When it comes to the performance of a commercial property today, the impact and sentiment of the local business community plus the greater global economy can detract from the income and capital growth for the property. This says that you have to be very careful regards planning property activity, lease strategy, and tenancy mix.To achieve this effectively, it is best to implement a business plan for the property asset. Whilst every property is unique and different, here are some of the main categories to consider and structure into the commercial property business plan:
In the initial instance, it pays to have a look at the property itself and the quality of improvements. Questions need to be asked as to whether the improvements in your property are sufficiently serviceable for the expectations of tenants in today’s property market. As part of this process, it may be necessary for you to look at comparable properties in the same area together with assessing their tenancy mix and rental levels.
Any physical matters of building performance or integrity of improvements should be assessed by qualified consultants. They would normally be engineers, architects, and quantity surveyors. From this group of experts you can obtain a clear understanding of property performance and longevity of the asset.
As part of the business plan you should look at the stability of income from the tenancy mix and the leases in the property today and those that are expected to change over the coming two years. Any new lease negotiations should be incorporated into the consideration of income. When you look at lease is, there are critical components to consider such as the exercise of option, the stability of income, the growth of income from the rent reviews, and the needs of expansion or contraction as they apply to each and every tenancy. It is best to meet with the tenants as part of this process and assessment.
The outgoings that apply to the premises have a direct flow through to the bottom line or net income. Your building should be compared to the others in the area when it comes to outgoings. Importantly your outgoings should be comparable to other buildings so that your attempts to leasing the vacant premises are not frustrated. When you assess the property outgoings, have a look at the larger categories of outgoings that could escalate in the immediate future. They would normally be council rates, energy, insurance, and repairs and maintenance.
Any items of capital nature should be removed from the net income cash flow. Capital expenditure items are normally handled separately to the day to day running costs for the property. This is because the taxation rules that apply to capital expenditure are distinctly different than those that apply to day to day running costs. When in doubt seek a good property experienced accountant or solicitor to help with this process.
These are some other main items that apply to the business planning process for a commercial property today. They can be modified and other issues can apply depending on the property type and location. It should also be said that retail property will have a far more complex level of business planning and performance. This is due to a critical need of tenant mix optimisation and the underpinning of sales and turnover for each and every tenancy.
Tag Archives: Investing
Getting Started With Online Investing
As with everything else these days, the stock market has gone online. If you can shop, pay bills, and do your banking online, why not invest too? Investing online is not as big of an ordeal as some people make it out to be. The key is to know what you want before you start.
When opening a new account, investors need to answer the regular questions, such as the type of account they want and how it will be funded. When selecting an account type the kind you choose will depend on whether or not the account is taxable or tax-deferred, and also whether it is for just you or you and someone else.
You will also have to decide whether your account will be “cash” or “margin.” A cash account means you are only able to place trades for investments with money in your account. A margin account gives you a credit line from your brokerage firm. You can also have a “margin account with options,” which means you are purchasing the right to buy and/or sell a stock at a specific price. Options are quite complicated and usually only purchased by traders with experience and large portfolios.
After choosing the type of account money must be deposited. The initial deposit can be sent to the firm by check or an automatic transfer from a bank account. Another option is transferring an account from a different brokerage firm, but the process is quite lengthy and can take months to complete.
If you are trying online investing for the first time, start small. Don’t put every penny of your life savings into an online account. A smaller sum is easier to handle and easier to keep track of. When you feel confident and are ready, then you can expand your online account.
Another good thing to do when investing online is to try and stay diversified, in other words don’t concentrate all of your portfolio on just one thing, instead develop a well-balanced portfolio of stocks, bonds, and cash.
Many brokers will encourage you not to bail out on mutual funds. The main reason most investors are in mutual funds are because they don’t have the experience to make their own calls on stocks. They are also occupied with other things beside just watching the stock market. Keeping your mutual funds can be a wise decision instead of prematurely “playing the market” in individual stocks.
It is important to remember that online brokerage firms add fees and charges that need to be looked at closely. Before buying and selling large scale stocks online, look at what the tax results are of such trading. The average online brokerage costs are lower than full-service brokers, but fees can still add up.
Remember that just because you are investing online, the Internet is not foolproof and you are bound to run into some problems. There will surely be times when you are unable to gain access to your account. You’re connection could be down, the brokerage firm’s server could crash if trading is overly heavy, you could experience a software glitch, or you may be away from your computer when there is a major market move. Always be prepared for these things and keep in mind the available alternative trading options such as phone trading.
When investing online it is your responsibility to say as informed as possible. Don’t just settle for what you hear. Instead do a little research on a company before investing in them. There are services that send you automatic e-mail messages over news about your stock; take advantage of these. Remember in online investing everything is up to you and knowledge is power.