Sell your post office
Retail post offices and carrier annexes, leased to the Postal Service on its own forms. Federal rent, landlord's roof.
Post Office at a glance
- Typical deal size
- $300K – $5M
- Lease structure
- Modified gross, USPS lease
- Typical term
- 5–10 years, with renewal options
- Escalations
- Flat within term; rent resets at renewal
Overview
What post offices are really worth
Our read
A post office is a federal tenant on a lease the tenant wrote. The Postal Service leases a large share of the buildings it operates from private owners, on its own lease forms, and those forms are not the absolute net leases most investors expect when they hear federal credit. The landlord frequently carries the roof, the structure, the parking lot, and sometimes building systems, and renewal rent is fixed by option terms negotiated years or decades earlier.
The Postal Service is also its own kind of tenant. It funds operations from postage and services rather than annual appropriations, and it has its own real estate organization, its own procedures, and its own closure process for retail offices, which includes public notice and a path to appeal. That makes abrupt departures uncommon. It also makes the Postal Service a disciplined negotiator at renewal, and owners who expect market rent are often surprised.
Many post offices are owned by individuals who built or bought them for the Postal Service a generation ago, and the buildings show it. Carrier vehicles, daily truck traffic, and long service lives wear hard on lots, docks, and roofs, and the lease usually says those are the landlord's to fix.
Valuation
How we underwrite it
The method
We underwrite the lease first, clause by clause, because Postal Service lease forms vary by vintage and the obligations are where the value lives. Who carries the roof, structure, lot, and systems; how taxes are handled; what the renewal options say; and whether any termination or purchase rights exist.
The renewal schedule is priced as written. If the Postal Service holds options at stated rents, that is the income, regardless of what the market might pay. We value the building for its use after the options run out, and for most post offices that means a small, functional commercial building with good parking and a central location.
Facility type matters. A delivery unit tied to carrier routes is harder to relocate than a retail counter, which can move to smaller space or into a contract postal unit inside a store.
Condition is underwritten as a landlord cost rather than a tenant problem. Roof replacement, paving, and dock repair are the common ones, and they come off the price rather than out of your pocket before closing.
What moves the number
- 01Remaining term and the renewal option schedule, since the Postal Service's rent at renewal is set by the lease rather than the market
- 02Landlord responsibilities under the lease — roof, structure, parking lot, and often building systems — which make these leases far from net
- 03Whether the facility is a retail post office or a carrier and delivery operation, since delivery units are tied to routes and harder to relocate
- 04The town and the role the post office plays in it, because rural and small-town offices are often the only federal presence
- 05Loading docks, carrier vehicle parking, and lot condition, which are the parts of the property the Postal Service uses hardest
- 06Real estate tax treatment in the lease, which varies by lease form and changes the actual net income
Capital markets today
- 10-yr Treasury
- 5.24%
- 4.12% a year ago
- SOFR
- 3.87%
- 4.2% a year ago
- 30-yr mortgage
- 7.28%
- 6.3% a year ago
- CRE loan delinquency
- 1.53%
- 1.57% a year ago
- CRE prices, YoY
- 6.58%
- -2.7% a year ago
Sources: FRED DGS10, 2026-10-01 · FRED SOFR, 2026-10-01 · FRED MORTGAGE30US, 2026-10-01 · FRED DRCRELEXFACBS, 2026-04-01 · FRED COMREPUSQ159N, 2026-01-01
Diligence
What a buyer actually looks at in a post office
- Check 01
The full USPS lease, every amendment, and the renewal option terms
Postal Service leases are written on the Postal Service's own forms, which have changed over the decades. Renewal rents, maintenance obligations, and any early termination or purchase rights vary by vintage and are only knowable from the document itself.
- Check 02
Landlord maintenance obligations and their current condition
Many of these leases put the roof, structure, parking lot, and sometimes HVAC on the landlord. A lot that carrier vehicles use every day and a roof past its life are real costs, not tenant problems.
