Commercial Property Managers - Keep Your Property Full With a Tenant Retention Plan

When you are working as a property or leasing manager on commercial investment property, it is wise to implement a tenant retention program for the property itself but also for the landlord in the greater portfolio they may own.

A tenant retention plan will help the overall income strategy for the subject property and minimise vacancy downtime. In this property market and economy a retention plan within the tenant mix will help the income and expenditure budget for the property. It's simply a great idea and tool for the property manager to use.

Special Service

So the tenant retention plan can become a specialised service for the real estate agent that specialises in commercial and retail investment property. It can be called a number of things, all of which help the marketing of the concept to the property owners the agent represents.

The key benefits of a tenant retention plan or program are:

Income stability through planned lease options, rent reviews, new leases and tenant placementAllocation of leased space to the tenants that most need itMaximised rental given local market rental trends in comparable propertiesDirected lease strategies to sitting tenants that retain their occupancyExpenditure recovery from a more stable and predictable occupancy and outgoings baseLease terms and conditions that help the landlord match their investment holding plansRenovation and relocation programs that can be integrated into the retention plan

The tenants in a property will usually cooperate with a retention program for the simple reason that they appreciate the focus of the landlord and property manager on their needs as a business.

To get the retention program up and running a simple staged approach is best. Here are some ideas:

Set up a questionnaire for the tenants to complete and talk to you about each month or quarter; meeting frequency is depending on the activity in the property and the surrounding area.Expect that other agents will be chasing your tenants to change property lease. The retention program helps keep this pressure under control.Review all leases in the property so you know the critical dates that will impact the retention plan. They are usually rent reviews, lease options, lease expiry, and renewals.Check out the supply and demand for leased space in the local area as it will have impact on the choices you make with your property.Changes to the community and businesses surrounding the property should be monitored on a monthly basis at the local planning office.Negotiate early with any desirable sitting tenant. This prevents them getting rental offers and proposals from other nearby properties.

A tenant retention plan is a good property management or leasing tool. The property owner will see solid advantages in implementing the plan into their tenant mix and investment plans.

If you want more free tips and ideas to help your agency with its commercial property management and leasing services for your landlords you can get a free ebook right here at http://www.commercial-realestate-training.com/

John Highman is an expert real estate author, conference speaker, and coach. He helps Real Estate Agents to improve their market share, negotiation skills, listings, and commissions.

Original article

Shopping Centre Managers - Essential Aspects of a Tenant Retention Plan

When you are establishing a tenant retention program in a Retail Investment Property, there are some critical components to the programme itself that should be carefully considered.

The tenant retention program should be written and implemented by the property manager annually. It should then be submitted to the landlord for consideration and approval. A well-constructed program will benefit the property both in income and expenditure performance. It will also reduce the impact of vacancy within the property. Many medium sized and larger properties incorporate the retention program into the ongoing tenant mix strategy.

As part of the design of the program, the essential aspects to incorporate are as follows:

The program should be drafted and considered in the few months leading up to the financial year for the property. This allows the income profile for the property and the property budget to be integrated into the retention strategy.
The anchor tenants to the property will form a considerable strong foundation around which the retention program will evolve. On this basis, the lease for the anchor tenant should be both stable and long term. If it is expected that the anchor tenants will be leaving the property, high priority should be placed on a replacement strategy. The anchor tenant should be matched to the demographic of the local community and the shopper visiting the property.
A form of standard lease or standard lease strategy should be incorporated into the retention program. To achieve this, the landlord needs to set some benchmarks and KPI for the leasing process. This will also help the leasing agents as they proceed to renegotiate leases with existing tenants.
A tenant communication questionnaire should be developed for implementing and using within the retention program. The questionnaire should deal with the occupancy matters relating to the property and the tenancy. It should be served on the tenants in the two weeks leading up to every tenant interview. The tenant then fills out the questionnaire and provides it to the property manager during the interview process. Matters of expansion, contraction, relocation, trade, customer patterns, production, and rental should always be covered in the questionnaire.
The sales patterns from the retail tenants in the property will allow the landlord and the property manager to identify tenants that may be struggling. Any reasons for the difficulty can then be reviewed and addressed.
For the times that a vacant tenancy is expected or is to occur, a process of lease marketing, inspecting, presentation, and offering should be considered to shorten the vacancy downtime.
A fully occupied property will place operational pressures on the property and the expenditure budget. On this basis the tenant retention plan is a critical component of the annual budgetary considerations undertaken by the landlord. Benchmarks and other KPI's of property performance will be more accurately prepared as a direct result. The expected operational expenditure of the property should be compared to similar property in the same location. Tenants will not readily occupy a property if the outgoings are unrealistic and they are required to pay them as part of the lease structure.

A successful tenancy retention plan will always help the property to perform at its best given the pressures in the local property market. It is a special service provided by expert property managers and leasing agents.

If you want more free tips and ideas to help your retail shopping centre leasing and tenant mix strategy you can get a free ebook right here at http://www.commercial-realestate-training.com/

John Highman is an expert real estate author, conference speaker, and coach. He helps Real Estate Agents to improve their market share, negotiation skills, listings, and commissions.

Original article