Google’s Office in Chicago

I really hope to do this for Google Toronto.  Maybe if I send them this post they will let me come in and see their facilities at Yonge and Dundas.  A real estate agent can hope can’t he?

Featured Client – Chick Advisor – 96 Spadina Avenue

I had the pleasure of meeting Alex and Ali de Bold at a number of tech related networking events.  As an up and coming start-up with lots of influence in the industry I was eager to help them out.  It took some patience to find the right premises as there were not a lot of vacancies at the time and both Ali and Alex had a solid vision on the type of space that would suit the company.  Further, it wasn’t the smoothest transaction trying to deal with Allied Properties and getting all of the construction covered and amortized into the rental rate.  However, at the end of the day we secured a lease, had the space built out to their specs and moved in on schedule.  If you would like to know more about ChickAdvisor.com you can check them out here!

If you want guidance on how to find your new office space contact me!

About ChickAdvisor

Nothing beats a good recommendation and that’s what ChickAdvisor is all about! We are a social media platform for women with user-generated reviews on the best products and local services in North America. In addition to our online presence, we host local events a Product Review Club and videos!

Our goal is to help women make better purchasing decisions by getting advice first on a wide range of topics from electronics to electrolysis. Our members determine the hottest trends, the best local services, and the coolest products, and we deliver the location and purchase information to make getting what you want faster and more affordable.

ChickAdvisor launched in September 2006 by husband and wife duo Ali and Alex de Bold as a solution for Ali’s constant search for the perfect hair salon. The company has been profiled in many major on and offline publications including CBC Newsworld, GlobalTV, The Toronto Star, CBC Radio, Canadian Business, Media in Canada, Slice.ca and Rogers Media.

Top 40 Canadian Online Marketers of 2009

New Biomass Plant for the UK Looks Like a Giant Green Volcano

The United Kingdom is splattered with fossil fuel based power plants and concrete cooling towers which are major carbon producers as well as eyesores. Luckily, plans for a new biomass power plant covered in native grasses in the UK have just been released and they will complement the surrounding ecology as well as decrease carbon emissions by 80% compared to coal or gas fired power stations. Designed by Thomas Heatherwick, a London-based firm, the 49.3 MW power plant located on the banks of the River Tees will be a man-made mountain covered in plants and will certainly be a welcome replacement to the older, pollution-spewing plants around the country.

Powered by palm kernel shells, which are the byproducts of palm oil plantations, the plant will reduce carbon emissions by 80% compared to traditional coal or gas fired stations. The palm kernel shells, considered a renewable fuel, will be delivered directly by boat, eliminating the need to haul the fuel by truck. The 49 MW plant will provide enough power for 50,000 homes, providing cleaner, lower carbon baseload power for the region. Inside, the power plant will also contain offices, a visitors’ center and an education resource center for renewable energy.

Built on a brownfield site next to the river, the BEI-Teeside plant will bring much needed investment to the area, as well as renew a currently barren plot of land. While similar plants are certainly not free of carbon emissions, this biomass plant is a step in the right direction and is one of the best looking power plants we’ve ever seen.

by Bridgette Meinhold, 12/21/09

Types of Commercial Real Estate Leases

Type of Lease	What Rent Includes	Type of Space
Industrial Gross (IG)	Monthly Base Rent + Tenants Share of Utilites, Janitorial Services	Typically warehouse space, industrial, R&D and lower end office space
Triple Net Lease (NNN)	Monthly Base Rent + Tenants Share of Taxes, Insurance, Janitorial, Common Area Maintenance and Utilities	Any commercial lease; tenants should negotiate for favorable NNN terms
Fully Serviced Lease (FS)	Monthy Base Rent Only	Typcially higher end multi-tenant office space. Also common for subleases and shared spaces.
Percentage Lease	Monthly Base Rent + Percent of Monthly Sales	Retail Businesses, Malls

Triple Net (NNN)
The landlord pushes through all possible expenses to a tenant. The expenses include:

* Property Taxes: If a property sells or is reassessed, a small business can take a drastic hit to their rent expense. Try to negotiate a cap if possible on the potential increase.
* Building insurance: The small business pays for the landlord’s property insurance.
* Common Area Maintenance: Everything from security guards to landscaping to re-paving gets added into the number.
* Utilities: Some spaces are separately metered where you pay for your exact PG&E usage. If not, the landlord will bill you for your prorated share (your square footage/total building square footage).
* Janitorial: A cleaning crew that cleans your space and the common areas of the building.

