When working with an office tenant, one of the first questions we ask is, “How much space do you need?” Surprisingly, many times a client isn’t sure, or has unrealistic expectations of their size requirements. In the past, office buildings were built to accommodate approximately 3 or 4 people per 1,000 square feet of rentable space. With rent being one of the highest expenses for a company, many organizations have looked to place more people in the same square footage. Why is this not always feasible? Well there are a few reasons:
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Overall there are five main components you should consider for your retail space…it can be a relatively straight forward process.
Location location location… We’ve all heard the saying before as it pertains to real estate, but what exactly does it mean when you are looking to lease a space for your business? This varies with what type of business you have as well as what you’re looking for to help ensure the success of your business.
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A few weeks ago I wrote about the prospect of the repeal of Costa-Hawkins act in California. This measure is being pushed by tenant rights groups claiming it will help with affordable housing. Although I do believe there is an affordable housing crisis, I do believe that the repeal of Costa-Hawkins would only be a short term relief and significantly hurt affordable housing in the long term. So what can cities do to address the affordable housing crisis?
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There has been much talk in the news of the tenant advocate groups receiving enough signatures to add a measure in this November’s ballot to repeal Costa-Hawkins. The Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act is a California state law enacted in 1995 that placed limits on local rent control ordinances. Costa-Hawkins did not outlaw rent control, but instead placed two main limits to municipalities that had/have rent control: 1) It exempted certain types of buildings from rent control (Single Family Residences, Condominiums and new construction), and 2) it instituted vacancy decontrol (whereby the rents of a unit subject to rent control could be brought up to market rate upon a resident moving out.
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Another side of being a broker is when a client contacts you and asks how they can end a lease early. Typically speaking a company is bound to a commercial lease, and many times there might also be a personal guarantee from one of the owners of the company. The responsibility to make payments on the lease go hand in hand with the entire lease term, in some cases for many years. So what happens when a tenant can’t make their lease payments due to changing economic times?
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I often get asked how I first started investing in commercial real estate (“CRE”), and of course the next follow up question: “How do I start investing?” I think the most important facet to begin investing in CRE is to identify what your goals are. How much do you want to invest and why do you want to invest, is it to build equity; for cash flow purpose; or are you looking for larger future appreciation? CRE can provide an avenue of long-lasting income; it can help diversify your portfolio, it can offer tax benefits, and by using properly selected real estate strategies, it can produce the potential for appreciation, in addition to cash flow.
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