Your Doorway to Commercial Property. FREE to List!

KiwiRail is looking for long-term tenants for 2 of its prime Christchurch industrial sites.

One of them is the mammoth B Shed in Cass St (outlined in photo), which has 10,388m² of warehouse on a 1.9ha site. It’s the biggest warehouse within 1km of the cbd and was previously home to Westland Milk Products for 8 years before the milk company shifted to bigger premises at Izone Southern Business Hub.

Jonathan Lyttle & Ben Dwan, specialist industrial brokers at Colliers International in Christchurch, said the warehouse had 2 active rail sidings.

The second property, 9660m² on Ensors Rd, Opawa, is next to the main arterials north & south and was previously occupied by Leopard Coachlines. It has a 313m² southern office, a 198m² northern office & 135m² of ancillary storage & offices.

The Commercial Real Estate Website, FindSpace, has added a very useful maps feature to make searching for that perfect workspace even easier.

Most websites have the ability to show you where the property is sited on Google Maps but what if there are a number or properties you are interested in, how do they relate to each other?

FindSpace has solved this problem by allowing you to see multiple listings on one Google Map.

Justin Ryan, FindSpace Director, says ‘If you know a city well then its easy for you to understand how different suburbs all relate to each other, but if you come from out of town you don’t have this local knowledge.  This new map feature allows anyone to see all properties they are interested in on one map’.

The feature is available from the results of either a QuickSearch or by using the SpaceFinder advanced search.  Once you have the refined list in front of you, one simple click transfers all the listings to Google Maps.

If you hover over an icon you get the address, clicking once on the icon gives you summary information, clicking twice takes you to the full detail page.

An example of the new map can be viewed HERE!

Ryan says, ‘This feature just adds to our design brief of ‘One site for All’ where the end user can view all available space, regardless of source, combined with the most comprehensive search tools’.

FindSpace introduces a new plan to its Commercial Property Website.  The plan is called Tickle Me and it comes about following meetings with property investors to have a means of putting their properties ‘out there’ unofficially.

It follows the adage that ‘everything is for sale at the right price’ but up until now there was no way to list a property that was not on the market, now there is.

With the Tickle Me plan you enter all your property details but we hide all the information that would allow a user to identify the property or the owner.  The only way the owner can be contacted is via our Enquiry Form.

The idea is you search for properties that you are interested in buying using the SpaceFinder.  Those that are on the market show the address and contact details.  The Tickle Me listings also show up as they meet your search criteria.  If you like the sound of the Tickle Me listing you e-mail the vendor and if they are interested in selling you get together and sort out a deal.

The option will also be useful for Real Estate firms who maintain ‘off the books’ listings.  Now they too can promote the property on-line but keep the details totally private.  The cost is $25 per 130 days.

The following is a recent blog from Parallel Directions.

The commercial rental property market in New Zealand continues to be very much a tenant’s market… but there are many landlords who simply don’t get it.

Negotiating myopia
It amazes me in the many negotiations I conduct for clients how many landlords take such a short-term view and, by playing hard ball, lose out on securing long-term tenants.

In today’s over-supplied market it is more important than ever, one would think, for a landlord to build a good and long-term relationship with tenants. But alas, many still don’t get it.

In my experience, the good majority of commercial property landlords in New Zealand have very poor negotiating skills. They are often inflexible and take a narrow view regarding their income and profitability.

Here is some free advice:

• Do not bow to the assumed power and might of the landlord.
• Consider the range of possibilities in negotiation.
• Offer alternatives that can secure a deal that suits the tenant.
• Make sure those alternatives also meet the needs of the landlord.

75% of these landlords didn’t get it…
Of the four most recent commercial property negotiations I’ve been involved in recently, only one landlord was flexible, prepared to build a relationship with their tenant, and look to the long term.

Prediction:
I predict that come the next rent review, this relationship will last and a rent renewal to benefit both tenant and landlord will be achieved. In the other three cases where the landlord has been inflexible, the tenants will leave to find a better deal.

I believe it is the way of the future that win-win solutions in business will result from thinking about the needs of the other party.

Advantage
The advantage I have negotiating strategies on behalf of tenants is that I can take a totally independent view and offer up win-win proposals that not only benefit my commercial tenant clients, but educate landlords about potential alternative deals and how to win secure long-term tenancies.

I’m lucky that I am not responsible to any corporate entity that demands I negotiate in a narrowly focussed manner. That enables me and my clients to make the best of today’s buyer’s market… and potentially up-skill a few landlords in negotiating mutually beneficial deals at the same time!

What about you?
Have you had success negotiating a lease with a reasonable landlord or has your landlord been inflexible and hard nosed? How has this influenced your attitude towards your landlord and your intentions to stay or go? Leave a comment below and share your experiences with other readers…

Finding property in the city you live in is a lot easier because you know the layout and how all the streets and suburbs relate to each other.

However, when you are not from the city it can be very difficult to find this information.

FindSpace has just made it easier for you by releasing a new maps feature using Google Maps.

To use the feature you just need to complete any search, or use this LINK.  On the Black Banner you will see View List on Map.  By clicking this you will see the results of your search on a New Zealand map.

Where there are too many listings you will see a number, by clicking on the icon you will zoom in until you can view each listing, and how they relate to each other.  By clicking further you are presented with summary information, and as you keep clicking down you will get to the full details on the listing.

The results are also available when using the more advanced SpaceFinder search tool.

Just another way we make it easier for you to find what you are after.