Industrial Gross (IG)
Small Business pays for its own Utilities and Janitorial. Landlord pays for everything else

Full Service (FS)
Landlord is responsible for all expenses.

Link to Rofo

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Ecovert – Company Profile

Ecovert is a full service environmental real estate consulting firm. We provide our clients with practical, sustainable solutions that best match their business needs. Incorporating a holistic approach to the design and construction process, we aim to take full advantage of innovative green technologies and processes, while incorporating the most economical methods.

I had the pleasure of meeting Adolfo Silva for a coffee to discuss the process of “Greening” an office building.  Adolfo has a background in construction and it was obvious he understands the concerns of most landlords these days – capitol improvements.

We also spoke briefly about moving forward with a “Green” plan, something I have been recommending to the landlords I work with.  The concept is to take baby steps forward now so that the expense of going green in the future becomes a more reasonable endeavor.  For example, as suites become vacant the landlord should replace the lights with new LED systems, move to environmentally friendly carpet and use low VOC paint.  I believe most tenants will be searching out green office space exclusively in the future; you might as well start greening your building now and be ahead of the curve.

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Freshbooks – Office Profile

The Freshbooks head office is at 2770 Dufferin Street – a little unassuming building about 10 minutes walk from the Glencairn TTC station.   I wasn’t expecting much when I first saw the property but once you get inside they have some really cool space.  A few breakout meeting rooms, polished concrete floors, some great movie posters, big windows with lots of natural light and even a foozeball table!  What more could you ask for as a tech company?  There weren’t many restaurants next door but a short walk either North or South and you can find some great lunch spots.

Rayanne Langdon (Queen of Hearts – @rlangdon) and Grace Antonio greeted me promptly upon arrival.  Freshbooks is still at a size where every employee feels part of the team and the energy in the office felt awesome.  The staff were given an opportunity to provide input on the design of the offices  and I think they did a great job setting it up.  A few months ago Freshbooks posted some advice on their blog about  how to save a few bucks designing your office space.  The post can be found here.

There isn’t much to say about plus / minus of the ownership of the building as Freshbooks keeps to themselves.  The building is far enough away from the financial core and the Spadina node that they don’t get a lot of drop in traffic without appointments, which can be a good or bad thing.

To learn more about Freshbooks and their services check out their website at Freshbooks.com – here’s a little more on this great company and their services.

FreshBooks is an online invoicing and time tracking service that helps entrepreneurs, freelancers and small businesses in more than 100 countries save time, get paid faster, look professional and focus on what they love to do — their work. Since 2004, FreshBooks has touched over 1,000,000 lives and according to its 2007 customer survey, 99% of FreshBooks users recommend FreshBooks to others seeking an easy, effective billing service. FreshBooks, a service of 2ndSite, Inc., has its headquarters and development center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Freshbooks Contact Info

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McMillan LLP – Commercial Real Estate Lawyers

I sat down with Robert Antenore this am for a coffee.  He helped negotiate the lease on a transaction we have completed with a large multinational renewable energy company who is leasing their first office space in Toronto.  Amongst the many value add things he mentioned during our coffee, he stressed to always have a clause within the offer that keeps the Landlord standard form of lease up for negotiation after the offer has gone firm.  Fortunately I have this clause as part of my standard offer so my clients won’t get caught by items like demolition, relocation or restoration clause that landlord’s try and sneak through.

I highly recommend, as an agent, you consult with a lawyer on your standard form of offer to keep up with the times.  A good offer makes everything go that much smoother.  Further, hiring a good lawyer is a critical step when leasing your office space.  After my experience with Robert, I would not hesitate to recommend him to my other clients moving forward.

