With a steady economy, plenty of tourism, and new residents relocating every day, Florida real estate is booming and investment opportunities are better than ever.
High-end commercial real estate is a great investment, especially when you find high-quality tenants who respect the lease agreements. Because of landlord-friendly tax regulations and various local incentives, Florida is an excellent state for commercial real estate investment properties in retail, hospitality, recreation such as golf and watersports, restaurants, and more.
When buying investment commercial properties, make sure you’re taking the necessary steps as a landlord to ensure you attract quality tenants who respect the lease and your property. Yes, making these up-front investments might require a construction loan or a fix-and-flip loan on top of the loan for the property, but offering modern amenities, features, parking, and security will ensure the most qualified tenants come to you. Making updates also adds value to the overall property in the instance you want to sell.
As you’re in the market for buying a commercial property and considering funding methods, make sure you choose an experienced hard money lender who supplies quick and easy funding for the commercial space along with any updates that will keep high-quality tenants.
Community Capital Holdings offers industry expertise, local connections, and a proven success rate for quickly closing private real estate loans. Each member of our team has over 25 years of experience in commercial banking, finance, and lending, which has helped thousands of borrowers to reach their commercial real estate goals in Florida. Make the most of your commercial real estate investment by attracting and retaining high-quality tenants with these 5 must-have tips!
1. Offer Quality Tenants an Unbeatable Location
Location is everything! Florida cities like Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville are considered some of the best cities in the country for commercial real estate investments. With booming cities that offer plenty of tourism, recreational activities, and large corporations, Florida also offers almost 8,00 miles of coastline with smaller communities throughout the state. Millions of people vacation and relocate to Florida annually–which is great news for those looking to invest in commercial real estate. The Sunshine State has plenty to offer, so make sure you choose your commercial Florida real estate location carefully.
When selecting a location for your high-end commercial real estate property, ensure the location is in the right spot for the kind of demographic you want to attract. Location is a crucial driving factor as far as potential tenants are concerned. For example, the location needs of someone looking to lease out office spaces will be different than the location needs of someone looking to lease out spaces in a shopping center.
Get clear on your tenant demographic, and then get the help of an expert hard money lender who specializes in providing funding for high-end commercial investment properties so you can score funding for the best commercial property location.
2. Give Tenants Access to Parking Either On-Site or Nearby
While you’re shopping for the perfect commercial investment property, make sure you have parking in mind in order to attract your dream tenants. Especially in bigger cities, parking garages, on-site parking, or nearby parking is essential to attract tenants who can actually commute to the building!
If you’re interested in providing on-site parking as part of your lease agreement, you might consider an additional loan for construction. Partnering with an experienced hard money lender who is deeply knowledgeable about Florida is crucial to finding the right commercial space that can make room for convenient amenities such as parking for tenants.
3. Install Modern Safety Features to Enhance Tenant’s Comfortability
You’re likely to attract quality tenants if they show interest in modern safety and security features in a commercial property. Renovation hard money loans can provide funding for security cameras, key-card access or touchless entry, and bright interior and exterior lighting. Depending on the location and nature of the business, you may think about hiring 24-hour security too.
Apart from typical safety features, you may consider adding safety features that promote wellness during the COVID-19 pandemic such as touchless entry, mobile building access instead of key-card access, and automated light systems.
Though these security updates come at an extra expense, having updated security systems and safety features is incredibly important to the majority of high-quality tenants. Community Capital Holdings offers renovation hard money loans with competitive rates and quick turn-around times.
4. Update the Building’s Interior and Exterior
Cosmetic and functional updates have a big role in attracting and retaining high-quality commercial tenants and increasing the overall property value. Interior updates can include:
- Fresh paint, fixtures, and furniture
- Energy-efficient appliances and lighting
- Wi-Fi capability and technology access
- Charging ports and outlet availability
- Communal spaces, and conference spaces
- Other perks like fitness centers, on-site dining, and child-care rooms
- Natural light
- Flexible office spaces
Exterior updates provide necessary curb appeal for tenants and their clients alike. Exterior updates can include:
- Well-lit exterior
- Relaxing outdoor spaces such as courtyards, gardens, or outdoor workspaces
- Landscaping
- Proper signage opportunities for tenants
- Professional paint touch-ups
- Replace any outdated features such as siding, the roof, doors, and windows
Sometimes the perfect commercial investment space is in the right location but it might need some updates to maximize the return on investment. Community Capital Holdings offers refurbishing loans along with fix-and-flip loans for income-producing, commercial properties.
5. Create a Strong Tenant Retention Policy
Once you have an excellent tenant, you want to do everything you can to keep them. Employ a strong tenant retention policy that will benefit both you and your tenants. Though you’ll want to tailor this policy to your own business and commercial investment property needs, here are general items in a quality tenant retention policy:
- Offer Attractive Lease Types for Tenants- Typical leases include fixed leases, net leases, and modified leases. Offering more than one type of lease attracts prospective tenants because they see that you have their best interest in mind. Maybe they want to be in control of their utilities and wifi, or maybe they want a full lease and expect those services to be taken care of. Either way, you can provide leasing options.
- Provide high-end customer services such as attention to detail, quick responses, and speedy repairs.
- Make sure your commercial property is properly managed either by yourself or a management company.
- Offer improvement surveys to maintain healthy communication and relationships
- Establish lease renewal incentives such as upgrades, gifts, cash rewards, or off-site entertainment.
Investing in Florida commercial real estate is smart, and investing with Community Capital is even smarter. Community Capital is based in South Florida, we are industry experts with 120 years of combined experience, we are well-capitalized and connected, and we know the local real estate market better than anyone.
We are Florida’s premier provider of private real estate loans and have funded millions of dollars in successful real estate projects throughout the state of Florida and have a proven track record of success.
Hard money loans from Community Capital Holdings are a great option for serious investors, foreign national borrowers, and savvy high-net-worth individuals looking to receive quick funding on real estate properties and projects throughout the state of Florida.
Get started on your commercial real estate investment by calling Community Capital Holdings at (954) 947-1232.
