Lee Hassman

Lee then started his real estate career 1984 with Bramalea, Ltd. a large developer of office, malls and apartment complexes. In 1997, Lee was sent to Corpus Christi by Great Oak Development a REIT to lease and dispose of Sunrise Mall. Lee has lived in Corpus Christi ever since.

In 2015, Lee started working toward his CCIM designation.

Lee Hassman brings to Cravey Real Estate many years of experience in the retail industry. "We were looking for somebody to add to our retail team and Lee has the knowledge and ability I was looking for. I am most impressed with his work ethic and attention to detail. That seems to be missing in our industry today," said Matthew Cravey, President of Cravey Real Estate.

Cravey Real Estate Services, Inc. is a full service commercial and industrial real estate company based in Corpus Christi, Texas. We specialize in the sale, leasing and management of Commercial, Industrial, Warehouse, Office, Retail, Shopping Centers, Land and Investment Properties in Texas.

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America’s PremiereExperts® recognizes leading experts, across a wide array of industries, who are willing to provide information and education to consumers as a public service.


America’s PremierExperts® is an organization with two parallel Missions:

1. To Provide FREE Expert Content on a wide array of topics to Consumers and Journalists- information that is constantly updated as the world continues to change. AmericasPremierExperts.com is the place consumers and journalists, alike, visit to find the expert advice they need, absolutely free.
2. To showcase Experts who are dedicated to spreading knowledge and awareness in their field while making significant contributions to their industry and the marketplace as a whole. In exchange for the knowledge these experts contribute, America’s PremierExperts® is dedicated to promoting them in their field of expertise, by offering business owners, entrepreneurs, professional speakers, teachers, lecturers, authors, professionals and corporate CEOs exclusive opportunities for further exposure and growth in the marketplace.

Since 1974, Matthew Cravey has been involved in real estate marketing, sales, leasing, management, investment, and development. As President of Cravey Real Estate Services, Inc., one of the largest Commercial Real Estate Companies south of San Antonio, Matt holds two of the highest designations in the commercial real estate industry: Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) and Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM).

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Costco Wholesale Corporation is a membership-only warehouse club that provides a wide selection of merchandise. As of July 2012, it is the second largest retailer in the United States, the seventh largest retailer in the world and the largest membership warehouse club chain in the United States.

Wal-Mart which owns Sam’s Club listed the property at Greenwood for $3,700,000.  Employees of Sam’s and other sources that don’t want to be named, confirmed that Garden Ridge will be taking over the old Sam’s Club location.  We have not confirmed whether Garden Ridge has the property under contract or an investor/developer will lease the property to Garden Ridge.  We contacted Garden Ridge to confirm but they refused to comment.

We feel that Garden Ridge will be an excellent replacement for Sam’s and a good use of the building.  According to Wikipedia, Garden Ridge is a privately held home decor retail chain based in Plano, Texas. Starting in 1979 with just one store in Schertz, Texas, the store was then known as Garden Ridge Pottery.

Matthew Cravey,  President of Cravey Real Estate Services, Inc. represented Sam’s Club in the purchase of the land on Greenwood Drive in 1985. The site is 17 acres and the original building was 106,000 square feet.  Later the building was expanded to it current size of approximately 138,000 square feet.

Contact our office or go to our web site if you are needing more information or help with any of your commercial real estate needs.

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Chick-fil-A Leadercast at TAMU-CC

• Jack Welch, Former Chairman & CEO of General Electric
• Andy Stanley, Best-selling leadership author & communicator
• Mike Krzyzewski, Head men’s basketball coach, Duke University and Team USA
• John C. Maxwell, Best-selling author and leadership expert
• Dr. Henry Cloud, Best-selling author and leadership consultant
• LCDR Rorke Denver, Navy SEAL and star of the 2012 movie Act of Valor
• Sanya Richards-Ross, 2012 London Olympic gold medalist, track & field
• David Allen, Best-selling author of Getting Things Done and productivity expert
• Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State (2005-2009)

Over 130,000 leaders from 17 countries attended the event.  The event was broadcast to over 750 sites around the world.

