There are so many benefits to investing in your commercial property, even at a time like the COVID-19 crisis and the recession that followed. For one, it’s always worth adding value to your property because it can provide lucrative deals should you decide to sell in the future. For another, it provides convenience, safety, and an overall better experience for you and your tenants. Lastly, not many commercial properties make improvements during a recession, creating space for more contractors who need jobs and lower prices for materials. So contrary to popular belief, there is a lot to gain from upgrading your commercial property in 2020.
But some upgrades are more worthy than others. Since we live in a pandemic, for example, renting out your property as an office space may not be the smartest option. Here are some improvements that you can look into to add value to your property for the times we live in.
Turn it into a warehouse space.
There continues to be a huge demand for warehouse spaces, despite the recession that COVID-19 caused. This is because as more consumers rely on online shopping for their needs (and wants), the demand for industrial real estate grows bigger. With many brick-and-mortar stores closing their doors intermittently, and as e-commerce continues to boom, retail stores need places to house their orders and fresh items. There is a bigger need for warehouses that will be able to store hoards and hoards of boxes to handle orders.
Convert it into a self-storage facility.
Another industry that seems recession-resistant is self-storage. Since the pandemic has sadly caused many deaths, displacement, and divorces, there is a constant stream of people in need of spaces to store their material belongings. While the supply may overtake the demand for a while, the self-storage industry is projected to see an uptick in 2021 as the economy stabilises and will be a better financial investment returns-wise, compared to other commercial real estate options.
Add modern amenities.
This may not seem like the best option considering that the pandemic has forced society to distance from each other physically, but adding amenities like a space for a coffee shop can significantly add value to your commercial property. Hopefully, the world will not be in lockdown forever. When that time comes, your property will have an edge over others if there are spaces for those amenities since the value of commercial properties is based on the income they can generate. For now, those spaces can also work as event spaces for micro-celebrations like weddings, birthday parties, and others.
Install upgrades that reduce utility costs.
Whatever improvements you can make to reduce your utility costs and add to your revenue is an investment worth making when it comes to commercial real estate. Here are some of them:
- Energy-efficient upgrades like LED lighting and smart technology that provides a variety of energy-saving strategies
- A prefabricated pump system, which combines all the high-quality drainage and pumping equipment and controls you need in one place, and is a more energy-efficient and cost-effective solution
- Sub-meter utilities, which would give potential tenants and buyers more incentive to choose your property as it will allow them to pay their fair share of the bills
Change the layout according to society’s current needs.
You can take a lot of architectural approaches to address the needs of today’s consumers and tenants. Adding or removing walls and beams can create a space that allows for more physical distancing between people. You can also incorporate more windows to facilitate good indoor air quality and allow tenants to inhale fresh air during the warmer months. Making adjustments in interior design to avoid disease is nothing new, so look into what changes you can make in your property to help people avoid being infected with COVID-19.
Renovate older spaces.
Whether you plan to invest in this particular property for the long haul or whether you’re planning to sell it, there are a lot of ways to reap the rewards that come with upgrading your property, especially the areas that are a bit older in age. All real estate declines in value as time goes on, so you need to combat this actively by making the necessary facelifts.
Add Equity Through Worthy Investments
Renovating and upgrading your commercial property to suit your tenants’ needs not only allows you to customise the space according to today’s needs; it also adds equity. The resources spent on these renovations will surely be worth the effort when it’s time to sell the property.
