Tips To Gain Commercial Tenants

Hi all.

I need to find tenants for two vacant shops located near Windsor. There are three occupied shops, so five shops in total. The centre was opened in 1995, and design is a single box style building (like many in the area).

So far we have tried realcommercial.com.au and print advertising via R&W (ads very pricey & had issues) and a private agent, but unfortunately the shops have remained vacant for years.

For 80m2, each shop has been advertised at 22,000 - 26,000 per year, much less than what they were originally leased at.

Luckily we have an Aldi adjacent and within view of our property, so we're very hopeful that this will increase the market visibility for potential shop owners.

What I'd like to know is, has anyone on this forum been through the recession or a similar situation and been able to turn the tables? How could we do things differently? Any tricks to attract tenants?

We're currently doing all the property management and maintenance ourselves. Having gone through the fruitless and costly exercise of agents, we're prepared to give it a go ourselves.

Thanks in advance for the advice!
 
if the area and zoning stack up, you could try approaching some successful fast food outlets in your area and see if they are interested in doing a deal to open another outlet in one of your shops. you could offer them assistance to setup or some time at a reduced rate. don't be too generous though...

once you get a successful fast food outlet, you will probably not have too many problems in the future with leasing the others if it is managed correctly.

a successful foodie will attract other tenants and keep them there longer.
all the best
 
Not sure on your financial situation, but if you are desperate to get a tenant and you have the time and money, you could setup a cafe/retail/franchise whatever business on the site and then sell the business (incorporating the lease) as a going concern. In effect create the tenant, the risk being no one may be interested in buying the business.
 
Thanks for the ideas!

I had considered setting up a business briefly, but wouldn't know where to begin. Do you know of any sites/courses/advice regarding setting up a business?

Like, how long does it take to get a coffee shop running, what's the setup cost? And is the lease inclusive of equipment? I guess there's a lot of insurance involved then?

Otherwise, where do you begin with starting up a franchise? It's a bit of a mystery to me!

Oh and what's the best way to speak to someone high up in the fast food industry? What sort of zoning do you need? Anything else I should note before contacting them?
 
Letterbox drop on houses, letterbox drop on other shops, get out and network with other shop keepers.

Make sure your rent is on market.
 
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