Offices and shops for sale in La Marsa

Buying the premises of a shop in La Marsa means entering a market where almost nothing is sold. Local families who own a commercial ground floor on avenue Habib Bourguiba or near the beach keep it from one generation to the next and let it out; when a unit changes hands, it is often through an inheritance, and the buyer is a neighbour or a trader already in place.

Supply on this page is limited and changes from week to week, and shops for sale in La Marsa remain rare, mostly posted by private sellers. Check back regularly, and for a wider choice, compare with all the offices and shops for sale in Tunis governorate, where downtown, Montplaisir and Les Berges du Lac offer more office floors.

What sells, and where

Three kinds of property come up from time to time. First, shop premises in the centre, in Marsa Ville, La Marsa Plage and the Medina: small ground-floor units in older buildings, often let, priced higher per m² than the flats above them. Next, units at the foot of residential developments in Marsa Erriadh, El Montazeh and Marsa Hadayek, delivered by developers along with the flats and resold by investors: larger floor areas, wide windows, sometimes parking.

Finally, an office for sale in La Marsa readily takes the form of a villa or a villa floor in Sidi Daoud or near the Lac road, bought by a company or a professional who wants to own their premises. This last case belongs as much to the residential market as to the commercial one: the houses for sale in La Marsa offer useful points of comparison.

Occupied premises and businesses: do not confuse them

A shop sold with a tenant stays occupied. A tenant holding a commercial lease enjoys, under certain conditions, a right of renewal, and the buyer takes on the lease as it stands: rent, term, review clause. Ask for a copy of the registered contract, the latest rent receipts and the history of increases. A very low legacy rent can drag down the yield for years.

Buying the premises does not include the business (fonds de commerce), and vice versa. A listing for a business for sale in La Marsa covers the customer base, the trading name, the right to the lease and the equipment, not the unit itself. Get it spelled out what is being sold, and have the deed checked by a lawyer or notary used to commercial transfers.

Permitted use, co-ownership and land title

Before making any offer, check that the property is designated for commercial or office use in the building permit and, where one exists, in the land title. A villa in El Montazeh turned into a practice without permission for the change of use can cause problems with La Marsa municipality and the bank. In a development, read the co-ownership rules: some ban catering, noisy activities or signs on the facade.

As with any purchase, insist on an individual land title and a recent certificate of ownership, and check there is no mortgage. Premises that come from an inheritance are often in joint ownership: every heir must sign. Finally, budget for registration duties and fees, which come on top of the asking price.

An investment that depends on the season and the street

The return on a unit in La Marsa depends on its street more than its size. On the corniche and around place Saf-Saf, summer makes the tenants' turnover, and therefore their ability to pay; in Marsa Erriadh, local customers keep business steady all year. Before buying, look at which shops on the street have closed in recent years. Ask the neighbours about parking and deliveries too, two sensitive subjects in Marsa Ville.

If buying seems premature, renting remains the simplest way to test a location: the offices and shops to rent in La Marsa far outnumber the properties for sale.