Stacking Plans in Commercial Real Estate
A stacking plan is a visual representation of a commercial structure that shows the tenants on each floor, the square footage of each floor, when each tenant’s lease will expire, and sometimes other information. They are most commonly used for office buildings, but can sometimes be used for apartment or retail properties.
Shadow Space in Commercial Real Estate
In commercial real estate, shadow space is any space that is being leased, but that a tenant is not currently utilizing. Generally, shadow space is most common in the office and industrial property market, but occurs for retail properties as well. In many cases, this is a result of company downsizing, but in other cases, a tenant may hold shadow space to prepare for future growth.
Loss to Lease in Commercial Real Estate
Loss to lease is one of the most essential metrics in multifamily real estate, and can be defined as the difference between actual rent and market rent. In general, this income is lost by offering incentives to encourage tenants to sign a lease. For accounting purposes, loss to lease is generally recorded as a separate line on an accounting balance sheet.
Rent Escalation Clauses in Commercial Real Estate
In most commercial leases, rents are set to increase over time. How often, and by how much they increase is specified in a lease contract’s rent escalation clause. Rent escalation clauses are essential for commercial landlords, since, if rents did not increase, landlords would not be able to keep pace with inflation. In practice, this means they likely be unable to continue renting their properties due increase maintenance and operating costs.
Net Effective Rent in Commercial Real Estate
Net effective rent is a calculation of average monthly rental cost that incorporates landlord rental concessions, typically a free month of rent. For example, if an apartment was being advertised with a net effective rent of $1500/month for a 12-month lease with one month of free rent, it might actually have a monthly rent of $1625. However, if you take the entire rent paid over the 13-month period, it actually has an average, or “net effective” rent of $1500/month.
Ground Lease in Commercial Real Estate
A ground lease is a type of long-term lease agreement that allows the tenant to build on and make significant improvements to the leased property. Ground leases usually last between 50-99 years, and generally stipulate that the property and all improvements made during the lease will revert to the landlord after the termination of the lease.
Effective Gross Income in Commercial Real Estate
Effective gross income (EGI), is all the income generated by a property, including rent, tenant reimbursements, and income from sources such as vending machines and laundry machines. It can also be defined as a property’s potential gross income, after expenses such as vacancies and credit costs have been subtracted. EGI is an efficient way to estimate a property’s value and cash flow
Lease Assignment in Commercial Real Estate
A lease assignment occurs when a tenant fully transfers their lease to another party. This is particularly important for tenants who wish to get out of their leases early due to financial issues, especially if a landlord does not allow subleases. In general, the landlord must agree to the lease transfer, and usually records their consent to it via a document called a “license to assign.”