Finding new tenants

A

Apollo

I have a small strip office (163m) with good fitout in the southern suburbs of Adelaide.

I purchased it only 2 years ago and the lease is about to expire. Even though the tenant (employment agency) has moved out, I am still getting rent but not for much longer.

There are some vacancies in the area but the shopping strip it is located in is full of long term businesses - GP, physio, accountant, dentist etc

It has been on the market for about 12 months and I am getting anxious about the delay in finding a new tenant. The agent (Lin Andrews) says it is just a waiting game but I wonder if there is anything I could do to attract a tenant?

:(
 
Apollo said:
It has been on the market for about 12 months and I am getting anxious about the delay in finding a new tenant. The agent (Lin Andrews) says it is just a waiting game but I wonder if there is anything I could do to attract a tenant?
:(
Click to expand...

your agent needs to understand the "you're fired!" game, too.
 
Apollo said:
I have a small strip office (163m) with good fitout in the southern suburbs of Adelaide.

I purchased it only 2 years ago and the lease is about to expire. Even though the tenant (employment agency) has moved out, I am still getting rent but not for much longer.

There are some vacancies in the area but the shopping strip it is located in is full of long term businesses - GP, physio, accountant, dentist etc

It has been on the market for about 12 months and I am getting anxious about the delay in finding a new tenant. The agent (Lin Andrews) says it is just a waiting game but I wonder if there is anything I could do to attract a tenant?

:(
Click to expand...

Hello Apollo,
let me first say that I'm not overly familiar with the office market so please take my advice with a grain of salt..
Office vacancy rates are still higher than normal and some landlords are having to offer 6-12 month "rent free" periods to attract tenants here in Melb..
Consider the following...
1:Has any new stock (EG Brand new fit outs) come onto the market in your area recently?
2: Are your rents in line with what others are offering? Have you spoken to at least three other local agents.
3: If you have spoken to other agents, what are the vacancy rates like in your area against comparable stock?
4: Have you considered employing another agent?
5: Have you approached all the neighbouring tenants to see if they would consider a deal on yours?
6: Where is it advertised? Is this hitting your target audience?

All very basic stuff but hopefully there is something in there worth considering?

Good luck
B.D
 
Go and talk to several agents of varying levels to ensure that:

A. You have the right one that you are comfortable with

B. Confirm the current market in your area and what your expectations should be

By varying levels I mean the local strip shop agent, a larger specialised commercial agent and a national agency.

Remember you do not have to one agent looking for you so long as your contract with them allows non exclusivity.

Best of luck.
 
thanks for advice guys

I am comfortable with the agent but it is a good idea to get another opinion on how to market the property from other agents.

My office is not the only vacant property but it is ground floor, in good condition, with ample parking and the rent is very reasonable. The only drawback is the lack of visibility from the main road due to a large tree.

So far, the only marketing is a listing on realcommercial.com and road sign. The agent says that newspaper ads are a waste of money and I tend to agree. But it may be worthwhile targeting businesses in the area.
 
Apollo here are some tips

- Approach other local businesses talking to them about how you have some office space coming onto the market and your rents are cheap. Eg poaching from another landlord.

- Letter box drop (flyers)

- Putting it on your facebook/titter etc

Basically the more people that know about what you are offering the better

Best of luck

Regards,

RH
 
Apollo, no external shot of your shop front?
That and a floor plan are the first two things I would want to see as a tenant.

External shot will show how appealing it will be to my customers/clients and the floor plan will show me that it will suit my needs.
 
Hi,

I agree with Gools, I think you need a photo of your shopfront, assuming it is good and a floorplan

I would expect my agent to have already done a survey of the suburb and done a mail out to the major players of Adelaide in any industry not represented within the shopping precinct.

Ads in papers work for small offices/shops, if a one or two person business currently working from home in the area is looking to upsize they would quite likely look in the local paper IMO

When it is empty you will have more hope of a local business person noticing the vacancy and being interested.
 
Wow the photos aren't helping drop the photos of the desks and the tree insert a floor plan.

Your agent is really good :rolleyes: ? are you sure look at this http://www.realcommercial.com.au/cgi-bin/rsearch?a=o&id=5740400&f=0&p=10&t=com&ty=&fmt=&header=&cc=&c=6577089&s=sa&snf=as&tm=1297904468
A rental of $221,760p.a for 142sqm :eek::eek::eek:

Also the rent seems about right for the area however you say 12 months on the market and it has had only 390 hits (people looking at it on realestate.com) well I think it is time to put the hammer on your agent or really re-consider the rent to secure a tenant.

Have they had anyone interested. Do they manage any other offices in that strip that they can compare it too?

Just remember one thing everyone wants a roof over the head and not everyone wants an office. (meaning different game to resi)
 
There was a photo of the shopfront some time ago, but this was removed to give the ad a new look. It looks OK from the outside but everyone says they are surprised at how much better the place looks when they get inside.

A few prospective tenants have inspected the property but none have raised an issue with the rent - it seems about right for the area. One said the office is too big, another said too small, another said they needed more storage, another said they wanted high street visibility. The last one wanted an office that was accessible for disabled staff (I can do wheelchair access and disabled toilet for visitors but there some stairs in the middle of the building).

In short, there seems to be plenty of accommodation in the area and I am yet to find someone for whom the office is "just right".
 
This came from the agent or from potenial tenants that actually went through?

look the reality is that if it is correctly priced (within reason) then you will get someone in there btw pm me the current rent if you could. when you "changed the ad" did you also change the rent?

office space is hard to let mainly as you need someone that is established in the area (client wise). Being ground floor could you open it up to service a retail tenant (clothes, food, cafe)??
 
Apollo, can you put a photo of the 'shop front' on here?
Just wondering if someone can provide a bit of advice for a quick and cheap fix to improve it from just 'ok'.

Most businesses would want the exposure that Main South Rd provides. With the distance back from the road and the trees this is a bit limited as you would be aware. I would work on getting its street appeal up to scratch.

Gools
 
also you may want to check with the council as to signage on main south road (planning permit) that way you could offer it as "Office with main road signage" maybe even "office with off street parking and main road signage"

has your agent thought of this???
 
Signage is a problem but council will not approve new signage unless it a group sign for several businesses and this becomes a major project to get everyone to agree. I may be able rent one quarter of an existing sign for an exhorbitant price of $150 per month.

I will get a photo of the shopfront on the ad but in the meantime the property is listed at $24k pa or $146 per square metre
 
Those signage rights can be contained in the lease as a deed/licence that the tenant pays for it. It is just another one of the outgoings you pass onto the tenants (make sure you check this with your agent as SA is different to VIC)
 
Propertunity said:
Mmmm, yes put it on that last one - that might get some attention :p:eek:
Was that a Freudian slip?
Click to expand...

lol i had to wiki the "Freudian slip" term.


I think one should use every advertising median available.
Eg. Puts on FB has office space available for lease. His mate Tony see's it and remembers his father was talking to him about finding office space for his business.

I remember contacting an owner direct via facebook after the selling agent was being unhelpful

Regards,

RH
 
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