Suite aux dépenses liées au salaire des employés, les installations et leurs dépenses connexes sont généralement la deuxième dépense la plus élevé d’une entreprise. Alors que les employés sont naturellement  l’atout le plus important, les décisions immobilières devraient suivre de très près. Par contre, trop souvent, les entreprises ne voient pas l’importance de l’immobilier.

Les décisions immobilières peuvent avoir plus d’impact que ce que l’on pense. Cela joue un rôle très important dans la rétention des employés, au niveau de la productivité et du moral de l’environnement de travail. C’est pour ces raisons que les entreprises devraient être conscientes des décisions immobilières qu’ils prennent.

Les 10 erreurs que font les entreprises quand vient le moment de louer un espace sont:

1-     Ne pas utiliser un courtier immobilier commercial

Il est impératif que les entreprises non seulement comprennent le marché mais qu’elles aient un représentant qui travaille pour eux afin de maximiser les économies et d’aider l’entreprise à atteindre ses buts.  Un bon courtier pourra donner un aperçu du marché, des tendances, des bailleurs, des données démographiques et être un négociateur expert. Il est aussi important d’utiliser un courtier spécialisé en immobilier commercial; les courtiers résidentiels essayent souvent de se mêler au commercial et se retrouvent dépassés.  

2-     Attendre trop longtemps avant de commencer le processus

Plus un locataire attend pour commencer le processus, moins il trouvera des options qui lui conviendra.  Attendre trop longtemps peut aussi signifier que le locataire déboursera plus, recevra des termes de location moins favorables et même  qu’il soit forcé à quitter son espace pour un autre qui sera moins avantageux.

3-     Mauvaise estimation de la superficie

Déterminer combien d’espace louer n’est pas une science exacte. Les prévisions se basent sur des présomptions qui peuvent mener à des erreurs couteuses si incorrectes. Nonobstant des évènements imprévisibles, les entreprises devraient prendre le temps et mettre l’effort nécessaire pour travailler avec un planificateur d’espace ou architecte pour planifier et déterminer la quantité d’espace de location convenant à leur besoin. Avec cette information en main, les entreprises devraient pousser un peu plus loin et penser à l’impact qu’auraient certains scenarios d’affaires sur ce chiffre, la possibilité que ces évènements se produisent et ajuster le chiffre pour minimiser la possibilité de se retrouver avec un manque ou un surplus d’espace.

4-     Choisir le mauvais emplacement

Ce qui peut sembler être un bon emplacement peut s’avérer au final ne pas l’être. Les entreprises doivent prendre en considération quelques détails tel que l’accès, le transport en commun, les données démographiques, les règlements de zonage et autres facteurs pouvant aider à identifier l’emplacement idéal.

5-     Ne pas penser au futur

Aligner  un plan immobilier avec  un plan corporatif d’affaire devient difficile quand un imprévu survient. Pour aider à contrer “l’inconnu”, négocier  des baux qui prévoient des droits d’expansion et de contraction dans la mesure du possible devient primordial. Les entreprises doivent aller au delà du bail conventionnel et penser aux droits de sous-location, d’expansion, de résiliation et aux options de renouvellement.

6-     Ne pas mesurer l’espace

Les entreprises devraient fortement considérer vérifier la superficie que donne le locateur surtout dans les grosses transactions. Une petite différence pourrait se traduire en de grandes économies. S’il n’est pas possible de mesurer l’espace, le locataire devrait au moins essayer de négocier une tolérance de dimension de façon générale et par les standards BOMA.   

7-     Signer un bail trop long ou trop court

Les entreprises pensent très souvent qu’en signant un bail à terme plus court, ils s’achètent de la flexibilité. Ceci peut être vrai dans plusieurs cas mais cette flexibilité vient souvent avec un prix. D’un autre côté, un bail à long terme peut créer une stabilité maximale car il y a peu de cas où un bail signé à long terme  peut forcer une entreprise à faire faillite ou lui causer un préjudice sérieux. Il est donc impératif pour une entreprise de prendre une approche à long terme face à l’immobilier, tout en gardant en tête les tendances à court terme et les activités d’affaires.

