Commercial Real Estate in Charlotte NC | Realtor Yubeen Choi

Commercial Real Estate

Description

I help business owners and investors lease, buy, sell and invest in commercial real estate in Charlotte and nearby towns: office, retail, restaurant, medical, warehouse and flex space, and investment property. This page explains how commercial deals work in North Carolina and links to my guides by property type and area.

This page does not list properties for sale or lease. Tell me the use, size, budget, area and timing you have in mind, and I can send you current listings or available spaces that match, then check the zoning for your use before we tour. I'm Yubeen Choi, a bilingual English and Korean commercial broker with eXp Realty.

The North Carolina Real Estate Commission's rules for limited nonresident commercial licenses define commercial real estate to include property lawfully used primarily for sales, office, research, institutional, warehouse, manufacturing, industrial or mining purposes, or for multifamily residential purposes involving five or more dwelling units. Property that its zoning allows to be used for those purposes also counts.

What I Help With: Leasing, Buying, Selling and Investing

Leasing space for your business

As a tenant representative, I tour spaces with you, compare total occupancy cost rather than asking rent, confirm the zoning, and negotiate the letter of intent and lease. Lease types are named for how much of the operating costs each side pays. In NAIOP's definitions, under a gross lease the landlord receives a set rent and pays all or most of the property's operating expenses and real estate taxes, while under a triple net (NNN) lease the tenant pays taxes, maintenance and property insurance and all costs of its own occupancy. My commercial lease negotiation guide and triple net lease explainer go further.

Representing landlords and sellers

If you own a building, I can list space for lease or the property for sale, and pull recent sales or comparable leases to help you set the price. In North Carolina the seller pays the deed excise tax before the deed is recorded. The rate is one dollar ($1.00) on each five hundred dollars ($500.00) of the price or value, or fractional part of that amount. The state's Residential Property Disclosure Act covers residential property with one to four dwelling units, so an office, retail or industrial sale does not come with its disclosure statements.

Buying for your own business or as an investment

I help owner-users and investors find property and run due diligence. Start with commercial property for sale and my guide to buying commercial property in North Carolina. SBA 504 loans, offered only through Certified Development Companies, can fund buying, building or renovating buildings or land, but not investment in rental real estate. When SBA 7(a) or 504 financing is for buying or renovating an existing building, your business must occupy and use no less than 51 percent of the rentable space and may permanently lease up to 49 percent.

A Section 1031 like-kind exchange generally lets you trade business or investment real property without recognizing a gain. The IRS describes that gain as deferred, and Form 8824 figures the amount. Since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Section 1031 applies only to real property, and property held primarily for sale does not qualify. In a deferred exchange, the replacement property must be identified within 45 days after you transfer the old one, and received within 180 days or by your tax return's due date, including extensions, if that is earlier. My 1031 exchange guide covers the steps.

Commercial Property Types

Each property type has its own guide:

BOMA International groups office buildings and spaces into three classes, A, B and C. It describes the classes as a subjective quality rating of buildings that indicates each building's competitive ability to attract similar types of tenants. NAIOP notes that the class is always relative to the local market or submarket.

Commercial Areas Around Charlotte

Charlotte's Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) applies within the corporate limits of the City of Charlotte and within its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ). Outside that area, check with the town or county that governs the parcel. Each area guide says which government handles zoning there.

South Carolina property follows South Carolina law, not the North Carolina statutes and Mecklenburg County processes on this page, and brokers there need a South Carolina license. A Fort Mill address does not by itself put a property inside the Town of Fort Mill.

Zoning and Permits

Inside Charlotte, zoning follows the UDO, which became effective on June 1, 2023, replacing the previous zoning ordinance. Land or a building may be used only for a use its district allows, and Table 15-1, the use matrix, lists them. In that table an X means the use is permitted by right, and a PC means it is allowed but must meet the prescribed conditions in Article 15. A C means the use requires a conditional zoning, and a C/PC means it needs both.

UDO district groups that allow commercial, office or industrial uses include:

  • Commercial: CG General Commercial, typically at key intersections or along arterial streets, and CR Regional Commercial, for large-scale or regionally significant commercial uses.
  • Campus: OG, for general office development including standalone offices, and OFC Office Flex Campus, for large office, research and medical campuses.
  • Manufacturing and Logistics: ML-1, for warehouse/distribution and light industrial uses, and ML-2, for industrial uses including those that may be hazardous or noxious.
  • Centers and transit: UC Uptown Core, for the city's most intense mixed-use development, and transit-oriented development (TOD) districts such as TOD-CC, for parcels near moderate-intensity rapid transit stations and streetcar stops.

A conditional zoning district in place before June 1, 2023 still carries its conditional zoning site plan and site-specific conditions, along with older ordinance rules, so read the conditions, not just the district name. Changing a parcel's district is a rezoning that goes to City Council.

To check a property, the City points to Charlotte Explorer or its Department of Planning, Design & Development, and Mecklenburg County's POLARIS maps include zoning, floodplain and historic district overlays. For a written answer, the City provides zoning verification letters, which you request through its Accela Citizen Access portal.

Building permits, change of use and occupancy

In Mecklenburg County, Code Enforcement requires permits for commercial work, including alterations and repairs, and most commercial projects need plan review. Small upfits and renovations up to 10,000 sq. ft., mainly in Business, Mercantile and Storage occupancies, can use Small Commercial Plan Review if all contractors are selected and the project is permit-ready.

Turning a building into something new, such as a factory into a restaurant, goes through Code Enforcement's change-of-use process for the City of Charlotte, the towns of Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, Matthews, Mint Hill and Pineville, and Mecklenburg County. Zoning must confirm the use first, and a design professional checks the space, including exits and restrooms, against the code.

