Dramatic Rent Increases - Ways to Avoid Them

Lease rates for industrial properties in Southern California continue to rise! To place this in some context, if your direction - as a business owner - was to rent a location in 2011 and your operation consumed 100,000 square feet - you could expect to pay around $45,000 per month in rent. Of course, charges for things like property taxes, insurance and maintenance would have been in addition to the $45K. But, the additional charges would have added around $12,500 per month - bringing the total to $57,500 - $.575 per square foot. Flash forward to our pandemic fueled shortage of space these days and a comparable building leases for $135,000 per month! For those scoring at home - that’s a 134% increase in ten years. Or, a 13.4% annual increase. Simply nuts! Am I saying if you rented an address in 2011 and signed a ten year lease - when your lease expires this year - you can expect your rent to more than double? Yes! You got it. Wow! How are businesses able to afford such a whopping spike? Better still, are there strategies you can employ to stem the bumps? The answers are - I don’t know and yes. Indulge me as I outline a few ways to lessen the blows of gigantic rent inflation.
 
Know your owner. The gentleman to whom you send your rent each month, falls into a category of investors. Your tenancy is singular or multiple. Unfortunately, if you’re one of many and his buildings are full - your leverage is limited. You see, he may opt to push rents even if a move-out ensues. He’ll simply replace you. Conversely, if your rent is the biggest part of his retirement income - a bit more realism happens. If you relocate - and his music stops - so does his lifestyle. He’ll be more flexible with you to keep you in residence and avoid a costly vacancy.
 
Know your value. As a tenant, your worth is two-fold. First, the capitalized income you pay each year determines the dollar amount of the investment. Simply, $100,000 in annual rent - at today’s cap rates of 4.75% suggests $2,105,263 ($100,000/4.75%) - if a sale or refinance was considered. Why is this important? A bank would lend a percent of this amount if your owner needed cash. Plus, the market would gladly pay him this figure if a decision was made to cash-in or redeploy the money into another income property. Second, your tenancy is costly to replace. By this I mean - free rent, downtime, refurbishment, and professional fees - are forked over to secure a paying customer. So, let’s say the title holder of your location believes he can get $100,000 a year if you bolt. You currently pay him $80,000. If he’s correct in his assumption - he can achieve approximately $538,406 if he’s finds a five year tenant ($100,000 with a 3% annual rent escalator). However, if he lays fallow for two months, incentivizes the new group with one month of free time, paints and carpets the offices, and pays a commercial real estate professional 6% - count on an up front expenditure of $72,303 - ($16,666 for downtime, $8333 in free rent, $15,000 for fix up, and $32,304 in fees). If we subtract $72,303 from our expected new income stream of $538,406 our net take is $466,103 - $93,220 per year. You’re willing to pay him $90,000. So, he could be slightly better off replacing you. But, if any of his assumptions are wrong - he sits four months vs two as an example, he is better off renewing you at $90,000 per year. Plus, presumably you’ve paid on time, taken care of the premises and sent him a Christmas card. Those intangibles have credibility. He may have to chase the new guy to get his rent.
 
Know your alternatives. Don’t forget. You could buy a building, consider a cheaper area or opt for a shorter lease term.
 
More on these later.
Allen C. Buchanan, SIOR, is a principal with Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services in Orange. He can be reached at abuchanan@lee-associates.com or 714.564.7104. His website is allencbuchanan.blogspot.com.

Sublease or Buyout?

We have previously discussed the ways in which you can extract yourself or your company from a lease obligation. As a quick recap. Leases are contracts which allow occupancy for a certain period of time (term) and for consideration (rent). As an inducement for your tenancy, an owner (landlord) may offer some goodies - free or abated rent, an allowance to fix up the place, or a right to extend your lease or buy the premises (options). In return, you agree to pay on time, stay the full period of the lease, and take care of the building. Easy, right? Not so fast.
 
Sometimes circumstances arise whereby the agreement must be tweaked. In the extreme - a dramatic decrease in revenue - leading to bankruptcy. Conversely, an uptick in sales could cause the need for more space. If a competitor is acquired or if the operation is sold - another shift occurs. Now, you have redundancy - too many facilities serving the same purpose. What to do with your lease(s)?
 
Remedies abound. You can sublease the building, buy-out, allow the term to expire, reject the lease through a bankruptcy, or default. Clearly the last two are not recommended as there are legal consequences - but they are a way clear.
 
Most opt for one or a combination of the first three - sublease, buyout or term out. But what are the differences and when should they be used. Please allow me to dive a bit deeper.
 
