in the lease.

Download 32 Questions PDF

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What is a Cap Rate? [Podcast]

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What is a Cap Rate? - Beautiful business woman with question mark above the head

Walking and Talking … Cap Rates!

(Podcast Transcript)

Cap Rates. You hear about them all the time, from people who specialize in investment real estate. They’ll says things like, “That property sold for a 6 cap,” or, “We’re looking for properties priced in the 9 to 10 cap range.” Today’s Walking and Talking podcast is all about Cap Rates!

Photo Courtesy of @istockphoto.com

Today, you will learn 5 things:

  • What is a cap rate?
  • The reason why so many people are often confused about cap rates.
  • The best way to remember how to easily calculate a cap rate for any investment property.
  • The five main factors that influence cap rates.
  • Why you should beware that all cap rates are not created equal!

Hit Continue Reading and listen to the Audio:

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What They All Have in Common

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Image of the shoes of 3 different people, 1 of which is wearing clown shoes.

What they all have in common. This was what I wanted to know. In my first book, Walking and Talking – 57 Stories of Success and Humor in the Real Estate World of Business, I recounted stories from some of the top real estate professionals in the Midwest. After observing their careers and listening to their stories, I asked myself this: Other than their sheer success, what do all of these winners in real estate have in common? This is what I learned:

Photo courtesy of @iStockphoto.com

4 Characteristics of Top Real Estate Pros …

1. They create structure in an unstructured environment.

Real estate is not your typical 9 to 5 job, where opportunities are clearly identified and day-to-day responsibilities are well-defined. It is up to the real estate professional to identify the problems and opportunities; to set a plan of action that will bring success. They are not told how to allocate their time, or which deals to pursue or ignore.

The successful ones create a great framework for activity.

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My First Lesson in Commercial Real Estate – Walking and Talking

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Cover of the book Walking and Talking - 57 Stories of Success and Humor in the Real Estate World of Business. Walking and talking was an early lesson I learned in commercial real estate.

I will never forget the day I learned my first lesson in commercial real estate. It came shortly after I joined a team of 25 brokers at Coldwell Banker Commercial Real Estate. They ultimately became a who’s who of Columbus real estate that included Richard Schuen, Ed Joseph, John Hall, Don Matsanoff, Greg Schenk, Chuck Manofsky, Doug Goddard, Ted Hobson, Bob Matias, Benton Benalcazar, Tom McGarity and several others.

Copyright 2014 Ballylongford Books, LLC

The Day I Learned About Walking and Talking

One of those brokers was Wayne Harer. Wayne played 10 years of minor league baseball for the Red Sox and Yankee organizations and actually won the

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The Five Elements of a Single Page Life Plan

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single page life plan

It has been said, in a lot of clever ways, that people who do not care where they are going, don’t need a map. But CEO’s need a business plan, coaches need a game plan, pilots need a flight plan, and leaders need a life plan. Here are 5 things to include in yours …

Single Page Life Plan™  2013 Ballylongford Books, LLC

The Five Elements of a Single Page Life Plan™:

1. Mission or Vision Statement:
This is the overarching vision you have for your life. All other parts of your plan synchronize with this.

2. Life Categories:
Your Life Categories are the six major highways that lead a path towards your Vision Statement. These Life Categories are the most vital aspects of your life.

To see an example of a Single Page Life Plan™ that has already been created, click here:

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Every Story Needs a Hero

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Smiling students standing outdoors

(This article is from my other website, wwwJustSayNo.org.) Across the table, with coffee in hand, the police sargeant patiently answered all of my questions. As a Notre Dame grad, involved in thousands of drug arrests during an exceptional career that spanned three decades with the Columbus Division of Police, he was the perfect person to shed light on the growing problem of drug use among high school students. I wanted to learn as much as possible from him for my book, Seeing Past Friday Night.

The fundamental question

After a lengthy conversation, I asked a final question that he was uniquely qualified to answer. “You’ve witnessed it all,” I said. “You’ve seen the destruction, the incredible cost. You’re the one who explains to the parents why their child was arrested. The question is, why do some kids try drugs for the first time?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “They don’t know. They just say they weren’t thinking.”

“Okay, I get that,” I responded. “But, think about it … what is the real reason?”

This time he took longer and said, “It’s really hard to say. I can tell you what the parent’s reaction is, every single time.”

“What’s that?”

“Absolute shock. When I tell them that their 16 or 17 year old son or daughter was just arrested for selling drugs to support their own habit, they are absolutely shocked. They cannot believe it, which, of course, is understandable.”

(His words made me recall how many times parents say, “I gotta tell you, I would be absolutely shocked to find out that my kids were doing drugs.” The sargeant’s sobering words made me realize that just because parents would be absolutely shocked does not necessarily eliminate the possiblity that they will be one day.)

I pressed on with the question …

Apologizing for being stuck on this one question, I asked a third time. “Think about it. You’ve seen so many great kids from wonderful families go down a dangerous path during their high school years. In many cases, if they could only go back in time and make a better decision that first time they try drugs, their whole life might be so different.”

He pondered one more time, and after a long moment, shook his head and said, “Young or old, they all say the same thing. They just weren’t thinking.”

It finally struck me …