Holding on to Wealth with 1031 Exchanges

Will the development of “affordable housing” boost the local economy by bringing more employees and consumers to the local market? Will it increase traffic or overburden infrastructure in other ways?

The first of five videos, the first focusing on Westport.

The second of five videos, this one focusing on Stamford. If you’ve seen the recent Westport market video please scroll to 1:53 of this video for the Stamford portion. For more information on Choyce Peterson and what we offer you as a tenant click here: https://lnkd.in/e4uUXqa

The third of five videos, this one focusing on Greenwich. If you’ve seen the recent Westport and/or Stamford market video please scroll to 1:53 of this video for the Greenwich portion.

Most tenants understand the impact of office rent on the bottom line and try to reduce it, most often by negotiation. However, they frequently neglect free rent, a common concession in the current real estate market.

The fourth of five videos, this one focusing on Norwalk. If you’ve seen the recent Westport, Stamford or Greenwich market video please scroll to 1:53 of this video for the Norwalk portion

In the final video of our five video series you will be able to see a full market overview along with all of the towns featured. It is a good opportunity to compare and contrast various options in different towns

Events of the last two years are allowing Westport to make decisions about its housing stock independent of existing state and municipal regulations. In March 2019, the state awarded Westport a four-year moratorium on 8-30g applications.

Tenants who consider buying out of their existing office lease usually do so for three main reasons:

Landlords require security deposits to protect themselves from losing upfront costs and renovation expenses in the event of default by a tenant.

With late October seeing record numbers of daily new cases of COVID-19, it is probably too early to tell how the pandemic will play out and what its impact will be on local economies.

Tenants looking for office space will occasionally consider a sublease rather than a direct deal with the landlord. Subleases can be very favorable for tenants, as they often include furniture, and even phone systems, free rent and rental rates lower than a standard lease.

It may be somewhat of a cliché, but you need to consider the end before the beginning. Before you sign on to a new commercial lease, you should establish a viable exit strategy. Office space undergoes significant wear and tear, especially for long-term leases.

Does your landlord view you as a gnat or 800-pound gorilla? Knowing the answer to that question can greatly affect your ability to negotiate terms in your new or renewed commercial lease. Of course, a gnat to one landlord may be a gorilla to another

Important changes and improvements can raise the value of your building/space. The residential market tends to stress the below points in selling homes but many of their positioning/staging ideas are often overlooked by commercial owners/landlords. Below are suggestions to make sure that the building/space you are selling/leasing is going to present in the best way to a potential buyer/tenant.

If one were looking only at the key commercial real estate metrics in Fairfield, one would not see anything unusual, like the effects of a global pandemic, taking place. Vacancy (5.1%) is at a 5 year high, but still well below the average rate of 6.6% which prevailed for the four years ending in the middle of 2014. Meanwhile, Westport’s vacancy rate is the highest it’s been in almost 15 years.

What is medtail and why are we writing about it? Honestly, when we first saw this word in writing, we had to Google it. This new buzzword refers to a medical or healthcare tenant occupying space in what has traditionally been a retail environment. If you pay close attention, there’s a good chance you’ve seen these new alternative ‘stores’ pop up in your local shopping center. Over the past few years, Healthcare clinics have been opening in strip malls across the country, but the COVID pandemic has kicked things into overdrive, bringing this emergent trend front and center.

Tenants just evaluating the rental rate when comparing building A ($22/sf) to building B ($20/sf) may be making an error much more costly than a 10% discount. We recommend determining the size of your office as the first step in a renewal or relocation process.

Despite some flickering signs of growth, today’s Fairfield County office market continues to have a high vacancy rate. Many submarkets such as Norwalk and Stamford have been affected due to decreased demand. As a result, there are a slew of properties available at rental rates 15-30% lower than they were two years ago. This includes direct space as well as subleases at greatly reduced rents, with furniture included!

Certain “events” may constitute a default of your lease. As a tenant, you should expect these clauses to cover financial distress and avoid any impact when your company is perfectly healthy. For example, when you move out for a more spacious area next door and are trying to sublease your old office, it should not be defined as abandonment as long as you continue to pay rent.

Relocation to another building is one thing, but what about relocation in the same building or complex — when the landlord asserts a unilateral right to relocate you. It happens! Landlords use this process when they need to accommodate a large tenant.

A tenant’s prerogative to sublease surplus space creates an ongoing opportunity to “right size” its operations and reduce costs. As such, it is surprising how many commercial tenants blithely accept lease clauses restricting their rights in this critical area.

First, let us point out that due to the lack of new buildings in the Fairfield and Westchester county office market, almost all available space is second or third generation (meaning one or more tenants previously occupied it).

As a reminder, the following information pertains to transactions with a term of at least five years. All standard build-out items should be paid for by the landlord. First, determine how your proposed layout will differ from a typical one and whether your improvements would be utilized by other tenants after you vacate the space in the future. The more they differ from the norm, the more they will be considered a special-purpose build-out and decrease your negotiating leverage for the landlord to pay for them.

Too often, tenants pay attention to rental rates without considering the total amount of square footage leased. Don’t make this common mistake!

The ability to negotiate with a landlord and substantially discount their asking rent depends on a few key factors. Take away from this blog series what is applicable to you and your company in terms of space and other considerations. Our intention is to provide know-how and strategies to implement when making decisions and negotiating your transaction.

The cost of tenant improvements assumed by the landlord, as well as the level of customization, determine the amount a landlord will amortize over the lease term. Thus, for any lease shorter than five years tenant alterations can inordinately burden the rental rate.