Blog

Good Planning and Imagination Help Vacancies

When an investment property is located in an overbuilt market, the marketing effort must have good planning and direction. Just throwing large amounts of money into advertising can be a waste. Rather than broad advertising, a more direct action is required by keeping the local brokers who specialize in leasing constantly updated about the amenities of a certain property. This may be the best way to make it more marketable.

Here are some other ideas:

• Choose the management company carefully. The agency must be professional enough to give service as exclusively as if this building was the only property represented. They must truly know the unique benefits of this building and must be enthusiastic about it.
• The outside appearance and landscaping must be first rate. Too many developers have made the mistake of cutting the landscaping budget when construction costs soar. That is the single worst thing that they can do. Before anyone can see the inside, they see the outside and it has to be inviting.
• Stay away from quick fixes, such as free rent. That is the very worst thing possible. People in the community will remember it for years and it will give the property a permanent bad reputation. It is the “kiss of death” and makes potential tenants shy away. The free rent offer switches the tenant’s positive approach about whether the space and location is suitable to a negative skepticism about what is wrong with the building. The professional approach is to stress the positive features of a building and work with potential tenants to match the criteria the tenant feels are most important to him.
• Contact all tenants in nearby buildings and invite them to compare this building to their current location. There are always some who are nearing the end of their lease and have just not have had time to look at any other rentals. This is the time to make a “money” offer. It is acceptable to offer to pay for part of a new tenant’s move by a small rent concession than to offer free rent.

•              The management company must use imagination and do unconventional things to periodically get the building into the spotlight of local news