Matt Cravey of Cravey Real Estate and attendees

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1. Do your homework.  Go to the internet and use a search engine like Google.  Look up the type of property your are needing a broker for, such as “commercial real estate”.  A Company and/or individuals name will keep coming up several times. The ones listed the most are a good indication they are active in the business.
2. Go to the Company or individual brokers web site.  If they don’t have a web site – move on.  If they can’t market themselves, how can they market your property.
3. Check the site for testimonials, clients names and “done deals”.  Go through the site looking for names of people or companies you can contact.    Again, do your homework.
4. Make comparisons.  Compare “apples to apples”.  Do they have experience with your type of property.  Some agents are skilled at leasing but not selling.  Some are experienced in selling land but don’t have a clue how to sell an investment property. Some don’t have experience in commercial real estate because they sell homes.  There is a difference.
5. Make sure the agent you interview is the agent that will be handling your property.  It is not uncommon for the Broker of the real estate company to tell you how great he or she is and about all their experience only to find out they will not be working on your property. They plan on assigning your property to a new agent for training.
6. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART.  Make sure you are absolutely sure you trust and believe the agent. Why?  Because when that agent tells you what they think your property is worth or what it should be listed for, your emotions will get the best of you.  At that point, you will forget about their qualifications and their knowledge and focus only on the price.  I am assuming you were thinking of a higher price.

Don’t get upset if you are not told what you want to hear.  At this point, many people quickly excuse themselves and tell the agent they need to think about it and will get back to them.  You will then start calling other agents and pick the first one that tells you what you want to hear, even if they aren’t qualified to be handling your property.

Chances are they gave you a higher price because of lack of experience – or worse.  Some agents have been known to list an overpriced property to get control.  Over time, they will work on the owner to get the price down to where it should have been all along.  This unethical but hard to prove.

If you did your homework and you are sure you have the correct broker, you should ask your preferred broker to justify the proposed listing price. Don’t let your emotions get the best of you.  This is your new team member.  They could be wrong or came to a conclusion without all the facts.  The only way you can know this is to discuss it with them. You always have the option of asking your preferred agent if they would consider listing the property at a higher price and let the market determine value.  Might work or could be a waste of time and money.

There are many more issues that we will cover in upcoming blog posts. Be sure to subscribe to join us as we explore other facets of commercial real estate.

I invite you to go to our web site and use it as a standard to measure other brokers by. Don’t hesitate to contact me.  You can find my contact information on our web site under Matthew Cravey.

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This may be accomplished by the following:

• The developer sets up a master plan that sets forth the general scheme of development and submits it for the approval of the owner.

• The developer and owner enter into an agreement setting forth the acreage prices for the entire property.

• Owner and developer agree on the number of years over which the full development is to be completed.

• To protect the owner against freezing of his property, the developer firmly commits to buy a predetermined number of acres each year.

• If the developer fails to meet this schedule, the owner is released from his commitment.

A Development Agreement

Another way of handling the problem is for the developer to share the net profits from the land development with the landowner. This can be done by a “land development agreement” in which the developer agrees to perform the platting, the laying out, the installation of lot improvements, and the promotion of the subdivision. The landowner agrees to accept a percentage of the sales price of each lot, with a fixed minimum guaranteed. For example, the developer agrees to pay net to the landowner 25% of the sales price of each lot sold, with a minimum of $50,000 per lot.

With this kind of arrangement, it is important to protect the landowner from finding his land cluttered up with liens left by a subdivider who went broke. The landowner should consider confining the developer or subdivider to a small tract of land at a time and give him “rolling options” to acquire additional parcels at intervals over a period of time. Failure to keep up with this purchase program results in loss of future options. The land that has been optioned but not purchased is not subject to liens against the developer.

Benefits Of Developing On Leased Land

The bundle of benefits for the lessee and lessor in a development on leased land are remarkable. The separate owners, land owner and building owner, come together in one investment at the same location. The land owner has a good lease to the owner of the improvement. The owner of the building puts up less money since the ownership of land is not part of the expenses in the development.

