Commercial real estate news – Page 7

The More You Know: Commercial Real Estate Terms You Should Understand

Learning basic commercial real estate lease terms will help you build your knowledge in the commercial real estate investing arena. The following terms should be understood before signing a commercial lease:

Common Area Maintenance (CAM): This is a very important commercial real estate lease term to know. Most of the time when you have a multi-tenant building, you factor in charges for CAM. Usually tenants pay $12 a square foot for annual rent, plus a certain percentage for CAM. So CAM for a building is passed on to tenants.

Many of the issues considered in the commercial arena are not even available in residential leasing. For instance, if your commercial real estate investment target is small office warehouses, strip malls, or strip retail centers, CAM is one of the items you need to research.

Before you start renting or buying those types of facilities, you should know what the standard CAM is for your type of property. Sometimes in some smaller properties, there is no CAM, since the landlord pays it.

That’s all part of your costs as a landlord in this type of property. It’s not a pass-through, because you can’t legitimately pass through CAM expenses to your tenants, if no one in the area who owns a similar property is having their tenants pay it.

Percentage Leases: When you pay a fixed rent plus a percentage of sales over and above the fixed rental, you have a percentage lease arrangement. You will probably not run into percentage rent situations very often as a landlord. Most of the time, percentage rents are used in retail businesses located in large shopping centers and other similar areas.

You might charge percentage rent, if you had a $2,000,000 shopping center with a JC Penny’s, Sears, or Dillard’s, and the attraction of those mega stores brought traffic to your store. Therefore, they want to become your partner, in effect, by charging you a percentage. This is not common in small to moderate businesses.

Ground/Land Leases: This type of arrangement is where the tenant rents the land and builds on the property. Any way in which you improve the grounds, including any buildings, usually belong to the landlord when the lease ends. This is actually a form of financing.

You’ll find many ground tenants in high-cost land areas, like New York City. People don’t want to tie up personal capital in owning a piece of land when they could be putting that money into business operations. The standard land lease is a very long-term lease.

Sublease: A sublease is when you lease the whole property and then sublease a portion of it to someone else. For example, you might rent 10,000 square feet from a landlord. If you don’t need all that room, you have the right to put your own tenant onto the property using a sublease.

Assignment: An assignment is very similar to a sublease, in that you initiate the rental lease. However, you become a landlord by assigning the entire property to one or more tenants whom you manage.

There was a time when real estate investors would lease property and negotiate a very low rental rate. Then they would assign that same property to tenants at a much higher rate. Their real estate business consisted entirely of collecting money from their assignment.

Assignment Not Allowed: In some commercial leases, there’s a sublease clause stating that you are allowed to sublease the entire property, subject to the landlord’s approval. This clause, in effect, means that you cannot assign the lease. Particularly when you get into larger properties, you’ll want to be sure to personally check personally the credit of everybody who expresses interest in leasing your property. Tip: Assignments can get you into trouble. If you don’t know whether the assignee is credit worthy, don’t assign under any conditions.

Understanding commercial real estate lease terms will benefit you in the long run pastedGraphic.pdf , and remember always have your commercial real estate leases reviewed by a real estate attorney.

About The Sundance Company
Established in 1976, The Sundance Company has the experience to help you with your commercial real estate needs in Boise, Meridian, Nampa, and the greater Treasure Valley. If your requirements include property management, leasing, real estate development, project planning, construction or space planning then look to us. The Sundance Company has more than 1.5 million square feet of office and industrial space available in prime Boise and Meridian locations. More information is available at www.sundanceco.com or 208.322.7300.

August 5, 2011August 5, 2011 sundancecompany Boise Commercial Real Estate, Commercial real estate news, The Sundance Company

Optimism Abounds For Commercial Real Estate Market

A recent article from from Bloomberg BusinessWeek discusses how the commercial real estate market is showing increased signs of stability, led by burgeoning demand for apartments, according to a report issued by Moody’s.

