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.
Blend and Extend Amendments in Commercial Real Estate
In commercial leasing, a blend and extend amendment is allows a tenant to extend their lease and negotiate a new rate, merging, or “blending” the new and old rents. During periods of particularly high vacancy, commercial landlords will often offer agree to a blend and extend amendment that lowers a tenant’s rent, in order to keep their property occupied for an extended period of time.
Dark Shell in Commercial Real Estate
A dark shell refers to a commercial property that is leased to a tenant without interior improvements, such as heating, lighting, interior walls, plumbing, or air conditioning. A dark shell is also sometimes referred to as a cold dark shell, a cold shell, a grey shell, or a base shell.
Recapture Clause in Commercial Real Estate
In commercial leasing, a recapture clause permits a landlord to terminate a lease early, and may also allow them to demand all or part of the remaining lease payments immediately. Recapture clauses can be triggered by a variety of events, but are are most often activated when a tenant closes their business and attempts to sublease the property.
BOMA: Building Owners and Managers Association in Commercial Real Estate
BOMA, or the Building Owners and Managers Association, is an international trade association for commercial real estate professionals. The organization, which was founded in 1907, sets many of the standards for how commercial structures are measured. BOMA standards particularly focus on office, industrial, multifamily and retail properties
Usable Square Feet vs. Rentable Square Feet in Commercial Real Estate
In commercial real estate, there are two major ways to evaluate a property’s size; usable square feet (USF) and rentable square feet (RSF). In general, this applies most to office and retail properties with multiple tenants, and is not usually applicable to multifamily and industrial properties.
Acceleration Clauses in Commercial Real Estate
In real estate, an acceleration clause is a loan provision that permits a lender to force a a borrower to pay off the remaining balance of a loan if the borrower violates certain elements of a loan agreement. Most commonly, an acceleration clause can be invoked if a borrower defaults on their mortgage, however, there are a variety of other breaches of contract that may be listed in a loan agreement.
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.”