If you have ever wanted to move up in the world of property, you may have considered getting into commercial lettings. Having a block of units that you let out to businesses can be very lucrative. If the block is in a particularly central location, close to commuter links such as a railway station, you may be able to attract some outstanding rents.
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But taking the rent from your tenants is not the end of the story. When it comes to commercial lettings, there are more complications than with residential property. You will need to manage the building that you are renting out. This is especially important if you have multiple occupants within your building, and have shared spaces.
Maintaining Your Property
You will need to ensure your property is always maintained to the most professional standards. This will mean ensuring any shared interior areas are tidy, light, and well decorated. If there are lifts, they need to be in good working order. Service areas such as loading bays and waste disposal areas should be kept tidy.
The exterior of the building should be looked after in much the same manner. If you have a tall block, you may need abseiling window cleaning. You will need to check your external areas regularly, and there are a lot of things that may need replacing frequently. Having an in-house maintenance department might help with many of the jobs that come up.
The areas that are let to tenants are likely to be their responsibility when it comes to maintenance primarily, and this will be laid out in their terms. You will also need to set out some guidelines on work being carried out inside units as you may need to implement restrictions.
Safety And Security
You have a legal and a moral obligation to protect your tenants. That means that you will need to provide excellent fire safety systems within the building. This means that your alarm should be checked and serviced often, your extinguishers checked daily, and the emergency lights and sprinklers tested frequently. You should also plan escape routes and hold test evacuations.
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You will also need to make sure that your building is secure. Many businesses will have valuable assets, which if stolen, or damaged, could cost them dearly. You should provide security cover in the form of a patrol and closed-circuit surveillance.
Insurance
One of your significant obligations will be to have the right insurance. This is not only savvy from a business perspective, but it is also legally necessary. You will need to be covered for the event of a fire, or natural disaster affecting the building.
As members of the public will be able to enter the building, you must also have public liability insurance. This will cover you for the event of a visitor having an accident within the building, especially if it was deemed that the accident was caused by something that you are responsible for within the building.