Please click below to read the rest of the story.

hhttp://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9OMTU981.htm

July 6, 2011 sundancecompany commercial real estate, Commercial real estate news, The Sundance Company

Optimism Abounds For Commercial Real Estate Market

A recent article from REIT.com discusses how analysts and investors are finding plenty of reasons to be positive about the general outlook for the commercial real estate market in the second half of 2011. As they look ahead to the next six months, industry observers are projecting healthy demand for commercial real estate space in light of a brightening jobs picture.

Please click below to read the rest of the story.

http://www.reit.com/Articles/Optimism-Abounds-for-CRE-Market-in-Second-Half.aspx

June 2, 2011 sundancecompany Commercial real estate news, The Sundance Company

Does Cash + Excess Capacity = Optimism

Recent commentary from Marketwise says yes. Do you agree? Their theory is that a lot of the bad news that makes its way into the newspaper and Internet is creating fertile ground for economic growth.

Please click below to read the rest of the story.

http://marketwi.se/2011/05/cash-excess-capacity-optimism/

May 26, 2011May 5, 2011 sundancecompany commercial real estate, Commercial real estate news, The Sundance Company

Creating a Culture of Innovation

Here are some ways to help your organization help foster an environment of innovation in your office. Commit to a few of these today and you might be surprised at the results.

Remember that innovation requires no fixed rules or templates — only guiding principles. Creating a more innovative culture is an organic and creative act.
Wherever you can, whenever you can, always drive fear out of the workplace.
Have more fun. If you’re not having fun (or at least enjoying the process) something is off.
Always question authority, especially the authority of your own longstanding beliefs.
Make new mistakes.
As far as the future is concerned, don’t speculate on what might happen, but imagine what you can make happen.
Increase the visual stimuli of your organization’s physical space. Replace gray and white walls with color. Add inspiring photos and art, especially visuals that inspire people to think differently. Reconfigure space whenever possible.
Help people broaden their perspective by creating diverse teams and rotating employees into new projects — especially ones they are fascinated by.
Ask questions about everything. After asking questions, ask different questions. After asking different questions, ask them in a different way.
Ensure a high level of personal freedom and trust. Provide more time for people to pursue new ideas and innovations.
Notice innovation efforts. Nurture them wherever they crop up. Reward them.
Encourage people to get out of their offices and silos. Encourage people to meet informally, one-on-one, and in small groups.
Think long term. Since the average successful “spin-off” takes about 7.5 years, the commitment to innovation initiatives need to be well beyond “next quarter.”
Don’t focus on growth. Growth is a product of successful innovation. Focus on the process of becoming adept at taking ideas from the generation stage to the marketplace.
Make customers your innovation partners, while realizing that customers are often limited to incremental innovations, not breakthrough ones.
Before reaching closure on any course of action, seek alternatives. Make it a discipline to seek the idea after the “best” idea emerges.
Know that attacking costs as a root problem solves nothing. Unreasonable costs are almost always a sign of more profound problems (e.g. inefficient structures, processes or training).
A great source of new ideas are people that are new to the company. Get new hires together and tap their brainpower and imagination.
Get customer feedback before committing resources to a product’s development.
Seek diversity of viewpoints. Get people together across functions. A diversity of views sparks more than conflict — it sparks innovation.
Don’t make innovation the responsibility of a few. Make innovation the responsibility of each and every employee with performance goals for each and every functional area.
Give your people specific, compelling, and measurable innovation goals.

About The Sundance Company

Established in 1976, The Sundance Company has the experience to help you with your commercial real estate needs in Boise, Meridian, Nampa, and the greater Treasure Valley. If your requirements include property management, leasing, real estate development, project planning, construction or space planning then look to us. The Sundance Company has more than 1.5 million square feet of office and industrial space available in prime Boise and Meridian locations. More information is available at www.sundanceco.com or 208.322.7300.

May 19, 2011May 31, 2011 sundancecompany commercial real estate, Commercial real estate news, Economy news, The Sundance Company

Keep Your Employees Happy and Make More Money

Are your employees giving your company ‘their all?’ Do they believe that what they’re doing is important? Do they feel appreciated? Do they show up for work each day with passion and purpose?