8-     Ne pas verifier les systèmes et infrastructure de l’édifice

Dans l’environnement d’aujourd’hui, les données, le pouvoir, le réseautage et la capacité et disponibilité HVAC sont cruciaux.  Les locataires doivent s’assurer que l’édifice qu’ils ont l’intention d’occuper est en mesure de leur fournir le réseau de connectivité et autres systèmes  nécessaires pour les opérations du locataire avant la signature du bail.

9-     Ne pas faire réviser le langage du bail par sa compagnie d’assurance

J’ai appris celui-ci récemment en écoutant une conversation dans les salles de bain du boulot. Les locataires devraient toujours faire réviser par leur compagnie d’assurance le langage contenu dans un bail qui se rapporte à l’assurance pour verifier que l’assurance n’est pas seulement  réalisable mais aussi réalisable à un coût raisonnable. Il est fortement recommandé que le bail actuel ou langage de bail soit envoyé à la compagnie d’assurance pour révision avant tout signature de bail. 

10-  Ne pas avoir de conseiller légal

En ayant recours à un avocat bien versé dans la documentation d’une transaction immobilière, les entreprises peuvent éviter lesambigüités et erreurs qui pourraient mener à des litiges onéreux ou des querelles légales  en cours de route.

Ceux-ci ne sont en aucun cas les seules 10 erreurs que peuvent faire une entreprise quant à la location d’espace. Cette liste souligne simplement les erreurs les plus courantes que peuvent faire les locataires et ce qui peut être fait pour les éviter. Un bon courtier immobilier commercial peut aider à vous guider tout au long du processus de location. N’hésitez pas à m’appeler ou me contacter par courriel si vous avez des questions.

Elsworth Anthony

Services Immobiliers Terramont

eanthony@terramont.com ou 514.861.2020 poste 226

Following payroll expenses, facilities and related expenses are generally the second highest expenditure for a company. While people are naturally the most important asset to a company, real estate decisions should not be far behind. Too often though, companies fail to see the significance of real estate in the same light.

The impact real estate has goes far beyond the bottom line; it plays an important part in everything from employee retention to the level of productivity and workplace morale. It’s for these reasons that companies should always be aware when making real estate decisions.

The top ten mistakes that companies make when leasing space are:

1. Not Using a Commercial Real Estate Broker  It is imperative that companies not only understand the market, but have an advocate working on their behalf to both maximize savings and help the company meet its goals. A good broker can provide insight into the market, trends, landlords, demographics, and be a skilled negotiator. It is also important that you use a broker who is focused on commercial real estate; residential brokers often try to dabble in commercial and get in over their heads.

2. Waiting Too Long to Start The Process.  The longer a tenant waits to start the process, the fewer the number of options that will be available to them. Waiting too long can mean that a tenant will pay more, receive less favorable lease terms, or that they are forced to leave and take less than desirable space elsewhere.

3. Leasing The Wrong Amount of Space.  Figuring out how much space to lease is not an exact science. Forecasting involves assumptions, which can often lead to costly mistakes if incorrect. Uncertain events notwithstanding, companies should take the time and effort to work with a space planner or architect to plan and program to determine the right amount of space to lease. With that information in hand, companies should then go one step further and think about the impact certain business scenarios would have on that number, the likelihood of those events happening, and adjusting the number so as to minimize the likelihood of taking down too much or too little space.

4. Picking the Wrong Location.  What may seem like the right location might in fact not be. Companies should consider things such as access, public transportation, demographics, zoning laws, and other factors to help identify the right location for their business.

