Income Management in Commercial Property Management Today

When it comes to commercial or retail property management today, the income for the property should be optimised given the particular property, the landlord, the property market, and the financiers.  In saying that, income in a commercial property is a number of things, all of which require careful strategy and planning.

Here is a list to help you understand some of that income:

1. Rent paid by the tenants in the property and under the terms of the lease.  That rent will be for occupied premises or ‘demised premises’ as outlined in a lease document.
2. Outgoings recovery from the tenants under the leases and given the types of rent paid in the property (gross or net).
3. Extra rental for special factors such as car parking, antennas on the roof, storage areas, signage, or licenced areas external to the lease.
4. Net income will be impacted by the expenditure in the property.  For this reason the income management plan of a property actually involves a close look at the property expenditure.
5. Some of the outgoings in a property will be recoverable from the tenants. That will usually be for consumable services such as cleaning, electricity, water, or gas.  The process of recovery really depends on the property and how services are established for the tenants to use and access. Importantly you should look for the recoverable consumables in the income stream and understand what they are for.  The lease for the tenant will usually give details of that recovery.
6. Arrears in a property will be reflected on the monthly tenant rent invoices.  Check out the rent invoices for any outstanding items.  If arrears exist, find out what they are for and how they occurred.  Some tenants conveniently ignore unusual charges in their rent statement.  After a few months it is really hard to know what the original charge was for.
7. Rent reviews are a factor that improves rent charges for the landlord (in most cases).  Every lease is different and on that basis should be checked for upcoming rent reviews.  Understand how those rent reviews are to be implemented and when that is to occur. Time may be of the essence for that event to occur.
8. Remittance of money to the landlord is part of income management.  Each month or even twice monthly, the landlord should receive money from the rental payments in the property and with the tenant mix.  The balance of funds become challenging when the vacancy factors in the property start to rise.

You can add to this list based on the landlord and the property.   As real estate agents, our job is to optimise the income given the prevailing factors of the property and the market.