Thanks Robert!

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77 King Street West – 3d floor plan

New company in Toronto does 3d floor plans. Will do a post about their services shortly – very cool stuff. You can do a 3d design and rendering in a matter of hours with their software instead of days.

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Commercial Real Estate Terms and Definitions

Commercial Real Estate Terms care of http://howcommercialrealtorshelp.ca
Abandonment A person or entity that leaves a demised premises before the end of a lease term.

Absorption rate The net statistical changes in occupied space over a period of time. Positive absorption reflects an increase in occupied space while negative absorption reflects a decrease.

Accrued expense Expenses incurred which are not yet payable, or have not yet been paid.

Acquisition cost The total cost to the purchaser of a property; includes soft costs and sales costs.

Additional Rents These are rents charged to a tenant for the maintenance, taxation, and insurance of any common areas.

After tax yield rate The annual rate of return on equity after payment of income taxes.

After tax yield This is the annual profit remaining after payment of income taxes, or the annual return on equity after payment of income taxes.

Amenities These are features that make a property more attractive, useful, desirable, and/or rentable and are usually included in the sale price or rent calculations.

Amortization The process of paying off a debt, together with interest, usually with equal payments at regular intervals over a period of time.

Anchor tenant A prominent tenant occupying a large proportion of a commercial property and attracts customers and other tenants to the property.

Appraisal Estimate This is the process that leads to an estimate of the value of a property, and can also refer to the report that states the estimate and conclusion of value

Arrears Money that is due or past due, but has not been paid.

Assessment This is a levy against a property in addition to general taxes, and it is usually applied by a civic authority for improvements such as streets, sewers, etc.

Assignment The method or manner by which a right, a specialty, or contract is transferred from one person to another.

Basic rent This is the rent agreed to through negotiation and does not include adjustments and additions.

Blanket mortgage This is a single mortgage covering more than one property, such as a mortgage covering all the lots of a builder in one subdivision.

Break-even point This is the point where the effective gross income equals the cost of all operating expenses and debt service payments.

Build to suit The construction of a building or property that suits the particular needs of the occupant.

Capital improvements These are additions to the property or improvements that enhance or extend the useful life of the property.

Capitalization This is the anticipated stabilized rate of return from an investment. Also known as the cap rate.

Cash flow analysis A projection of the buyer’s estimated cash flow over the holding period.

Clear title Any property that is free of any and all competing claims, mortgages, liens, and encumbrances.

Comparables A term used to refer to area rents or competitive rental properties or area sales that have sold, implying that “rent comps” and “sales comps” are comparable in size, location, condition, amenities, etc., to the subject property.

Contingent offer This is an offer to purchase property subject to certain conditions, including the buyer’s approval of income and expense statements, title commitment, physical condition of the property, loan commitment, etc. – being met. The specific amount of time allowed to clear these provisions is called the inspection or contingency period.

Density This is the amount of total square feet buildable on a set land. For example high density properties feature more floors.

Encroachment A building, part of a building or obstruction which intrudes on another property.

Encumbrance A claim, lien, charge or other liability attached to real property which may diminish its value.

Escalation clause A clause in a lease providing for an increase in rent at a future time. This could be a fixed or pre-determined rate increase, or a cost of living increase that ties the rent to a cost of living index, or direct expense – the rent is adjusted according to changes in the expenses of the property such as a tax increase.

First right of refusal An option in a lease provided to a tenant in a lease contract providing first right to occupy space or match an incoming offer on adjacent space that may be required for the tenant’s future expansion.

Floor space ratio Also known as FSR, the maximum floor space of a building relative to its land area

Free and clear When there are no liens or loans against real property

Graduated lease A lease that details for changes in the rental rate, usually based on periodic appraisal or time.

Gross lease A lease where the tenant pays all or part of the expenses of the leased property, such as taxes, insurance, maintenance, utilities, etc.

