If you own real estate in an up-and-coming location or own residential or commercial property that might be redeveloped into a "greater and much better usage", then you have actually pertained to the right location! This article will help you summarize and ideally debunk these two methods of improving a piece of realty while taking part handsomely in the benefit.
The Development Ground Lease
The Development Ground Lease is an agreement, generally varying from 49 years to 150 years, where the owner transfers all the advantages and concerns of ownership (elegant legalese for future earnings and costs!) to a developer in exchange for a monthly or quarterly ground lease payment that will range from 5%-6% of the fair market price of the residential or commercial property. It enables the owner to take pleasure in a great return on the worth of its residential or commercial property without having to offer it and doesn't require the owner itself to take on the incredible risk and complication of building a brand-new building and finding tenants to inhabit the new building, abilities which lots of property owners merely do not have or desire to learn. You might have also heard that ground lease rents are "triple web" which implies that the owner sustains no charges of operating of the residential or commercial property (aside from income tax on the gotten rent) and gets to keep the full "net" return of the worked out rent payments. All real! Put another method, throughout the term of the ground lease, the developer/ground lease renter, takes on all responsibility genuine estate taxes, building and construction expenses, borrowing expenses, repair work and upkeep, and all operating costs of the dirt and the new building to be constructed on it. Sounds quite excellent right. There's more!
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This ground lease structure likewise allows the owner to take pleasure in a sensible return on the existing value of its residential or commercial property WITHOUT needing to sell it, WITHOUT paying capital gains tax and, under current law, WITH a tax basis step-up (which decreases the quantity of gain the owner would eventually pay tax on) when the owner dies and ownership of the residential or commercial property is moved to its successors. All you quit is control of the residential or commercial property for the term of the lease and a higher participation in the earnings stemmed from the brand-new building, but without most of the risk that goes with building and running a new structure. More on risks later.
To make the deal sweeter, most ground leases are structured with routine boosts in the ground rent to secure versus inflation and also have reasonable market price ground rent "resets" every 20 or so years, so that the owner gets to delight in that 5%-6% return on the future, ideally increased worth of the residential or commercial property.
Another favorable characteristic of an advancement ground lease is that when the brand-new building has been built and rented up, the property owner's ownership of the residential or commercial property including the rental stream from the ground lease is a sellable and financeable interest in property. At the very same time, the designer's rental stream from operating the residential or commercial property is likewise sellable and financeable, and if the lease is drafted properly, either can be sold or financed without threat to the other celebration's interest in their residential or commercial property. That is, the owner can borrow money versus the value of the ground leas paid by the designer without affecting the developer's capability to fund the structure, and vice versa.
So, what are the downsides, you may ask. Well initially, the owner quits all control and all prospective earnings to be obtained from building and operating a new structure for in between 49 and 150 years in exchange for the security of limited ground rent. Second, there is threat. It is primarily front-loaded in the lease term, however the danger is genuine. The minute you move your residential or commercial property to the designer and the old building gets demolished, the residential or commercial property no longer is leasable and won't be creating any profits. That will last for 2-3 years until the new structure is built and fully tenanted. If the designer stops working to construct the structure or stops halfway, the owner can get the residential or commercial property back by cancelling the lease, however with a partially built structure on it that generates no income and worse, will cost millions to finish and rent up. That's why you need to make absolutely sure that whoever you lease the residential or commercial property to is a knowledgeable and knowledgeable builder who has the monetary wherewithal to both pay the ground lease and complete the construction of the structure. Complicated legal and service solutions to supply defense versus these threats are beyond the scope of this article, however they exist and require that you discover the ideal business advisors and legal counsel.