5. Not Thinking About The Future.  Aligning a real estate plan with a corporate business plan is difficult to do when milestone events and setbacks do not always go according to plan. To help deal with the “unknown”, negotiating leases which provide both expansion and contraction rights to the extent possible is therefore instrumental. Companies need to go beyond the simple lease and think about sublease rights, expansion rights, rights to cancel, and options to extend.

6. Not Measuring the Space.  Companies should strongly consider verifying the landlord’s square footage numbers, especially with larger transactions, even a small difference can translate into a large savings. If it is not possible to measure the space, tenants should at least try to negotiate a tolerance in the measurement. Generally though, and per BOMA standards.

7. Signing Too Long or Too Short of a Lease. Companies often think that by signing a short lease they are buying themselves flexibility. That may be true in many cases, but that flexibility often comes at a price. On the flip side, tenant’s may feel a long term lease provides maximum stability, but there are a few cases where long term leases signed at the height of the market have gone so far as to force companies into bankruptcy or caused severe harm to the company. It’s therefore imperative that companies take a long-term approach to real estate, while keeping short term trends and business activities in focus.

8. Not Verifying Building Systems and Infrastructure. In today’s environment, data, power, networking, and HVAC capacity and availability are crucial. Tenants should ensure that buildings they intend on occupying are capable of providing the network connectivity and other building systems necessary for a tenant’s operation before signing any lease.

9. Not Having Your Insurance Carrier Review the Lease Language. I learned this one recently by over hearing a conversation in a bathroom.  Tenants should always have their insurance carrier review the language within a lease that pertains to insurance to verify that the insurance is not only attainable, but attainable at a reasonable cost. It is strongly recommended that the actual lease or lease language be sent to your insurance carrier for review before any lease is signed.

10. Not Retaining Legal Counsel. By using an attorney well versed in the documenting of a real estate transaction, companies can help avoid ambiguity and errors which could lead to expensive litigation or legal wrangling down the road.

These are by no means the only 10 mistakes a tenant can make when leasing space. Instead, it is meant to outline some of the most common mistakes tenants can make, and also what can be done to help avoid them. A good commercial real estate broker can help guide you through the leasing process. If you have additional questions, please feel free to call me or contact me by email.

Elsworth Anthony

eanthony@terramont.com or 514.861.2020 ext 226 

 Source: Commercial Real Estate Radio

Why does the director get an office? Why can’t I get a laptop? Why can’t we have our meeting at the coffee shop if the conference room is always booked?

These are some of the questions I and my fellow colleagues used to ask when I used to work for an IT firm, and I’m sure these are questions we have all heard over the course of our careers in a variety of professions.

When it comes to office workspace, understanding the generational perspective is important, especially for today’s employers and landlords.

At the height of the dot.com era, when most Gen Xers first entered into the workforce, the workspace was designed to be open. Low cubicles, and lunch rooms that looked more like cafes were pretty common.

Millennials also know as Gen Y, sees it a little more differently and has built on where Gen X started an office revolution. For many Millennials, they see doors and walls as counterproductive to collaboration and innovation. Millennials sees every colleague as a peer and don’t see the reason to separate people who are all working on the same project or company goal.

Okay, I know not everybody can have offices like Google and Facebook, but at the very least employers should consider the space that Millennials, your future workforce will be most productive in before you order more cubicle desks and walls. Millennials want a comfortable workplace that reflex’s more like a living room or lounge than a traditional office. They also want flexible working hours, as the standard 9 to 5 has taken a shift into blended hours that see no limit so long as the end result is met.

By 2015 we will see for the first time in history four generations working side by side within the same office environment (Baby Bommers, Gen X, Millennials and Alpha’s (Gen Z). This evidently brings up the challenge of how companies will accommodate each generation and structure the design of an office environment that produces results in an ever challenging economy.

While there are many companies that are still analyzing how to overcome such challenges, there are just as many companies rethinking whether the model of assigned seating makes the most sense for its employees. With the increasing price of commercial real-estate, companies are seeking ways to maximize office space of an ever growing business but keep overhead down and productivity up.

