Turning Your Leased Industrial Facilities into a Profit Center

Turning Your Leased Industrial Facilities into a Profit Center By George Livingston and Christie Alexander

Ed. Note: George Livingston is founder and chairman of NAI Realvest, based in Maitland, one of the most active commercial real estate brokerage firms in Central Florida. He is a principal of CommerCenters, LLC, which ranks as one of the region’s largest developers of industrial facilities.

According to current economic indicators---and most economists--- U.S. business and industry will likely show measurable signs of improvement in 2011. That means the window is narrowing on the opportunity for industrial firms to recognize significantly improved revenue from their leased facilities.

That may seem counter-intuitive at first. But the current economic cycle is rife with opportunity for successful enterprises with positive credit history. Your landlord is loath to admit it, but the fact is, your company---more specifically your leasehold obligation---is one of your landlord’s principal assets right now.

Nationwide, commercial properties---including the facilities you occupy now---have decreased in value as a result of the real estate decline and the accompanying recession. With regional and local market vagaries, all properties have suffered. As undercapitalized companies downsized or folded, vacancies spiked and rents from remaining tenants have not made up the difference.

That means the capital value of your monthly rent payment---the relative proportion of your landlord’s mortgage payment or ROI covered by your payment---is substantially greater than the numerical dollar value. Your landlord and your landlord’s lender are both eminently aware of this.

To the extent that you can turn that value differential into cash---or concessions---you can improve your company’s cash position.

But beware the window is closing. As the economy improves and more companies expand, the value differential will evaporate.

If your lease is due for renewal this year, current market conditions are even more favorable.

Landlords will agree to substantial concessions to retain a good tenant. Even if your lease is not due for renewal soon, negotiate now and offer to extend the term.

A reputable offer of terms and conditions from a new landlord will inevitably lead to stronger concessions from your current landlord.

From your current landlord’s perspective, the only meaningful differential is an estimate of your relocation costs versus his cost to lease the space to a new tenant.

Well-informed---and well-represented---tenants are cutting very good deals now with pragmatic landlords, fixing advantageous rates, lengthening lease terms and negotiating improvements and upgrades.

In the current market cycle, most companies will benefit from lease negotiations conducted with the expertise of a good tenant representative. Almost every commercial property firm today retains associates whose specialty is representing the interests of tenants.

Such specialists have the capacity to research properties, landlords and local market conditions, and know which concessions are most reasonable.

They also know the conditions landlords face. A newly built industrial property may have minimum lease requirements imposed by lenders, and thus might be more flexible granting improvements or upgrades than lower lease rates.

Landlords of older properties may be in a better position to wait out the recovery and thus be less inclined to negotiate generous concessions of any sort. A good tenant representative will know the inside story.

The end result is the same. Time is of the essence. Act now and you can lock in rates and terms that fit your business plan and substantially improve your bottom line.

OC Grant Consulting Offering Seminars for Those Interested in Attaining Non-Profit Status and Grant Funding

ORLANDO, Fla. – Olivette Carter, owner of OC Grant Consulting Associates in Orlando, has begun a series of Nonprofit Capacity-Building seminars on attaining non-profit status and grant funding.

The next session, “An Introduction to Grant Writing,” will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Dec. 5 at the Orlando Business Development Center Office, 3218 E. Colonial Drive Suite G.

OC Grant Consulting is a client company of the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program at the OBDC site, one of the program’s six business incubators throughout metro Orlando.

Designed for executives, administrators, managers and other leaders of aspiring or new start-up grassroots organizations, the series kicked off recently with “How to Start a Non-Profit and Obtain 501(c)3 Status” seminar. Carter said that session will be repeated Jan. 9.

Additional Saturday seminars are: “Board Development for New Non-Profits,” Jan. 23; “Program Design and Planning,” Jan. 30; and “Volunteer Management,” Feb. 6. The December introduction to grant writing session will be repeated on Feb. 20.