A space whose work needs a building permit cannot be occupied until Code Enforcement issues a Certificate of Occupancy. Under state law, an owner or tenant who occupies a building before its certificate is issued is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor, so I build that into the move-in timeline.

Under the ADA, businesses open to the public, such as restaurants, shops and doctors' offices, must remove architectural barriers in existing buildings when it is readily achievable. Commercial facilities that do not provide goods or services directly to the public, such as office buildings, warehouses and factories, are subject only to the ADA's requirements for new construction and alterations, which follow the ADA Standards for Accessible Design. The landlord and the tenant of a business open to the public are both covered, and the lease can divide the duty.

Due Diligence Before You Buy or Sign

Beyond zoning, check these before you sign or before the due diligence period ends:

  • Title: the Mecklenburg County Register of Deeds is the official repository for public records on real property in the county. Have your attorney review title.
  • Flood risk: FEMA's Flood Map Service Center is the official public source for National Flood Insurance Program flood hazard information.
  • Environmental condition: federal CERCLA liability for contamination may be assigned based solely on ownership. A commercial buyer who may later seek CERCLA protection must complete EPA's All Appropriate Inquiries within one year before the purchase, with interviews, records review, a site visit and lien searches within 180 days. A Phase I environmental site assessment under the ASTM E1527-21 standard may be used to comply.
  • Property taxes: Mecklenburg County has revalued all property every four years since 2019, and the next revaluation date is Jan. 1, 2027. An owner can request an informal review within 30 days from the date on the notice. Triple net tenants pay taxes, so this reaches them too.
  • Business personal property: Mecklenburg County counts a tenant's leasehold improvements as business personal property, listed each January.

Agency in Commercial Transactions

In North Carolina it is unlawful to act as a real estate broker without a license from the Real Estate Commission, and leasing real estate for others counts. A broker licensed in another state still needs a North Carolina license, and the Commission's website has a public licensee search.

Commission rules and the state license law set how representation works:

  • Written agreements: an agreement with a seller or landlord must be in writing and signed when it is formed. An agreement with a buyer or tenant must be in writing and signed no later than the time any party makes an offer, or from the start if it binds the buyer or tenant for a period of time or limits their right to work with other agents or without one. Each written agreement must run for a definite period and include the broker's license number.
  • Dual agency: a broker who represents one party may not also represent another party in the same transaction without the written authority of each party.
  • Disclosure: the Working with Real Estate Agents disclosure, given at first substantial contact, is required only in sales; the written-agreement rule covers leases too.
  • Owner-brokers: a broker selling commercial real estate in which the broker has less than 25 percent ownership interest may represent the buyer only if the buyer consents after full written disclosure of that ownership interest.
  • Compensation: the Commission says an agent's compensation is negotiable, and a broker can sue a client to collect only under a written, signed agreement.

I put our agreement in writing when we start working together and always before any offer. I tell you at the start whose side I am on, and I act for both sides of one deal only with each party's written consent. I explain letters of intent, leases and contracts in English or Korean, alongside your attorney, not in place of one.

Frequently Asked Questions

This page does not list properties for sale or lease. Tell me the use, size, budget, area and timing you have in mind, and I can send current listings or available spaces that match, then check the zoning for your use before we tour. If you already know your property type, my office, retail, restaurant, medical and warehouse guides cover what to look for.

A commercial agent, licensed as a broker in North Carolina, represents a tenant, buyer, landlord or seller in leasing or selling business property, and the state requires a Real Estate Commission license to lease or sell real estate for others. I search and compare properties, check zoning and permits early, and negotiate the letter of intent, lease or purchase contract, explaining each document in English or Korean. Your attorney still reviews the final documents.

It depends on how long you plan to stay, how much cash you want to keep for build-out and operations, and whether you want control of the building. I can compare the total cost of leasing and buying for a specific property. If you plan to finance a purchase with an SBA 7(a) or 504 loan, SBA rules require your business to occupy and use no less than 51 percent of an existing building's rentable space.

Prices and rents depend on property type, size, condition and location, so a citywide number says little about a specific property. Leases also differ in which operating costs the tenant pays on top of rent. I can pull recent sales or comparable leases for your property type, size and area so you compare like with like.

The City of Charlotte points owners to Charlotte Explorer or its Department of Planning, Design & Development, and Table 15-1 of the UDO shows which uses each district allows. For a written answer, the City provides zoning verification letters, requested through its Accela Citizen Access portal. Outside Charlotte and its extraterritorial jurisdiction, check with the town or county that governs the parcel.

Confirm the zoning and any conditions, have your attorney review title, check FEMA's flood maps and read every existing lease. If you may later want protection from federal cleanup liability, EPA's All Appropriate Inquiries must be conducted or updated within one year before you acquire the property, and a Phase I environmental site assessment under the ASTM E1527-21 standard may be used to comply. In Mecklenburg County, also note that the next revaluation date is Jan. 1, 2027.

Yes, in North Carolina. Real Estate Commission rules require an owner's agreement in writing and signed when it is formed. A buyer or tenant agreement must be in writing and signed no later than the time an offer is made, or from the start if it binds the buyer or tenant for a period of time or limits their right to work with other agents or without one. Each written agreement must run for a definite period and include the broker's license number, and the Commission says the compensation is negotiable.

Only with the written authority of each party, under North Carolina Real Estate Commission rules. I tell you at the start whose side I am on, and I would act for both sides of one deal only with both parties' written consent.

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Yubeen Choi

Yubeen Choi

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3440 Toringdon Way, Suite 205, Charlotte, NC 28277

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