- Check 03
Real estate tax and reimbursement provisions
Some lease forms reimburse taxes and some do not, and the mechanics differ. The difference goes straight to net income.
- Check 04
Rent payment history and the change-of-ownership process
The Postal Service has its own procedures for recognizing a new owner and redirecting rent. Handled badly, rent can be delayed for months after closing.
- Check 05
Facility type and route structure
A retail counter can move to a smaller space or a contract postal unit in a store. A delivery unit is anchored by carrier routes and vehicle space, which makes it harder to relocate.
- Check 06
Environmental and building materials
Older post offices commonly contain asbestos, and carrier vehicle parking and any fueling history warrant a Phase I.
Backfill risk
What happens if the tenant leaves
The tenant-goes-dark scenario
Post offices tend to stay leased for a long time. The Postal Service relocates infrequently, retail closures go through a formal process with public notice and appeal rights, and delivery units are anchored by the carrier routes they serve. Most owners who sell are not facing a vacancy; they are facing a renewal at a rent they did not set or a repair bill the lease assigns to them.
When the Postal Service does leave, the reasons are usually consolidation — two facilities combined into one — or a move to smaller space, sometimes a contract postal unit inside a retail store. Those decisions tend to happen at renewal.
The buildings themselves are reasonably flexible. A typical retail post office is a modest single-story building with a public lobby, a workroom, a loading dock, and parking, often in the center of town. That suits light industrial, flex, service retail, and municipal users without heavy conversion, and the location is usually good.
The constraint in smaller towns is depth of demand. The post office may be one of the larger commercial tenants in the community, and replacing it at comparable rent can take time.
Why this matters to you
Every buyer prices the tenant-goes-dark scenario, whether or not they say so out loud. It is the largest hidden input into the cap rate you get offered.
Understanding it before you go to market is the difference between negotiating and being negotiated with.
Who sells to us
Situations we see most often
- Long-time individual owner who built or bought the building for the Postal Service decades ago
- Heirs who inherited a post office and do not want to manage a federal landlord relationship
- Owner facing a renewal at a rent the Postal Service has set lower than expected
- Owner carrying roof, paving, or system repairs the lease puts on the landlord
- 1031 investor who bought on federal credit without reading the maintenance obligations
Buy box
What we buy
- 01Post offices and postal facilities, $300K to $5M
- 02Short remaining term and pending renewals
- 03Buildings with landlord maintenance backlogs
- 04Inherited and long-held postal properties
Process
How selling to Dizposition works
Day 0
01Send us the property
Address, asset type, and the lease if there is one. That is enough for us to start.
- 02
We underwrite it
Our underwriting runs the income against current market pricing and the cost of capital. No lowball anchor.
10 minutes
03You get a firm offer
In 10 minutes, with the math shown. You will know exactly how we got there.
As fast as 30 days
04Close on your timeline
As fast as 30 days, or as slow as you need. We are the principal, so the date is yours.
FAQ
Selling a post office
The Postal Service is a federal tenant. Isn't this a risk-free lease?
The rent is very reliable while the lease runs. What makes postal leases different is what the landlord carries — roof, structure, the parking lot, sometimes building systems — and the fact that renewal rent is set by the lease the Postal Service wrote. The credit is strong; the economics need to be read clause by clause.
Can the Postal Service just close my post office?
Closing a retail post office generally involves a formal process with public notice and a path to appeal to the Postal Regulatory Commission, which makes abrupt closures uncommon. Consolidations and relocations to smaller space do happen, particularly at renewal. Read the lease for any termination rights it contains — the forms vary.
My renewal option rent is below what I think the building is worth. Can I renegotiate?
If the Postal Service holds a renewal option at a stated rent, it generally gets that rent. That is a common source of frustration for owners and a common reason they sell. We price the lease as written and value the building for what it is after the options run out.
I inherited a post office. What do I need to know?
