Owning commercial property these days comes with some unavoidable risks. The economy, overall consumer trends and many other factors can leave a commercial property owner with empty spaces. Certainly, that results in a loss of income. Further, too many vacant spaces can frighten off potential lessees if they depend on business from customers who happen to be in the complex.
It doesn’t take long for a property to go into a death spiral and become a virtual ghost town. This can make it nearly impossible to find anyone to lease space. Further, the property can attract vandalism and crime – which can make it even more costly to maintain.
That often doesn’t need to happen. If you’re a commercial property owner with one or more available spaces and you’re having a hard time attracting long-term tenants, you might want to consider offering short-term leases. This can help keep money coming in and keep the property thriving. Eventually, it’s more likely to attract long-term tenants.
If you’re having difficulty attracting a long-term tenant for a space, why not consider offering it for short-term use? You can offer a monthly lease with an option to renew if you don’t have a long-term tenant lined up with the monthly lease.
Potential short-term lessees
There are a number of potential types of tenants who only need a space for a month or two. For example:
- Pop-up stores: These include stores with seasonal merchandise (for Christmas or Halloween, for example). They’re often used to sell sports team merchandise, especially during playoffs.
- Experiential spaces: These are often used for art exhibits.
- Small entrepreneurs: Sometimes, people like to test out whether they can profitably expand their online sale of their home-made merchandise to a store before they commit to a long-term lease.
- Non-profits: Charitable groups sometimes need a space for a month or two to work on a fundraising event or to work on a big charitable effort like mailing gift packages to servicemembers or filling backpacks for underprivileged kids. If you donate the space, you may be able to claim a tax deduction.
Political campaigns also lease space for a few months at a time. Unfortunately, in today’s political climate, that can attract vandalism and even violence, so that’s something to consider.
A short-term or month-to-month lease requires the same attention to detail as a longer-term lease. That’s why it’s important not to draw up these leases without experienced legal guidance.