When your commercial investment property becomes vacant, it can be a real worry. It is the same for any landlord. As online pressures shift and change, how companies transact business today directly impacts property occupancy, whether in leasing or ownership.

Why is that? The people that work for businesses today are more ‘mobile’, and the sales force can spend most of their time out of the office. Everything they need to communicate, create new business, or place an order is typically in the ‘cloud’. The average office premises today is smaller than what it would have been five years ago.

Leasing Takes Time

So, that then presents some problems. Finding a new and willing tenant with the integrity and business stability to occupy a property in precincts and property locations can take some time. That slowdown in the leasing process means loss of rent, loss of outgoings recovery, incentive costs, legal documentation costs, commissions in leasing, and so on. A good commercial real estate leasing agent that has solid coverage of the local property market can be of great value to a landlord today.

An experienced leasing agent can lease premises faster and with some ‘big-picture’ outcomes. It’s not just a matter of finding a tenant but improving the property investment outcomes for the landlord, allowing for the tenant mix and the tenant types.

Stay Ahead of Vacancies

So, what can you do as a landlord with your investment properties? You must stay ahead of the vacancy problems and have an excellent strategy to minimise vacancy downtime. Even in challenging real estate markets, vacant tenancies do lease; it’s just that it takes more time and effort on the part of the agent and or the landlord to promote and target the property to the right prospective tenants.

Every property has a ‘target market’ of occupants that should be tapped into. Who are those tenants or in what business type are they? How can they be found? Given the prevailing market conditions, an experienced real estate agent will know how to handle those questions for the location. Let’s start with a tenant strategy for the property as an investment.

Tenant Retention Planning

A ‘tenant retention plan’ is a good solution for most investment properties. In a ‘retention plan’, specific strategies are created, such as:

• Closer connections with existing tenants to ensure complete awareness of leasing pressures and business changes.
• Creative lease transactions designed to match the overall mix of the property whilst avoiding mass or multiple expiry problems with several tenants or premises simultaneously.
• Targeted tenant profiles of local businesses to simplify the leasing process when a vacancy is known to be happening or upcoming.
• Direct marketing of vacant space early so that enquiry is optimised for vacancies at the right time.
• Incentive packages that are structured to encourage existing tenants to stay in a property. Different incentives are available, and a package or alternative packages can be created to suit investment targets in the property.
• A forward matrix assessment of all tenants in an investment property to allow lease expiry awareness and early negotiation. That matrix is typically a forward-looking assessment of occupancy looking out to 18 months from the current time.
• Leases matched to the landlord’s investment targets and the property financiers’ valuation requirements.

Forget About Discounts

As a landlord, and if you have premises, do not choose a leasing agent based on discounted commissions, lower fees, low marketing costs, open listing, or friendship. None of these things will help you lease your vacant tenancy any faster.

The result is an expensive and protracted vacant tenancy that is financially eating its head off in vacancy downtime and costs. Your losses will far exceed any gains you think you may get from savings on commissions or fees.

Experienced Agents Matter

When you need an experienced real estate agent to help you lease a retail or commercial property or any property for that matter, ask them to give you their strategy on:

1. Advertising to a relevant target market for the vacant property.
2. Internet listing initiatives to attract more enquiry
3. Track record leasing similar local property
4. Lease terms and conditions that attract tenant enquiry
5. Database email circulation of your vacant property for lease
6. Cold calling the business community to attract enquiry from the right business owners
7. Street-by-street canvassing of businesses with information about your vacant tenancy
8. Signage initiatives that show the vacancy to its true advantage
9. Target marketing the property locally
10. Inspection strategies designed for your property
    Such a short list and some yet critical points are essential when leasing property or seeking to resolve vacancies. You can do so much with these things from a leasing perspective providing your commercial real estate agent supports the process and provides the depth of experience to get the job done.
    

One final comment and going back to one key point above; open-type listings in a tough market are also a waste of time for the average landlord.

The numerous agents with the property listed as part of an ‘open listing’ are not marketing the property intensely. It is called a ‘list and hope’ process for open listings.

Leasing Experience Matters

If you want to lease a property in the shortest possible time, find an agent with proven experience in the local area using the points above. Ask questions about what the leasing agent will do for you.

Get them to show you how they will attract the property market and tenants to your property. Make them win your confidence and business. Good real estate agents will do this and give you the ‘leasing roadmap solution’ you expect as a property investor.

I go back to the point that leasing a commercial or retail property is not about getting discounts from the chosen agent. It is about market coverage and strategic approaches to leasing premises to the right local businesses. A timely lease agreement is more important than any ‘discount’.