I have taken on the challenge to try and arrive at some perspective of what our future office environments will shape into and those that will occupy them.

Join me as I delve into my own world of commercial real estate and the encounters I come across.

Elsworth Anthony

Real Estate Broker

When considering office space, tenants will find that office buildings are generally classified as being either a Class A, Class B, or a Class C building. The difference between each of these classifications varies by market and class B and C buildings are generally classified relative to Class A buildings. Building classifications are used to differentiate buildings and help the reporting of market data in a manner that differentiates between building types. That said, there is no definitive formula for classifying a building, but in the general characteristics of each are as follows:

• Class A. These buildings represent the highest quality buildings in their market. They are generally the best looking buildings with the best construction, and possess high quality building infrastructure. Class A buildings also are well-located, have good access, and are professionally managed. As a result of this, they attract the highest quality tenants and also command the highest rents.
• Class B. This is the next notch down. Class B buildings are generally a little older, but still have good quality management and tenants. Often times, value-added investors target these buildings as investments since well-located Class B buildings can be returned to their Class A glory through renovation such as facade and common area improvements. Class B buildings should generally not be functionally obsolete and should be well maintained.
• Class C. The lowest classification of office building and space is Class C. These are older buildings (usually more than 20), and are located in less desirable areas and are in need of extensive renovation. Architecturally, these buildings are the least desirable and building infrastructure and technology is out-dated. As a result, Class C buildings have the lowest rental rates, take the longest time to lease, and are often targeted as re-development opportunities.

The above is just a general guideline of building classifications. No formal international standard exists for classifying a building, but one of the most important things to consider about building classifications is that buildings should be viewed in context and relative to other buildings within the sub-market; a Class A building in one market may not be a Class A building in another.

There is no international standard for classifying office buildings. In fact, BOMA is generally against the publication of a classification rating for individual properties. Were there a more scientific method for classifying buildings though, some of the building characteristics which could be used to compare and rank buildings would be as follows:

• HVAC Capacity
• Elevator quantity and speed
• Backup Power
• Security and life safety infrastructure
• Ceiling heights
• Floor load capacity
• Location
• Access (freeway, public transportation)
• Parking
• Construction, Common Area Improvements
• Nearby and/or on-site amenities (dry cleaning, restaurants, ATM, etc.)

Source: Squarefoot Commercial Real Estate

So your contemplating investing in real estate but don’t know if you should go the route of commercial properties or residential. Well here some information that may make it easier for you to decide.

Canadian commercial investment properties are valued according to the revenue/income that they generate. Residential investment properties are typically valued according to comparable properties on the street.

So if you are renting out a single family home and the other homes in the area appreciate your property typically appreciates along with it. Recently that’s been a very healthy rate and contrary to what the “media” tells us, it still is.

The downside of course is that if the market falls for homes on your street then your investment property goes down with the rest (remember, think long term and don’t let the short thinking masses who are often distracted by shiny objects get to you).
Investing in commercial real estate usually doesn’t have this issue, because again, the value of commercial investment properties are more closely tied to the rent they generate and because that fluctuates less the value of the properties fluctuates less.

So when you are looking to build wealth investing in commercial real estate has it’s place but its not the silver bullet you may think it is.

In my opinion, most wealthy investors will look at commercial investing the same way they look at residential investing. Find a deal, lock it up, and profit from it.
Canadian commercial real estate “deals” are properties that are mismanaged, and can be acquired for less than market value because the rents are low, and then turned around quickly by raising rents with a better management team.

Investing in commercial real estate has the same basic fundamentals of any types of investments.

If you do decide to take the plunge into property investment, your journey will likely involve both at some point and as with everything, there’s no one single right answer.

Focus on your long term goals and then make decision accordingly.
There are specific strategies to make big bucks investing in commercial real estate as there are for residential but the end result is always the same.