Find the lease and every amendment first, because the obligations live there. Then confirm the rent is being paid to the right party — the Postal Service has its own process for recognizing a new owner. If managing that relationship is not something you want, it is a straightforward property to sell.
How long does it take to sell a commercial property to Dizposition?
You get a firm written offer within 10 minutes of sending us the property. If you accept, you can close in as little as 30 days — most of that is title work and your own timeline. There is no listing period, no marketing, and no waiting on a buyer's financing contingency.
Can I sell my property as-is?
Yes. We are the buyer, so there is no lender requiring repairs and no inspection contingency to renegotiate against you. Deferred maintenance, a failing roof, an aging tank system — we price it into the offer rather than asking you to fix it first.
Can I sell with a tenant in place?
Yes, and in most cases a tenant makes the property more valuable to us, not less. We will ask for the lease, a rent roll, and any estoppel certificates. You do not need to deliver the property vacant.
What if my lease is short-term or about to expire?
Short remaining term is one of the main reasons owners come to us. A conventional buyer needs lease term to get financing, which is why short-dated assets sit on the market. We underwrite the real estate and the backfill prospects rather than the remaining term alone.
What if the property is vacant?
We buy vacant assets. Pricing shifts from an income approach to what the building and land are worth to the next user, which is a different calculation — but it is one we do routinely rather than one that disqualifies the property.
Do I need a broker to sell to you?
No. We buy directly, and there is no commission because there is nothing to market. If you already have a broker, we will pay them. Selling without one saves the commission, but you should understand you are also giving up price discovery — a broker's job is to find out whether someone will pay more than we will.
What documents do I need to get an offer?
The address and the lease are enough to start. To finalize, we will want the rent roll, the last two years of operating statements, the title commitment, any existing survey, and any environmental reports you already have. You do not need an appraisal or a broker package.
How do you determine your offer?
We underwrite in-place income against what the space would re-lease for, adjust for capital needs and any environmental tail, and apply a cap rate supported by comparable transactions. We show you the inputs. If you disagree with an assumption, we would rather argue about the assumption than about the number.
What are typical seller closing costs?
Title and escrow fees, any transfer or recording tax owed in your state, prorated property taxes, and payoff of any existing debt. Because we are the buyer, there is no commission and no marketing cost. Transfer tax varies significantly by state and is often the largest single line.
Will I owe capital gains tax when I sell?
Usually yes, on the gain above your adjusted basis, and depreciation recapture is taxed separately from appreciation. State treatment varies. This is a question for your CPA before you sign, not after — the structure of the sale can change the answer.
Can I do a 1031 exchange?
Yes. A 1031 exchange lets you defer federal capital gains by reinvesting in like-kind property, subject to a 45-day identification window and a 180-day closing window from the date you sell. You must have a qualified intermediary in place before closing — it cannot be arranged afterward. Most states conform to federal treatment, but a few do not.
Can I sell if I am behind on payments or facing foreclosure?
Yes, and speed is the reason to move early rather than late. We can close on a defined date, which is what a lender or a receiver generally needs to see. Send us the payoff figure and any notices you have received.
Can I sell a property I inherited or that is in probate?
Yes. Probate sales take longer because the court timeline governs, not ours, and multiple heirs need to agree on the price before anything can close. We are used to working around both. Inherited property also generally receives a stepped-up basis, which can change the tax math substantially.
What if there is environmental contamination?
Send it anyway. Environmental history is one of the most common reasons a conventional sale falls apart, and it is one of the reasons owners call us. We price the remediation and the residual liability into the offer rather than walking away at the Phase II.
Is there any cost or obligation to get an offer?
None. There is no fee, no listing agreement, and no obligation to accept. If our number does not work for you, you keep the underwriting we showed you and we part ways.
Markets
Top markets we buy post offices in
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10-minute offer
Ready to sell your post office?
Send us the property and the lease. You'll have a firm offer, with the math shown, in 10 minutes.