A ‘red flag’ should go up if you answered “no” to any of those questions. Why? Managers who aren’t taking care of their employees are missing out on significant cost-savings and profits.

For business leaders in companies of all sizes, the writing is on the wall: You can make and save money by keeping employees engaged. Today’s managers must make it a priority to get to know them so that they, in turn, can provide whatever’s needed to keep their teams fully engaged in what they do. This creates wins for everyone. With that in mind, here are nine management tips for creating and sustaining employee engagement:

1) Let go of any negative opinions you may have about your employees. Approach each of them as a source of unique knowledge with something valuable to contribute to the company. Remember that you are co-creating the achievement of a vision with them.

2) Make sure employees have everything they need to do their jobs. Remember when you started a new school year and you’d prepare by getting all new school supplies? Why not build just such an opportunity into your department simply by asking each staff member, or the team as a whole, “Do you have everything you need to be as competent as you can be?” Remember, just as marketplace and customer needs change at daily, so do your employees’ needs change.

3) Clearly communicate what’s expected of employees – what the company values and vision are, and how the company defines success. Employees can?t perform well or be productive if they don’t clearly know what it is they’re there to do ? and the part they play in the overall success of the company. Be sure to communicate your expectations – and to do it often.

4) Get to know your employees – especially their goals, their stressors, what excites them and how they each define ‘success.’ I’m not suggesting you pry too deeply or start ‘counseling’ your team members. What I am suggesting is that you show an interest in their well being and that, when appropriate, you do what it takes to enable them to feel more fulfilled and better balanced.

5) Make sure they are trained – and retrained – in problem solving and conflict resolution skills. These critical skills will help them interact better with you, their teammates, customers and suppliers. It’s common sense – better communications reduce stress and increase positive outcomes.

6) Constantly ask how YOU are doing in your employees’ eyes. I know it can be difficult for managers to request employee feedback – and it can be equally if not more challenging for an employee to give the person who evaluates them an honest response. To get strong at this skill and to model it for employees, begin dialogs with employees using conversation starters such as, “It’s one of my goals to constantly improve myself as a manager. What would you like to see me do differently? What could I be doing to make your job easier?” Be sure to accept feedback graciously and to express appreciation.

7) Pay attention to company stories and rituals. Are people laughing at each other or with each other? Do they repeat stories of success of moments of shame? Stay away from participating in discussions that are destructive to people or the organization, and keep success stories alive.

8) Reward and recognize employees in ways that are meaningful to them (that’s why getting to know your employees is so important). And remember to celebrate both accomplishments AND efforts to give employees working on long-term goals a boost.

9) Be consistent for the long haul. If you start an ‘engagement initiative’ and then drop it your efforts will backfire, creating employee estrangement. People are exhausted and exasperated from ‘program du jour’ initiatives that engage their passion and then fizzle out when the manager gets bored, fired or moved to another department. There’s a connection between an employee’s commitment to an initiative and a manager’s commitment to supporting it. A manager’s ongoing commitment to keeping people engaged, involved in and excited about the work they do and the challenges they face must be a daily priority.

Ultimately, you must keep in mind that employees are a company’s greatest assets. Their collective ideas, feedback and enthusiasm for what they do can help your business grow and succeed. Some people are naturally wired to give their all and do their best no matter where they work. But the majority of people require the guidance of skilled managers who welcome their ideas, ask for feedback and generate enthusiasm in order to have a sense of purpose and energy about what they do.

About The Sundance Company

May 5, 2011May 5, 2011 sundancecompany Commercial real estate news, Economy news, The Sundance Company

Wall Street Journal: Commercial Market is Dealing

A recent article by the Wall Street Journal discusses how commercial real-estate brokerages and related companies are attracting merger and acquisition partners as the commercial-property market rebounds.

Please click below to read the rest of the story.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703643104576291452170232740.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

About The Sundance Company

April 26, 2011April 5, 2011 sundancecompany commercial real estate, Commercial real estate news, office productivity, The Sundance Company

Improving Productivity with Hand Sanitizers?

