FAQs
What Services Do You Offer?
Perth Commercial Property is a full-service boutique commercial real estate agency. We can help you with the following…
Commercial sales & leasing appraisals or Commercial Property Management
Sales & Leasing FAQs
Why should I hire you? I can find a tenant myself.
Of course you can. If you’re happy to accept any caliber of tenant for your property, that’s one way to go…
Consider this though:
Often tenants look for privately advertised properties – because they don’t pass a professional agency’s tenant qualification enquiries.
BEFORE we even consider placing a tenant in your property, we require applicants to supply in-depth information about their company.
With that information in hand, we can screen applicants with the objective of disqualifying problem tenants BEFORE they start causing you concern.
How long will it take to lease/sell my property?
This is always difficult to predict. It depends on numerous factors, like… the type of property, the current market conditions, and whether you’re flexible on price or terms.
Give us a call anytime to speak to one of our sales & leasing team about the current market conditions and vacancy periods in your area.
We will be happy to help – it’s our job after all!
Book an appointment with a leasing agent
I already have my property listed with another agency – can I list it with Perth Commercial Property as well?
It depends on the type, and period of the authority you signed with the other commercial real estate agency.
You will have signed either an…
Exclusive Authority
Or a
Non-Exclusive Authority
If you have a non-exclusive authority, that’s great news, we can start marketing your property right away!
Just give us a call, or send us an enquiry and we can begin helping you find the right tenant or buyer for your property immediately.
If you signed an exclusive a
If you like, you can let us know you’d like to get us onboard to help with your property, and we can contact you closer to the date we can begin assisting you with your property!
We’re efficient like that!
What kind of checks do you run on potential tenants?
Typically we ask applicants to supply key information about their business with their application, including a statement of financial position and performance, how many years they’ve been trading and what assets they own.
Do you take a bond?
There are a number of ways we can obtain security over your property, depending on the situation. Personal guarantors, a bond or a bank g
What are outgoings and who pays them?
Outgoings are the operating expenses incurred as a result of owning a commercial property.
Costs like Water rates, Strata fees, Shire rates, Land tax, Insurance, Pest control, General repairs & maintenance and Property Management Fees to name a few.
The tenants are usually responsible for paying the outgoings in a commercial lease – in addition to the agreed rent.
Under the Retail Tenancies Act 1985, a property owner cannot on-charge the cost of property management to a retail tenant.
What type of commercial lease agreement do you use?
We engage experienced commercial property solicitors to prepare the lease agreement for every commercial property lease that we work on.
This ensures ultimate protection for you as a property owner and for your property.
We feel much better knowing we’ve done everything we can to ensure your lease is structured correctly. Your security is as important to us, as it is to you.
Who pays the solicitor to prepare the lease agreement?
In Western Australia, it’s very common for the tenant to pay the solicitor for the preparation of commercial & industrial lease documents.
The landlord cannot recover solicitors fees for lease preparation with a retail lease.
Property Management FAQs
We are unhappy with our current property manager, can we switch to Perth Commercial Property?
Prior to switching to Perth Commercial Property, we will need to ensure that you are not breaching any contract you may have entered with your existing property managers – we don’t want you to be penalized for switching over to us.
If you are unhappy with your existing commercial property managers, give us a call to discuss your options.
Why should I hire you when I can manage the property myself?
It’s true you can manage your commercial property yourself…
A lot of our best clients are people who used to manage their own properties in the past, before realizing how much work is involved in managing tenants correctly – then hiring us to take over and get their property back on track.
Consider this:
- What we do is hassle-free for you. Essentially we hand you back your time.
- We know your legal obligations as an owner. We know your rights, and we enforce them strictly.
- We know all the costs you can on-charge to your tenant and we invoice them regularly for those costs.
- We ensure your rent is reviewed on a regular basis, so you’re never short changed.
- Maintenance issues are no longer your problem, we take care of it for you.
Speak to a real person today about commercial property management
How often do you pay me my rent?
We invoice your tenants for rent each month in advance.
Once we have collected the rental payment, we deposit the funds into your nominated bank account.
How do you collect outgoings?
There are a few ways outgoings can be collected.
Typically we will collect a one twelfth portion of the budgeted annual outgoings each month.
What happens if my tenant is late with their rent?
That depends on the terms set out in your particular lease agreement.
We will issue the tenant with a rent default notice giving them 7 days to bring their account up to date in order to avoid being locked out.
Where the lease permits if the tenant fails to bring their account up to date they can be locked out of the premises.
What happens if my property requires maintenance or repairs?
We are your point of contact for the tenant. If there is a problem with your property they call us and we take care of it.
You don’t need to get involved. Unless the costs are significant – in which case we would require your approval before undertaking any work.
When you first engage us as your new professional property managers… you can authorize us to spend a specific amount on the property in the case of emergency repairs… for arguments sake, lets say $500.
Any costs over and above that amount, we will contact you for your authorization prior to instructing any repairs to be undertaken.
Rental Increases – How do you determine what the market rent is?
We determine current market rent using a variety of methods depending on the type of property, its location and other factors.
Time consuming market research is a big part of our appraisal process.
As a professional commercial agency we have access to exclusive paid tools, historical data, and other information sources.
Rental increases – what happens when the tenant doesn’t agree with the market rent increase?
In this event you would refer to your lease agreement.
If the tenant does not agree with the market rental increase, typically a licensed valuer is engaged to determine the fair market value.
What are variable outgoings?
You might call them operating costs associated with your property. Outgoings typically vary each year such as water rates, and shire rates.
Why do you charge my tenant GST on top of invoices that are not subject to GST, such as water rates?
If the property owner is registered for GST we are legally obligated to charge GST. We recommend you consult with your accountant for further information.
Why should I use your recommended contractors instead of my own?
You can use your own contractors if you like. Our recommended contractors are aware that they must have current and relevant insurance policies in place before they enter your premises.
Why don’t you keep a copy of the key to my property?
We don’t keep a copy of the keys because we do not want to be liable if the property is broken into or damaged.
We recommend the owner hands all copies of keys to the tenant at commencement of the lease.
Tenant FAQs
How can I pay my rent?
Currently we accept payment via direct deposit, credit card and BPay also.
The payment details are included with your monthly invoice.
Why don’t you keep a copy of the key to the property?
We don’t keep a copy of the keys because we do not want to be liable if the property is broken into.
We recommend the owner hands all copies of keys to the tenant at commencement of the lease.
I’ve just rented a property can I have the locks changed?
Of course, we recommend that you do have the locks changed for your own security and the security of your business.
What happens if for some reason I can’t pay my rent?
We would ask you to be honest. We cannot help you if you don’t communicate with us.
Property owners are not always in a position where they can absorb the loss of rental income, however some owners understand the difficulties of running a business and may be open to discussing a flexible payment plan until your rent is caught up.
We understand it can be an embarrassing situation, but if you’re in the position where you can’t make your rental payment, the sooner we know about it, the more we can do to help you.
We are professionals and you will be treated with professionalism.
Your honesty and disclosure will be treated in confidence and with total discretion.
Why do I have to pay penalty interest if I fall behind on rent?
It is punitive interest, not a loan from the owner. The interest rate is designed to incentivize you to pay your rent. That is why the interest is charged at a higher rate than a bank’s.
Why are the variable outgoings estimated?
They are subject to change by the provider.
What happens if I want to sell my business?
We do not provide business sales services. We would recommend speaking to a qualified and experienced business broker.
What can I do if I no longer want to lease my property?
If you no longer wish to continue leasing your business premises, you do have options. ‘lease assignment’ is one option available.
We would recommend giving us a call to discuss your options in detail.
