Editorial
Front Page - Friday, November 12, 2010
The Raines Group expands staff and into new markets
David Laprad
The Raines Group specializes in the sale, management and leasing of shopping centers, office buildings, industrial warehouses and multi-family apartments. Back row, from L to R: Affiliate Broker Bill Nagel, founder and President Bill Raines and Executive Vice President Richard Rose. From row, from L to R: Affiliate Brokers Kevin Boehm and Tony Brock.
- David Laprad
If there’s one constant in business, it’s change. Companies start out moving in one direction and change course as markets evolve.
When The Raines Group opened its doors in Nashville in 1984, its staff focused on shopping center management and leasing. In time, the company relocated to Chattanooga and expanded to include management and leasing services for shopping centers, office buildings and industrial warehouses. Now the group is expanding into sales of the same kinds of properties and more.
To aid them in this effort, The Raines Group has added affiliate broker Anne Najjar to its ranks. Najjar was previously the director of commercial sales and leasing for another agency, and decided to move to a strictly commercial real estate firm.
Bill Raines, president and founder, says Najjar will be concentrating on multi-family apartments, which he calls one of the hottest areas in commercial real estate.
“You can’t get a loan to buy a house if you don’t have a job. But if you have a little cash, all you have to do is pay one month’s security deposit and you’re in, so it’s easier to rent than buy. Plus, with the arrival of Volkswagen, we have people moving into the area who don’t know where they want to live. While they look for a place, they can get their bearings by renting an apartment. Also, financing is good for apartment developers right now in terms of the interest rate as well as the amortization through HUD. They can get 35-year non-recourse financing, and the valuations are way down compared to other forms of real estate. All of those things together make multi-family apartments a good direction for us,” he says.
Najjar’s credentials and training bring a broad spectrum of commercial- and investment-related services to The Raines Group, Raines says. These services include contract and lease writing, contract and lease negotiations, due diligence performance, marketing proposals, demographic studies, economic reports, investment analysis, market value determination, location advisories and incentives, rezoning processes, 1031 exchanges and more.
“Anne has become a knowledgeable resource for financing, contractors, architects, surveyors, environmental assessments, regional planning agency codes, permits and zoning laws. Other expertise relates to community renewal programs, local and state grants, incentives for small businesses and manufacturing and tax incentive programs for growing areas,” The Raines Group says in press materials announcing Najjar’s addition to the group.
In addition to Najjar, The Raines Group continues to offer a selection of unique services through its other affiliate brokers.
Bill Nagel has a diversified background that includes medical sales leaseback, a technique in which people remove the equity from a medical building and sell it to someone who’s looking to make an investment. The rent gives them the return on investment for which they’re looking. Kevin Boehm specializes in downtown historical and North Shore areas, as well as restaurants; Tony Brock tends to industrial warehouses; and Executive Vice President Richard Rose handles office leasing and management.
Raines says the group’s diversity benefits clients, as his affiliate brokers are able to work together to improve their customers’ bottom lines.
“With our management and leasing background, we can improve the bottom line of a client that’s trying to sell an income property. In today’s economy, it’s difficult to increase rent, but we know how to focus on the expense side of the equation to make an investment more efficient,” Raines says.
The Raines Group operates out of Four Squares Business Center on Mountain Creek Road. The small commercial enclave is a testament to the firm’s ability to energize an investment. Raines purchased the property when it was 25 percent occupied and converted it to office space. Four Squares is now 85 percent full.
“We look at what something can be rather than what it is. By virtue of what we did, this a productive piece of property.”
The Raines Group can handle large-scale ventures, too, such as the sale of the former Wal-Mart center on Highway 153, which sold for $16.5 million.
Raines says one of the reasons he and his affiliate brokers have been so successful is they assume a sense of ownership when they take on a new property.
“We ask ourselves how we’d want someone to treat the asset if we were its owners. That means being honest, creating good relationships with tenants, being good communicators and steering clear of misrepresentations. That alone has produced a lot of repeat business for us. I’ve sold one property three times,” he says.
These values, and his team’s know-how, put The Raines Group in a good position to benefit from the investments being made in Chattanooga, Raines says.
“You’re going to see an appetite to invest in this area, more so than other places throughout the Southeast, because Chattanooga has expanded and become more diversified. I read a magazine article that named us No. 1 for future manufacturing, so I think there’s going to be some turnover investors coming into the market, which will make it stronger and even better for brokerage services,” Raines says.
Although most investments around the country are still coming out of the major money centers, including California, Florida and New York, Chattanooga is on everyone’s radar, Raines says.
“A lot of other markets have been shopped and picked clean. Plus, if you look at the statistics of other cities and states in our region, unemployment is a little lower here, our schools are improving and the cost of living is substantially better.”
That’s good news for every business in Chattanooga, especially those that operate at the same level of proficiency and integrity as The Raines Group.
|
|