Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa October 2013 | Page 47

COMMERCIAL
Potential tenants do not consider pricing
first: they first consider location and, then, the
amenities and comfort provided by an office
location, followed closely by connectivity.
When preparing a fact sheet for marketing
purposes, provide potential tenants with
a colourful double-sided fact sheet which
indicates where your building is and how it
connects to main thoroughfares, taxi and other
transport routes, train and bus stations as well
as airports (in a smaller inset diagram).
List all of the benef its and features of
your office building, such as available space
for a tenant’s expansion, parking facilities
and how well your building is managed:
potentia l tenants look towa rds mov ing
into developments that are managed in an
exemplary manner as they are, then, able to
focus on their own business operations.
A brilliant letting strategy includes refurbishing
the foyer, one lift and one common area set
(passage, ablution and kitchen) and, then,
fitting out one small suite with expensivelooking f inishes and furniture (including
carpets, walls and ceilings): potential tenants
shall often, see themselves in the attractive,
inviting show suite and want to sign a lease for
the show suite itself.
All potential tenants are attracted to green
buildings at present in view of the mediumterm savings which these buildings provide. If
it is at all possible, commit to installing green
technology such as energy and water saving
devices within a reasonable time frame.
Ot her incent ives wh ic h of ten at t rac t
potential tenants are a rent-free period for the
parking bays which the tenant may require,
assistance with the tenant’s premises fit-out
(between two and four months worth of gross
rental) and inclusion in a prominent signage
display in your building’s foyer and on your
building’s exterior.
Allowing a tenant not to pay a deposit or
permitting a new tenant to pay its deposit off over
a short period is a further incentive.
Most landlords often forget that off ice
tenants thrive on being accommodated in
prestigious premises. This benefit assists them
to attract custom and permits them to feel
www.reimag.co.za

on par with the international players in the
tertiary business sector. It is for this reason
that off ice landlords should endeavour to
create prestigious environments within their
vacant office blocks and, in so doing, compare
favourably with other buildings which have a
less attractive or tired appearance.
If you do have a funding constraint, attempt
to fit out a small part of your development as
suggested above and reveal this portion as a
show suite.
If a potential tenant is willing to take an
extensive area, attempt to provide such a
tenant with an exceptional incentive – such as
dedicated lift or entrance. A special concierge
desk or marble sign board in your building’s

foyer is an impressive benefit for a large user
and can mean the difference between gaining
and losing a new tenant.

External letting strategies
External letting strategies involve gutting a
building and starting again – with superior
finishes, improved facilities and green features.
Such a strategy may involve increasing a
building’s bulk or purchasing an adjacent
development so as to provide parking or a gym
facility.
By including a small coffee shop, printer
or courier service on the ground f loor of a
refurbished development, one creates benefits
which a new tenant cannot do without.
Such newly-ref urbished developments
should ideally be marketed to a sub-sector of
the tertiary economy: each year, approximately
t went y percent of attorneys, doctors and
engineers leave their respective f irms (or
hospita ls) to set up their own practices
and creating an incestuous environment
which eventuates a co-dependence amongst
practitioners not only establishes your office
development as a desirable location but means
that tenants shall not want to vacate for fear
of losing the referral opportunities from their
neighbour tenants.
Competing successfully for tenants in our
diff icult tenant market means establishing
your location as a destination of choice. This
requires some lateral thinking but can mean
the difference between a low and high vacancy
factor!

RESOURCES
Courtwelll Consulting

October 2013 SA Real Estate Investor

45