What The Lessor Wants

An example could be the developer of upscale homes who wants to keep the ownership of the land as an investment. The use of the land lease can widen his market by reducing the purchase price of the
house. In certain parts of the country, the value of the land equals the value of the house. Leasing the land can cut the purchase price nearly in half. With this type of land lease, there is usually a provision for a rent increase halfway through the lease term in accordance with the results of a reappraisal of the land. The

Benefits To The Builder

The land lease results in the following benefits for a builder or developer:

• He/she can acquire a valuable parcel of land with very little cash investment.

• This leasehold that is acquired is an asset that can increase in value, and then could be used as security for a loan, or could be sold for a profit.

• The rental payments are fully deductible by the lessee.

• With a subordinated land lease, the lessee-developer gets the equivalent of a 100% loan on the land.

The Best Lease For Both

Usually, a developer-lessee will attempt to get the longest possible term in the lease because the shorter term land lease would have a smaller market for resale. A long-term land lease is generally a net lease under which the lessee pays the carrying costs, including real estate taxes.

When the land rental is a fixed amount, it is a percentage of the fair market value of the land when the lease is executed. This lease will often include a provision for reappraisal of the land at fixed intervals, with new adjustments in the rent. In some cases, for instance with a shopping center, the landowner might demand a share of the percentage rentals over and above the fixed land rent. (Much of the income in the shopping center will come from percentage overages from the sub-lessees.

Subordination Of The Lease

If the owner of the land will not subordinate the lease to a leasehold mortgage, the developer should get a reduction in rent because the unsubordination will cause his financing to be more expensive. Subordination could be the most important item in the terms of the lease. Even a short subordinated lease might be better than a longer unsubordinated lease, even though the longer lease is more salable.

The landowner may or may not allow his interest as owner-lessor to be subordinated to the interest of a leasehold mortgagee. When there is a subordination to the mortgage, the lender, in effect, gets a fee mortgage on the land rather than a leasehold mortgage.

When the lease is unsubordinated, the landowner-lessor has first rights over the lender in case the lessee-mortgagor should default. With these terms, the lessee could find that he cannot get a loan, or can get one only at a higher rate of interest. Without the subordination, the mortgage is, in effect, a second lien since the lessor’s claim on the rents takes precedence over payments on the mortgage.

The objections of an owner to subordination of the lease could be as follows:

• He could lose the property if the lessee defaults on the leasehold mortgage.

• Subordination reduces his possibility of mortgaging his fee interest in the land, which would be a logical move for the lessor. If the subordination is part of the terms, the landowner would record his right to receive any notice of default from the leasehold mortgagee and the right to cure the default. The expense would be reimbursed to the owner by adding the amount to the lessee’s rent obligation.

This article appeared in the September issue of The Commercial Real Estate Investment Newsletter.  One of the newsletters we offer to our clients. You can subscribe to the newsletter by going to NAI Cravey Real Estate Services website.

We are always looking for ways to serve you and would like to hear from you.

matt@craveyrealestate.com or 361-289-5168

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Baskins Western Wear to open in Corpus Christi

Opening scheduled for later this year

• By Fanny S. Chirinos
• Corpus Christi Caller Times
• Posted July 21, 2010 at 1:43 p.m., updated July 21, 2010 at 2:03 p.m.

CORPUS CHRISTI — Baskins Western Wear will open later this year in Corpus Christi. The Livingston-based western apparel retail has leased space on Airline near McArdle roads.

The store is one of four the company announced Wednesday. Other cities include Lufkin, Texarkana and Waco and bring the total to 20, once open.

“We are excited to grow our market share by expanding to these vibrant cities,” said Bryan Baskin, President of Baskins Western Wear, in a written statement. “These new locations represent the types of markets that serve us well.”

The Corpus Christi store will be 20,000 square feet and will be in the The Promenade shopping center, which features stores such as Toys R Us, Bamboo Garden restaurant and Gourmet Brown Kitchen.

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