Each seminar is $25.00. To register, go on-line at www.ocgrantconsulting.com or call 321-281-8346.

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For more information about this release, please contact:
Olivette Carter, Owner, OC Grant Counseling, 321-281-8346 or ocgrants@obdc2.fdn.com

Melissa Wasserman, OBDC Site Manager, 407-281-8383, mwasserm@mail.ucf.eduGordon

Hogan, Director of Operations, UCF Business Incubation Program, 407-882-1157; bizdev@mail.ucf.edu

Charlene Hager-Van Dyke, Larry Vershel Communications, 386-837-8780, 407-644-4142; Lvershelco@aol.com or chagervandyke@yahoo.com

About the UCF Business Incubation Program:
Since its founding in 1999, the UCF Business Incubation Program has helped more than 130 emerging companies (including nearly 80 current clients) create over $500 million in annual revenue and more than 1,600 new jobs with an average salary of $59,000. With six facilities across the Greater Orlando community, the Incubation Program is a collaboration in economic development between the University of Central Florida, Orange County, the City of Orlando, Seminole County, the City of Winter Springs, Lake County, the City of Leesburg, City of Sanford and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. For more information, please visit www.incubator.ucf.edu.

OC Grant Consulting Associates to Host Seminar at Disney Entrepreneur Center to Help Agencies Attain Non-Profit Status and Secure Grant Funding

OC Grant Consulting Associates to Host Seminar at Disney Entrepreneur Center to Help Agencies Attain Non-Profit Status and Secure Grant Funding

ORLANDO – OC Grant Consulting Associates, an Orlando-based grant consulting company, will present a series of informative seminars next month at the Disney Entrepreneur Center in downtown Orlando.

The first of five Capacity Building Seminar workshops will be from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Sept. 12 at the Disney Entrepreneur Center, 315 E. Robinson St. The sessions are designed to help local organizations – including those still in the planning stages – learn how to attain nonprofit status and receive grant funding, according to founder Olivette Carter.

“The seminars are for executives, administrators, managers and other leaders of aspiring or new start-up grassroots, non-profit faith- and community-based organizations,” said Carter, who specializes in prospect research, grant proposal writing, grant review and grant writing training, as well as post-grant support services.

OC Grant Consulting Associates is a client company of the UCF Business Incubation Program and located at Orlando Business Development Center (OBDC) office on E. Colonial Drive.

The Capacity Building Seminar is comprised of five separate workshops:
How to Start a Non-profit and Obtain 501(c) 3 Exemption
Board Development for New Non-profits
Program Design and Planning
Strategic Planning
Introduction to Grant Writing

Additional workshops will be held from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Sept. 26, Oct. 10 and 24. The cost of each is $25 per person and those registering for four sessions can attend the fifth one free.

To register, go to http://www.ocgrantconsulting.com/ online or send a check payable to OC Grant Consulting Associates to 3218 E. Colonial Drive, Suite G, Orlando, 32803.

For details, contact Carter at 321-281-8346 or ocgrants@obdc2.fdn.com.

For more information about this release, please contact:
Olivette Carter, founder/owner, OC Grant Consulting Associates, 321-281-8346 or ocgrants@obdc2.fdn.com
Melissa Wasserman, Site Manager/OBDC, UCF Business Incubation Program, 407-882-2296 or mwasserm@mail.ucf.edu
Charlene Hager-Van Dyke, Larry Vershel Communications, 386-837-8780, 407-644-4142 or chagervandyke@yahoo.com

About the UCF Incubation Program:
Since its founding in 1999, the UCF Business Incubation Program has helped more than 100 emerging companies (including nearly 70 current clients) create over $500 million in annual revenue and more than 1,600 new jobs with an average salary of $59,000. With five facilities across the Greater Orlando community, the Incubation Program is a collaboration in economic development between the University of Central Florida, Orange County, the City of Orlando, Seminole County, the City of Winter Springs, Lake County, the City of Leesburg and the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. For more information, please visit http://www.incubator.ucf.edu/