If you own an office floor or space that you aren’t using, you might find that it is beneficial to rent this space out. Whether you have a small unit at the back of your property with a private access road or you have an office space that you have purchased that you no longer need or want, there are a lot of different reasons why you might be putting the property up for rent.
This can be an excellent source of additional income, especially if you are thinking about expanding your current business in different areas, like focusing on outsourcing some services to experts rather than increasing headcount or adopting a hybrid or remote working policy for your existing workforce. Alternatively, you might simply be a property owner looking for a unique way to make some money out of the square footage you already own.
As a property owner platforms like Rentberry can make it even easier for you because you can list your properties there and tenants can find them, but Rentberry also offers a tenant screening service, so before you let someone on your premises, you can get their background checked and has an efficient set of tools to streamline your rental experience. As a passive income opportunity, however, it can also be a fantastic earner if done properly, provided you pay attention to some important points.
Don’t underestimate the value of your property’s curb appeal
You might not think it but are going to need to consider the curb appeal of your space if you are going to want to attract potential renters. Yes, a mid-century character property might be gorgeously decorated, and a large office suite might look like it holds a lot of potential, however, if it doesn’t look good from the outside, nobody is going to seriously take a look at what you have to offer.
Think of it this way: someone’s business is going to be tied to the office space that you provide, and if it looks bad when clients come to visit for office tours or for a face-to-face meeting, it might reflect badly on their business. If employees are turning up every day feeling like they are ready for work, but are faced with potholes, dirty windows, and just an unpleasant-looking office, they are going to want to turn around and go straight back home, killing their morale. This will be especially true if the place looks more rundown than anything else. Business owners are going to be thinking about this when they are looking, so curb appeal is going to be important. Luckily there are some ways that you can boost your property’s curb appeal:
- Get in concrete repairers. If you have potholes, cracks, or any kind of unpleasantness around your property’s parking area, or along the private access road, you might want to look into getting these repaired. After all, nobody wants to damage their car just by getting to the place. It also provides a huge trip hazard and so you might be given some nasty fines or fall foul of a legal case or two. Click here to learn more about what you can expect from reputable, expert concrete repairers who are ideally placed to help you.
- Think about adding some flora. People are generally happier when they have some plants or flowers to look at, even if it is just a few trees or some little flowerbeds. This can be a good way to liven up the property and add a little bit of color. You might find that this looks especially good when it comes to working with buildings on an industrial estate. It will make your building stand out and look far more presentable to your prospective audience.
Don’t forget you need to think about the interior of the property too
Next, you need to think about the interior of your property. You need to make sure that it is in excellent condition, clean, and ready to be moved into straight away. You might find that it is difficult to get what you need in, so it is good if you leave room to allow companies to do what they want with the space (within reason). Here are some things you should consider when it comes to planning the interior of your office space.
- Security. You need to make sure that you are working with strong security. This can be anything from ensuring that there is a good lock system in place with codes and key cards to having security cameras in place for security for personnel on-site and places like the car parking areas.
- Air conditioning. Air conditioning can be an essential factor to many business owners. They want the greatest level of comfort for their employees to get the best day’s work from them, and they also want to keep a place where they are going to have a lot of technology running all day relatively cool – to help the tech deal with the heat of a room full of people all day.
- Comfort. As mentioned above, employers are going to want the best level of comfort for their employees so that they can make sure they are able to work to a high standard. This is going to be very important, so you are going to need to make sure that the space you create is comfortable to convince other businesses to rent it.
- Working and break room spaces are essential. Employers do not want people eating and drinking at their work desks or socializing in a work environment where they might distract others from working. The bottom line here is that you are going to need to provide this space, whether it is outdoors or (preferably) indoors.
- Toilets. You are going to need to make sure that you provide plenty of toilets for the workers who will be coming to your property. Whether this is also bringing in your own janitorial team to make sure that the place stays clean after work every day, or making sure that the place stays clean yourself, you need to make sure that hygiene standards are met every day. You are going to need to ensure that employers and employees want to stay at your property, simply down to the fact that the more times they extend their lease, the more money you get.
- Electrics. This one is a big factor. You need to make sure that there are readily available electrical outlets all over the office space, even if not all of them will be used. You will also need to consider getting places to install projectors to help with making the place ‘office ready’.
You should also make sure that in the allocated break room, you have enough outlets and potential places to charge cell phones. You should also be thinking about what kind of layout people are going to want, as well as provide cupboards with multiple outlets for servers and other equipment that the business will be using.
Working the interior of office space is something that can be expensive. However, if it is done properly, you will find that you are able to charge more rent as it will be more desirable. However, it would be sensible to discuss pricing with a local real estate agent so that you aren’t asking too much money for what you are providing and therefore pricing yourself out of the market.
This can be highly beneficial for you, so you should also consult professionals when it comes to installing electrics so there aren’t any potential faults that may fall back on you. You need to ensure that the space is safe and useable before taking it to the public.
