Finding the best tenants for your commercial real estate investment isn’t a walk through the park.

Commercial Realtors and real estate investors have a unique challenge to find tenants for commercial real estate investments.

While residential realtors liken themselves to a matchmaker when showing home, the commercial real estate world is more like speed dating.

It can seem like you have only seconds to convince a tenant that this is the place for their business.

As soon as you finish your pitch, they may get up and leave the table to see what their other options are. You might not have anyone come to your table for a while.

Finding a tenant for your commercial real estate investment can be exhausting.

Hitting zero vacancies isn’t impossible in commercial real estate!

Following these tips, you can get more offers for your commercial estate investment.

Use Your Network to Get More Tenants

Using your network is how many successful real estate investors make more deals.

Tap into your network to find who is searching for space. Alternately, you can do some research to see what kind of businesses are in the nearby area.

Locating a similar business with the same set of needs is a great way to find a possible tenant for your listing.  Learn more about the industries that are being tracked understand the types of properties and improvements that they require.

You can also use business directories, and Facebook groups to find business networking events and possible tenants.

Through conversations, you will soon find local businesses looking to relocate for specific reasons.

Posting your availability in Facebook groups, or on LinkedIn is a great way to get noticed by administrative staff who may be looking for a new space.

Networking on social media is a great way to make more deals and find more tenants for your commercial real estate space.

Creative Advertising

With Social media, you can easily find your real estate tenants, if you try to make the most of your space. With some creative advertising and marketing, it will make it easy to show your space to possible tenants and get more potential tenants to look at your property.

Let’s face it – business owners are busy individuals.

Finding the time to tour properties and meet with commercial real estate owners isn’t always a simple task. You can remove this objection with some up-to-date technology, such as virtual tours, video tours, FB live, 365 tours and more.

By making virtual tours available to potential tenants, you make the property search process significantly more convenient!

Many photographers can offer a 360-degree virtual tour along with the standard staging of your property.

While filming virtual tours will undoubtedly be an investment in the beginning, ultimately it could secure you the long-term, reliable tenants you’ve been looking for.

You may have possible tenants that are not available to make an in-person meeting to do a first tour of the property. By offering a Facebook live tour, or even a facetime call, you could walk your client thru space virtually and address all their concern before they step foot in the office.

Instagram has more real estate postings than any other social media platform. So, make sure you are adding your listing on your profile with the best hashtags to promote your space.

Upgrade Your Space to Sell

“Upgrading your space isn’t optional for any real estate investor, it’s a necessity. Clients are always looking for the most up to date and upgraded properties to rent. If you don’t have modern features, tenants will look for someone who does.”– Loren Howard, Arizona Hard Money Loans, Prime Plus Mortgages

Any modern commercial real estate property should have the following:

• High-Speed internet/ Fiber Optic
• Security Features
• Kitchenette area or break room
• Lots of natural light and white light
• Updated bathrooms

Access to high-speed Internet is critical to your tenants’ business operations. Fiber-optic Internet carries a significant advantage above regular high-speed broadband with increased consistency, speed, and bandwidth.

Security features such as alarms, locks and outdoor lights will help tenants feel safe, especially if they must work late night in the office. A security guard will go a long way to boosting your safety features. Adding a camera and lighting will help any tenant feel ultimately safer.

Make sure you know if there are any other security risks to your property, such as poorly kept landscaping, or broken lights that may put tenants at risk. You can keep your parking lot safe by adding a security fence, and motion activated lights.

Every space should have a break room away from the main office. And adding a kitchenette, with sink, dishwasher, and microwave will help future tenants be able to enjoy their space more.

Having access to windows and lighting will help set your commercial real estate apart and set a modern feel for your space. They have proven that having better lights is ideal for a better mood.

The brighter space will help tenants feel that your space is modern, and in turn, will make them more likely to rent.

Updated bathrooms are also a great selling feature especially in a corporate setting where they are shared.

So, updating the bathrooms to have some modern finishes and lighting will see a higher return on investment.

Having an upgraded property will help you secure tenants faster, and for higher amounts.

Summary:

To find the best tenant, you need to know where to look, how to show them your property and how to sell them on your space.

By following the tips here, you can be sure to find qualified tenants easily, and at prices, you are asking for.

• Use Your Network to Sell Your Space: find friends and business who are looking to properties like yours or would benefit from your space.
• Creative Advertising: Using social media, virtual tours, live videos and 360 photography you can work with the busiest of clients and get more possible tenants looking at your space.
• Upgraded Spaces to Sell: Security, Lighting, and additional amenities will sell your space quickly and easily with little push back.

How do you find your commercial real estate tenants?

BIO:

Catherine Way graduated from Michigan State University with her Bachelor of Advertising with a specialization in Graphic Design. She works as a freelance content creator for many facets of real estate, commercial, residential, and mortgage industries.  She spends her free time finding new ways to talk to people, through writing, designing, dancing, and more. You can see her latest creations here.