Own an Office space property? How to make best use of it and generate maximum revenues?

Author: Sachin Gupta | Find me on Twitter Follow @sach_gupta
 

You chose office space property – why?

Many of us invest in real estate for hedge against inflation, wealth creation, and returns. Within real estate some of us have the propensity to take on higher risk and invest in commercial real estate. Now that you have invested with a reputed builder in a commercial real estate project and own an office space property. There are possibilities that you would have conducted your own due-diligence about the builder, its track record. During the construction phase, builder promised you assured returns and you were satisfied with the entire deal. Finally the construction has been completed and the office space property has been offered to you. Now what?

Now, you would like to either use the office space property for your own use or lease it out to other tenants. Either way, you would like to justify your investment for office space property. Hence income generated by leasing out the office space property will signify how successful has your investment been. If there is demand for office space, then income from leasing will justify your investment. However, if the property remains vacant for considerable period of time then the investment may turn out to be a burden. How can you as the owner of the office space property make best use it?


Enhance the property value

At any given point of time there will be supply of many similar office space properties in the market and user will have the option to choose from those options. For example, the market for Office Space in Gurgaon continues to remain upbeat. However, to stand out from the crowd, you can enhance the value of your property by following below presented tips:

1. Make sure your builder has delivered on what was promised at the time of contract agreement including the super area, carpet area, and efficiency of the building. It is noticed that tenants prefer office spaces where building space utilization is high. This is to make sure that they are able to utilize majority of the space for their staff and minimum amount of space is lost for common areas such as reception, corridors, etc.
2. Parking: Parking is a key consideration for tenants when occupying a particular office space. Make sure that parking space allotted for your office space is properly demarcated. If required, do not hesitate to buy or rent the additional parking space from the builder. 
3. Facilities: Facilities such as power back-up, maintenance, and house-keeping enhances the value of entire premises and not just your individual office space property. Before taking possession, verify if these facilities are properly in place or not. In many cases, builder outsources the property management function to third parties. It is advisable to check the credentials of the property management company so that future disputes related to property management can be avoided.
4. Form an association with other property owners and make sure that there is an easy entry and exit for people from the building premises. Nobody likes to visit the building that has bad entry and exit points.
5. For your individual office space unit, check if the lifts are working properly.
6. Go for fit-outs of your office space property and adjust the rent accordingly. There is likelihood that tenants will choose the ready to use office space as opposed to bare shell space. Negotiate for rent with tenants for your ready to move space.

Market it properly

Having made sure that your office space is in proper condition, it’s time to market it and generate qualified leads.  There are multitudes of channels to reach out to prospective tenants and one can choose among these channels based on his/her comfort.

1. Spread the word that your office space is ready to occupy with all its features and unique selling points. Inform your friends, colleagues, relatives, and people within your network.
2. Hire a professional real estate broker and again highlight the unique selling points of your property.
3. Use internet and list your Office Space on property portals. Make sure, you advertise your property on a platform that is not too crowded and at the same time has the capability to bring leads to you. Provide latest pictures of your property and other unique points. Advertise Office Space here.

Due-diligence of tenants

1. Financial statements/income statement – balance sheet
2. Credit ratings (if available)
3. Any analyst reports on the firm/industry
4. Bank relationships
5. Existing obligations (debt, other leases)

Closing the lease

Underwriting leases is a very important component of risk assessment, which ultimately affects the cash flow produced by the property and hence its value. There are varieties of terms in a lease document; therefore, it is advisable that you hire a professional agency or an advocate to complete this task successfully.

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