No Excuse For This...
Position your buildings to be leased quickly
Positioning your building or listing in the market is essential
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There are no excuses for not having clean vacancies, common areas and exterior upkeep. None!
This message applies to all of us in CRE. Not just the owners and listing brokers but tenant reps and tenants alike.
If you see something, say something!
If you are an owner and won’t commit to this as part of your business model, you are definitely leaving money on the table.
If you are a broker and you are not making your clients aware of these items, you are not adequately representing them as a fiduciary.
If you are a tenant rep and you are not providing adequate feedback to the listing broker about the condition of the building and what the market is demanding, you are doing a disservice to the entire market and spending more time showing buildings that are a waste of your time.
We all need to have an eye out for these types of things and must commit to taking a proactive approach to creating product that is presentable and leasable.
If you don’t have a clean well presented product than you are a commodity. Price is the only differentiator.
For those brokers and owners who actually care about leasing space and retaining tenants in their buildings, they keep a close eye on the condition of things.
They budget for improvements to the common areas, vacancies and capital projects.
As we have discussed before, you want to be the BEST KNOWN building in your market, however, once you do that you can’t drop the ball by having a building that is not in show ready condition at all times.
The time to prepare for a deal is now. Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.
In this article I will share with you some of my takes on what needs to be done to a building to best position it for high tenant retention and to attract new deals.
Vacancies
Without question, vacancies are the most important part of leasing space. If the interior of your vacancies are dirty or worse yet, functionally obsolete, then you need to either do something about it now, or budget and have a plan for it later.
For example, under no circumstances, should you have
Stained tiles
Dirty or stained carpets
Light bulbs out
Cable left over from previous tenant
Broken blinds
Holes in wall
Personal items in the space
Baseboard missing
Ceiling tiles missing
Furniture left behind
Construction materials being stored
Your vacancies are your future income. They are not meant to be storage units.
Here are a few photos of things that are non negotiable in your vacancies
Common Areas
Special attention to detail matters in your common areas.
Existing and prospective tenants will be distracted by things in the common area that are not up to par.
All things being equal, many times a deal is made or lost by the condition of the common areas.
Here are a few things that need to be addressed on a regular basis
Directory should be modern and up to date
No cracked tile or stained carpet
No lights out
No outdated furniture
Needs to be bright
Long hallways should have artwork and bright lights
No missing or stained tiles in halls
Restrooms should be cleaned on a regular basis
Water fountains should be modern and clean
Directional signage should be clean and modern
Elevators doors and cabs should be clean
These are basic minimum standards that your building should make sure are addressed on a regular basis.
Again, fix them now or budget for them later so you can tell your tenants and prospects what your plan is going forward.
Here are a few photos showing examples of common area issues.
Exterior
Curb appeal is a very important part of leasing commercial real estate as well.
The experience your tenants, prospects and your tenant’s customers have from the moment they enter the parking lot until they leave is your responsibility.
You should consider yourself a 5 star resort owner in a way.
The building should create a feeling of comfort and peace of mind as opposed to dangerous, dirty, ugly and neglected.
Having a regular assessment of the condition of the exterior structure and landscaping is essential.
Take photos, get budget pricing and have a plan for maintaining the curb appeal.
These items include things such as:
Clean broker sign in the yard
Clean windows
Cut grass and pulled weeds
Trimmed bushes
No lights out
Dirty exterior facades
Clogged drains and gutters
Parking lot repairs
Snow removal plan
Entry door signage
Hiding rodent mitigation devices
Visible exterior security cameras
Building identification signage
These are just a few of the items you might want to consider. Also, when touring other buildings make sure to take photos of things you like and implement them in your property.
For example, let’s not make our tenants think we treat them like this!
Conclusion
As a broker it is your obligation to regularly walk your listings and provide feedback to your client about things that need to be improved.
If the client is not educated on what the market is wanting, then your job will become that much more difficult.
Have the ability to show your clients what needs to be done, how much it might cost and why it should be done.
If the client cannot or will not agree to the work, perhaps suggest a method for budgeting for this work over time.
In the end, as a broker your job is to market and promote the building but if the building isn’t clean and presentable, the prospect will likely wonder what else is wrong and go elsewhere.