Every year, companies across the country lose more than 63 billion dollars of productivity due to employee sickness. Work illnesses contribute to lost output, reduced worker efficiency, and man power shortfalls that account for the majority of the money lost due to worker illness and injury.

Throughout the fiscal year, workers on average take 8 annual sick days. Once regarded as a simple “cost of doing business” scenario, companies now have an option to fight unforeseen and avoidable staff sick time which ultimately drains the organization’s bottom line. This highly effective tool for fighting illness and keeping office productivity high is hand sanitizer. Surprisingly, merely installing and using a hand sanitizer dispenser on site can help save an organization billions of dollars a year.

By simply installing dispensers and enforcing a company policy on their use, the office can stay healthier and more productive throughout the year. A hand sanitizer dispenser at the entrance of the cafeteria, conference rooms, and any other high-traffic common area will help stop the spread of germs. Something as simple as a rinse free, nonalcoholic gel or foam can stop illnesses from spreading through an innocent handshake or cough.

Convenience is king when it comes to an effective office policy. Mounting a clearly visible and easily accessible hand sanitizer dispenser on the wall next to all main entrances and outside of bathrooms will help employees remember to use them often. Workers will quickly become accustomed to accessing a quick shot of hand sanitizer as they function throughout the day in various parts of the office. This practice will ultimately help prevent them from becoming infected with any sickness as well as help prohibit them from passing germs on to colleagues.

Communicable illnesses force companies to forfeit copious amounts of productivity annually. Due to the strain of the current economic climate, people tend to return to work before obtaining a completely clean bill of health, thus perpetrating a germ’s continuing lifecycle by passing it on to unsuspecting coworkers. Each cold working its way through the staff ranks makes it easy to recognize its effect on overall output.

April 5, 2011April 12, 2011 sundancecompany commercial real estate, Commercial real estate news, The Sundance Company

Globe St: Commercial Real Estate Recovery on Track

A recent article on Globest.com discusses how the nation’s commercial real estate market is back on track.

Despite the fits and starts and multiple global and domestic headwinds addressed in recent blogs, the economic recovery should continue this year and hopefully gain more momentum as bad news abates. A similar pattern exists for recovery of the nation’s commercial real estate market, only with different lag and lead times by property type.

Please click here to read the rest of the story …

http://www.globest.com/blogs/streetsmart/-308429-1.html

January 8, 2011January 4, 2011 sundancecompany Commercial real estate news, Economy news, The Sundance Company

Going Green in 2011

It seems like everyone is talking about saving energy, resources, and living green these days. Maybe your business has put it on the back burner but now that 2011 has begun it could be the perfect time for your office to get a green program going. Here are some tips for making your business greener.

Don’t print it. How many times have you seen an article or a webpage you want to read later and printed it? Try not to succumb to the temptation to print. If you can’t read it right away, bookmark the page.
Don’t print everything. Don’t print the entire article if you only want one paragraph. Highlight the paragraph you want, then copy and paste it into a Word document. It’s also a lot easier to use as a reference or a quote in a report if you don’t have to retype it.
Use both sides of the page. Many new printers can be set to print on both sides of the page, but if your printer cannot, keep a stack of “one-side-used” paper beside the printer to print drafts or articles that will only be used for reference.
Recycle. Offices generate a lot of waste other than paper, and some of it is toxic. Do what you can to recycle old office equipment. You will find a host of recycling tips, locations, and information on the Internet
Turn in old ink cartridges. Many office supply stores have recycle stations where you can drop off your old printer cartridges to be reused. Groups can even make money recycling old print cartridges.
Turn it Off. Unplug chargers when they are not in use. Chargers, when left plugged into the sockets are still eating power, even though your device is not refueling, so take a moment to unplug them or plug all the devices into a single surge protector and turn it off when not in use.
Lights Out. Take a moment before you leave the office to turn off lights, printers, computers, monitors, and copiers. You will extend the life of your equipment and save some money as well.