Sublease. Simply, you locate a surrogate. A group to replace you. But, don’t forget, there may not be another you readily available. Did your operation lease the first building you toured? Probably not. You considered multiple locations until you found the perfect fit of lease rate, landlord motivation, amenities, concessions, and term. Now, you are the landlord and must meet the nuances of tenants in the market. All, while having little flexibility. Your goal is to get out - with as little downtime and expense as possible. Remember, your rent and term are known. Where is that rate compared to comparable availabilities - above, below or right at market. If you’re below - count yourself fortunate! You’ve something to offer. But, how do you deal with an enterprise seeking a three year lease when you’ve committed to ten. Plus, you’ve consumed the inducements. By that, I mean your free rent burned off or the new carpet is old now. To compete, you may have to consider offering some giveaways. Subleases are messy! I’ve found the the most success when the rent is below market, a lengthy term remains - 5 years+, and the building is in pristine condition.
 
Buy-out. An owner of commercial real estate spends significant dollars to originate your occupancy. First, he sat vacant while his agent marketed the availability and searched for a tenant - all while continuing to pay the bank and operating expenses. Secondly, that free or abated rent is another cost. Third, painting the offices and adding new flooring isn’t cheap. Finally, he paid professionals to negotiate the lease. All told, an owner will outlay 15-25% of the lease term’s rent in origination costs! He then recoups the expense over the term. Therefore, if you approach your landlord with the question - “what’s it going to take to let me walk?” - he will account for all of the above. Generally, tenants find the price too steep and opt for another avenue. But, I’ve encountered situations where buyouts make sense. Typically, a spread exists between the stated rent and current market. A mid term remains - 2-3 years. And little cleanup is necessary.
 
Term. Clearly, the easiest. But seldom used. Why you might ask? Because the ends rarely meet. Sure, if you could time your company’s demise with the expiration of your tenancy - boom! Problem solved. Unfortunately, the dangling participle of term generally must be severed.
 
Allen C. Buchanan, SIOR, is a principal with Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services in Orange. He can be reached at abuchanan@lee-associates.com or 714.564.7104. His website is allencbuchanan.blogspot.com.

Are Tax Deferred Exchanges Worthwhile?

One of the perks of our profession is we get insights into future legislation at the state and federal level that can affect our livelihood. You see, the commercial real estate lobby is quite influential. Recall, the enormous push that occurred last year in California to defeat Proposition 15 which would have altered the way property taxes are calculated for commercial properties. 

Presently, there is talk in Congress to gut tax deferred exchanges that are accomplished through section 1031 of the Internal Revenue code. Payback for the enormous infrastructure plan must come from somewhere and wealthy commercial real estate owners are a likely target. 

Yesterday, I consumed a webinar hosted by David E. Franasiak, a Principal and Attorney at Williams and Jensen, PLLC and Julie Baird, President of First American Exchange Company. Discussed was the Biden Administration’s American Families Plan. Underpinning the direction - “The President would also end the special real estate tax break which allows real estate investors to defer taxation when they exchange property - for gains greater than $500,000”. Dissected were the three main components of the plan - a limit of $1,000,000 for couples filing jointly, Section 1031 would effectively be killed, and the proposal - if passed - could take effect for deal closed after December 2021. 

As a quick review, tax deferred exchanges allow title holders of commercial real estate to defer capital gains taxes upon the sale of an income producing property. Certain criteria and time frames must be met. Otherwise, if a sale occurs - approximately 50% of the appreciation is consumed by Uncle Sam and Cousin Gavin. Therefore, motivation to sell would be stripped except in extreme cases. 
Today, I’d like to look at exchanges from a different view - do they really matter to those without commercial real estate ownership? As I’m admittedly biased - I’ll simply offer three thoughts to consider. 

Commercial real estate transactions employee a significant number of people. My premise? Elimination of transactions lured by tax deferral would also crater all the jobs associated with those deals. I once calculated 32 different folks were involved in a purchase. Specifically, escrow agents, title officers, environmental surveyors, roof inspectors, general contractors, sub-general contractors - air conditioning, electricians, plumbers, flooring. Not to mention professionals such as CPAs, attorneys, and wealth advisors. Loop in a few brokers and the ensemble is complete. Dollars earned - by those involved - are circulated back through the economy and groceries are purchased, rent is paid, and college funds established. And, state and federal income taxes are paid from their earnings. 

Small business owners who reside in commercial real estate through ownership use the tax deferred exchange mechanism to expand their operations. Keep in mind, business owners use the IRS section 1031 to purchase larger facilities and grow their businesses. Operational growth means equipment is purchased, workers are hired, and taxable revenue is created. 

Elimination of the tax deferred exchange mechanism would reportedly generate $19.5 billion over 10 years on a $2.4 trillion stimulus package. Unfortunately, the increment is so small - it’s akin to a rounding error. Too often, we lose sight of the unintended consequences of actions we take. As an example, when access to home loans was expanded in 2006 - the sub-prime meltdown resulted. Granted, there was more to that story - but you get the idea. 

Allen C. Buchanan, SIOR, is a principal with Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services in Orange. He can be reached at abuchanan@lee-associates.com or 714.564.7104. His website is allencbuchanan.blogspot.com.