The Development Joint Venture
Not pleased with a boring, coupon-clipping, long-term ground lease with limited participation and limited advantage? Do you wish to utilize your ownership of an undeveloped or underdeveloped piece of residential or commercial property into an amazing, brand-new, bigger and much better financial investment? Then possibly an advancement joint endeavor is for you. In an advancement joint endeavor, the owner contributes ownership of the residential or commercial property to a minimal liability business whose owners (members) are the owner and the developer. The owner trades its ownership of the land in exchange for a portion ownership in the joint venture, which portion is determined by dividing the fair market price of the land by the total project expense of the brand-new structure. So, for instance, if the worth of the land is $ 3million and it will cost $21 million to develop the brand-new structure and lease it up, the owner will be credited with a 12.5% ($3mm divided by $24mm) interest in the entity that owns the brand-new structure and will take part in 12.5% of the operating earnings, any refinancing proceeds, and the profit on sale.
There is no earnings tax or state and regional transfer tax on the contribution of the residential or commercial property to the joint venture and in the meantime, a basis step up to fair market price is still offered to the owner of the 12.5% joint venture interest upon death. Putting the joint endeavor together raises various questions that should be worked out and solved. For example: 1) if more cash is required to end up the building than was initially budgeted, who is accountable to come up with the extra funds? 2) does the owner get its $3mm dollars returned first (a concern distribution) or do all dollars come out 12.5%:87.5% (professional rata)? 3) does the owner get an ensured return on its $3mm investment (a preference payment)? 4) who gets to control the everyday service decisions? or significant decisions like when to refinance or sell the brand-new building? 5) can either of the members move their interests when desired? or 6) if we develop condos, can the members take their earnings out by getting ownership of specific apartments or retail areas rather of cash? There is a lot to unpack in putting a strong and fair joint venture contract together.
And after that there is a risk analysis to be done here too. In the development joint endeavor, the now-former residential or commercial property owner no longer owns or manages the dirt. The owner has actually acquired a 12.5% MINORITY interest in the operation, albeit a bigger job than before. The danger of a failure of the project does not simply result in the termination of the ground lease, it might result in a foreclosure and possibly total loss of the residential or commercial property. And then there is the possibility that the marketplace for the brand-new structure isn't as strong as initially projected and the brand-new structure does not produce the level of rental earnings that was anticipated. Conversely, the structure gets constructed on time, on or under budget, into a robust leasing market and it's a crowning achievement where the worth of the 12.5% joint endeavor interest far goes beyond 100% of the value of the undeveloped parcel. The taking of these risks can be significantly lowered by selecting the exact same proficient, experience and economically strong developer partner and if the anticipated advantages are big enough, a well-prepared residential or commercial property owner would be more than justified to handle those risks.
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What's an Owner to Do?
My very first piece of recommendations to anyone thinking about the redevelopment of their residential or commercial property is to surround themselves with knowledgeable professionals. Brokers who understand advancement, accounting professionals and other financial advisors, who will work on behalf of an owner and of course, great experienced legal counsel. My 2nd piece of guidance is to utilize those experts to identify the financial, market and legal characteristics of the possible transaction. The dollars and the deal capacity will drive the decision to establish or not, and the structure. My 3rd piece of suggestions to my clients is to be real to themselves and try to come to an honest realization about the level of threat they will be ready to take, their ability to discover the best designer partner and then trust that developer to control this process for both party's mutual financial benefit. More quickly stated than done, I can assure you.
Final Thought
Both of these structures work and have for years. They are particularly popular now because the cost of land and the expense of building products are so pricey. The magic is that these development ground leases, and joint ventures offer a cheaper way for a designer to control and redevelop a piece of residential or commercial property. Less costly in that the ground lease a designer pays the owner, or the profit the developer show a joint venture partner is either less, less risky or both, than if the designer had purchased the land outright, and that's a good idea. These are advanced deals that demand advanced specialists dealing with your behalf to keep you safe from the threats fundamental in any redevelopment of realty and guide you to the increased worth in your residential or commercial property that you seek.
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Development Ground Leases and Joint Ventures - a Primer For Owners
delmargarrison edited this page 2025-06-14 08:21:39 +00:00