Cutting out what’s not needed!

This last Saturday my wife rushed me off to the hospital due to some abdominal pain.  After several hours and many tests Dr. Jolley the ER doc determined that my appendix would have to come out right away.

Oddly enough before we left for the hospital, I got on the internet and through some quick research self-diagnosed that it was my appendix that was giving me problems.

What I learned about this unique organ is that modern medicine does not completely know its purpose, other than that it has something to do with creating good bacteria for the colon.  In most patients that have it removed there appear to be very few, if any bad side effects.

I don’t know about you, but I want all the “good bacteria” in my life as possible!  I have plenty of “bad bacteria” coming at me and I can use all the counter measures available!  Regardless I went through with the surgery late Saturday night, and was discharged from the hospital with good narcotics on Sunday morning.

It’s now been a few days, and things are healing up, but this process has given me an interesting analogy to look at other aspects of my life.  What other areas am I engaged in that it is hard to determine a meaningful purpose for the activity.

In the industrial real estate business we tend to run around and chase several opportunities at the same time, hoping that something will “stick to the wall”. I have heard it said that commercial real estate brokers “get paid for the deals they don’t make”.

Perhaps it is time to do some “cutting away” in my professional life as well.  I have always preferred to work for fewer clients, providing a higher level of service and being their “go to guy” for any commercial real estate need.  In the last couple of years and especially recently we have noticed a trend of some of our newer clients engaging multiple brokers to do duplicitous work for them.  We think this is the wrong approach for everybody and leads to poor use of time and resource, poor communication and unfavorable long term results.

Our vision at IPG Commercial is that we are a strategic partner to primarily industrial owners, tenants and investors.  We speculate our time on behalf of our clients to understand their motivations and desires.  If they allow us to, we weave ourselves into the fabric of their business.  We literally become their real estate department.  In exchange our clients give us their commitment, that so long as we are proactively accomplishing their real estate goals, they work with us as their sole choice provider for commercial real estate.  We are so grateful for our long standing clients that have been loyal over the years, and commit to stay focused on their needs.  And for our newer clients we promise to listen to your needs and work together to create relationships that not only win the race, but cut away what is not needed, and ultimately make your lives better.

700 Acres of Prime Real Estate

With Governor Herbert and other lawmakers throwing their support behind relocating the Utah State Prison from Draper the discussion is heating up considerably the last few weeks. Just as the aging Sugar House prison was moved to the point of the mountain location in the middle of the last century the surrounding community is becoming interested in other uses with the 700 acres that the prison currently sits on in Draper.

The discussion always comes back to the cost the taxpayer would bear for relocation. News articles reported that when Governor Huntsman commissioned a study to relocate the prison in 2005 the cost to build a new prison would be around $471 Million. Some of that cost would be recouped in the value of the land which was then calculated to be $93 Million or around $3 per square foot on the land. Opponents to the move have argued that it would be too much of a loss for the taxpayer on the move. Supporters argue that it would be an economic boon by attracting more employers and investment for the surrounding communities to benefit from.

Clearly things are heating up at the South end of the Salt Lake County and North end of Utah County. With companies like Adobe locating their large office campuses in Lehi, developers building 3,200 homes in Bluffdale, and Ivory Commercial breaking ground on a 40 acre Industrial Park just down the street from the Prison on 14600 South, demand for more developable land is increasing. 

The Giants in Our Lives

We are the beneficiaries of so many great gifts from the efforts of others. Very few people who ever lived on the earth have enjoyed even a fraction of the things we take for granted.  We absolutely live like kings and queens. We have grocery stores filled with food from around the globe, unspeakable freedom and opportunity, and we sleep in comfort as more and more and even MORE snow falls from the skies. From parents and family to community leaders, business partners, clients and close friends. Thank you for making my life rich and full and for being great giants in my life!

Michael Jeppesen and Jeremy Jensen, flanked by Mark Eaton and Sean Bradley.

Small Business: 17 Opportunities to Decrease Your Tax Burden

With the dawning of a new year and the passage of all the new tax legislation, many business owners are thinking about tax strategies for the future. If you find yourself in thinking about opportunities to decrease your tax burden consider reviewing The Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 with your accountant. We've been advised that there are 17 opportunities to reduce your tax burden available for small business. Below is a link to the IRS website that may help you with your tax planning: 

http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Small-Business-Jobs-Act-of-2010-Tax-Provisions 

One big opportunity many of our clients take advantage of annually is the depreciation available to owners of commercial real estate buildings. Give us a call and we can discuss your specific needs. We would love to help you reduce your tax obligations through commercial real estate ownership.

The Passing of a Colleague

It was with great shock and sadness to learn this last weekend of the death of one of our colleagues, Michael Bradley.

Michael was working for Celtic Bank looking at some of their REO assets in Texas when he and two co-workers hit fog and crashed the plane they were in, leaving no survivors.

When someone you know dies unexpectedly, whether in a car crash, or as in the instance, in a plane crash, it puts you in an altered state of mind.  The truth of how fragile life is becomes much more palpable when the tragedy is close to home like this was.

Michael was my age and had been in the business for the same duration as me.  While we never worked on a deal together, we took several CCIM courses together, and I think it is fair to say we thought of each other as contemporaries and with mutual respect.

Mike was the kind of guy who you knew just “had things figured out”.  You weren’t sure how, but you knew that Mike was going to get the job done.

He always seemed to have unique and creative deals working and he truly was a self-made man.

Like me, I know he was passionate about his career and did what he believed in.  From reading his obituary, I know he had people he cared about in his life, and he had several recreational pursuits that he enjoyed.

I know this is not our typical blog post, but this really hit me this week, and I wanted to take a moment to reflect on Michaels life with the question:

Am I doing what I can to live as fully as possible while I am here? 

The answer for me is most days, Yes!  I love working in industrial real estate, and helping people to achieve and sustain their dreams of owning or leasing commercial real estate in Utah and nationally.

I am blessed with an incredible wife and two dogs, (who are more like our kids).  We travel extensively and get to spend time pursuing our hobbies.  We engage with the community and volunteer to organizations and people we care about. 

My life is full and blessed. 

It is my hope that you are living fully and realizing your dreams.  Make a point to reach out to someone you care about and let them know it today!

Michael Bradley
1968-2013