The Pros and Cons of Selling to Private Family Trusts

Cole: “In many cases when dealing with a family trust, you’re dealing with multiple members with different opinions and motivations relating to how long to own, when to sell and how to lease a property.”

SAN DIEGO—Typically agile and highly motivated on the upside, private family trusts also often have the downside of inexperience, inadequate capital and too many decision makers to close a timely deal, Cushman & Wakefield managing executive director and investment-sales specialist Jeffrey Cole tells GlobeSt.com. As we recently reported, Cole, along with Jeff Chiate, Ed Hernandez and Bryce Aberg of Cushman & Wakefield’s Irvine and San Diego offices, recently collaborated to represent seller Gramercy Property Trust in the sale of a 132,695-square-foot office/flex corporate campus on 9.57 acres in the Kearny Mesa submarket here; the four-building complex sold to a private family trust. Brant Aberg of C&W’s San Diego office providing local market advisory. The property is 100% leased to Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions, which recently signed a new long-term lease that includes major capital improvements underway throughout the entire campus. Located at 9404 Chesapeake Dr. and 5775, 5785 & 5788 Roscoe Ct., the Cobham Campus consists of four single- and multi-story buildings, each totaling between 30,500 square feet and 38,000 square feet. The campus provides ideal freeway access and also sits within close proximity to a large and expanding amenity base, in addition to both executive and workforce housing. Developed between 1983 and 1985, the campus was constructed to accommodate the region’s expanding office/flex tenant base in Kearny Mesa, including many of San Diego’s leading and largest defense users that command large blocks of space and functional layout in a first-class business environment.

We spoke with Cole about the various aspects of dealing with private family trusts in real estate transactions. GlobeSt.com: What are the pros and cons of selling to private family trusts?