The Zehner Hill Blog

Why Exit Planning Matters in Co-Owned Industrial Real Estate

July 11, 2025

What to consider when you and your partners have to go separate ways

Last week, we began our multi-part series on the importance of planning for the disposition of commercial real estate properties acquired by multiple, non-family investors. These can include owner/user properties, such as industrial real estate assets, where business partners acquire a building as a home for their business, as well as third-party investor groups who pool their capital to acquire income producing property.

Preparation is the Key to Optimizing Your Disposition Strategy

June 17, 2025

How to make sure you keep your options open

Many of you have acquired commercial property with others through the years. Some of you have acquired a building with your business partners to serve as a home for your operation, while others have collaborated with like-minded investors to scoop up income properties for passive income, value appreciation and portfolio diversification. Either way, if you have collaborated to acquire commercial property, you need to make sure that you and your partners have built in the flexibility to go your separate ways when the time comes, as there are significant tax and estate consequences to prepare for. In this post, we take a look at ownership structure and title vesting to get you thinking about optimizing your exit alternatives just in case life gets in the way and calls on you to take action.

The Ol’ 1031 Exchange into the Dream Home Trick

May 28, 2025

Just follow the Safe Harbor Guidelines to convert the equity in your building into your Home Sweet Home

For those who’ve been around for a while, this headline might remind you of Maxwell Smart delivering one of his classic lines from the 1960s series, Get Smart. Hilarious humor from the minds of Buck Henry and Mel Brooks that is just as funny today as it was then. But, unlike that comedy series, our headline is not a joke. In fact, it refers to a little known IRS regulation that allows you to exchange your highly appreciated industrial building into your retirement dream home, fully tax-deferred.

The Strategic Path From Equity To Income

May 15, 2025

Cashing out is just one of many options to consider

Last week we took a look at a disposition scenario for a highly-appreciated owner/user building in Anaheim. Our example mirrors the favorable situation that thousands of business owners find themselves in after an outsized run-up in property values from 2011 to late 2022. Though values have slipped a bit since then, the numbers are still mind-boggling. Who could have imagined their building’s value quadrupling in 11 years? Certainly not us, as our decades of experience just wouldn’t allow it.

Is This Finally the Time to Sell?

April 21, 2025

The answer depends on your unique circumstances

There are literally thousands of Orange County business owners out there who bought their industrial buildings when prices were just a small fraction of what they are today. If you are one of those with the foresight and courage to have done so, congratulations, you are a huge winner. Your property’s value has appreciated more than you ever thought possible.