Gross rent multiplier Sales price or value divided by annual effective gross income. For example if sale price is $325,000 and the effective gross annual income is $50,000 the G.R.M. is 6.5 ($325,000 /$50,000).

Gross up area It is the space leased but not occupied by the tenant, usually for areas as washrooms, lobby area and utility centers.

Interest only mortgage A non-amortizing loan where the lender receives only interest during the term of the loan and recovers the principal in a lump sum at the end of the term.

Landlord Company or individual who rents property to another

Lease A contract where one party (the landlord) agrees to allow another party (tenant) the exclusive, common and/or joint right(s) to use a property for a specific period of time
Leaseback A transaction where an investor purchases property and then leases it back to the seller.

Lease buyout When a landlord offers to take over the current lease of a tenant.

Lessee The tenant, or the party a property is rented to.

Lessor The landlord, or the one who rents the property to another.

Letter of intent A formal method of stating there is interest in a property, but it is not an offer and creates no obligation.

Lien A hold or claim which one person has upon property of another as security for a debt, charge, tax or judgment.

Loan-to-value ratio This is the principal amount of a loan as a percent of lending value. For example, if property is purchased for $500,000 and is financed by a bank loan for $300,000 the ‘loan-to-value” ratio is 60% of the property’s lending value to a borrower.

Mill rate Equal to one tenth of a cent. Used in expressing a tax rate Ten mills would be the same as ten dollars per thousand.

Mortgage A legal document pledging a described property for the performance of the repayment of a loan; a loan secured by a pledge or conditional conveyance of real estate.

Negative cash flow When the income from an investment property does not equal the usual expenses. The owner must come up with cash each month to meet these expenses.

Net income The difference between effective gross income (property) and the operating expenses including taxes and insurance. The term is qualified as net income before debt service.

Net lease A lease requiring the tenant to pay, in addition to a fixed rental, the expense of the property leased, such as taxes, insurance, maintenance etc.

Net-net lease A lease in which the tenant pays a rent to the landlord that includes all real estate taxes only and does not include any portion of the operating expenses.

Net-net-net lease Also known as a triple net lease, when the tenant pays rent to the landlord that does not include all property taxes and operating expenses.

Net operating income Also known as NOI. This is the annual net income remaining after deducting all fixed and operating variable expenses, but before debt service and income tax. The specific formula is:NOI = Scheduled rental income + other income – vacancy and credit losses – operating expenses

Net rentable area Also known as net rentable square feet. This is the total amount of square feet that can be used for rental income. It typically excludes stairways, elevators, hallways, common areas, etc.

Net rent multiplier The factor resulting from dividing the net operating income into the sale or purchase price.

Non-conforming use Property used for purposes that do not conform to the permitted uses in the municipal or provincial zoning by-laws.

On-site improvements Work completed on a property that improves its value.

Option The right to purchase or lease a property at a certain price within a designated period of time for which a consideration is paid.

Payback period The time required for the complete recovery of an investment; often used with the concept that all income is considered a return of capital until the entire investment is recaptured and that income received after complete payback is considered profit.

Percentage lease A percentage lease is when the tenant pays a minimum rent then also pays a percentage of the volume of the business done on the premises whichever is greater. The percentage paid differs according to the types of business.

Phase I Level Audit This refers to an initial environmental assessment of a facility by a qualified environmental engineering firm for potential contamination to determine if further investigations are warranted. Phase II level audit investigations would require further subsurface sampling, electromagnetic and hydro-geological study.

Pre-lease The leasing of a property or space that has not been developed or constructed.

Pro Forma Means “for form only”. A study prepared to estimate future Income, expenses and potential profit or loss.

Radius Clause In a percentage lease, it is customary to have a clause that details the distance from the property that a competing store from the same chain may be located. This is usually a distance sufficient so that two stores from the same chain are not in the same trade area.

Retail premises Premises used for the sole purpose of selling goods and/or services to the general public

Unencumbered This is a property or land that has no liens, claims or mortgages against it.

Vacancy rate The percentage of total scheduled rental income lost to vacancy and bad credit costs.

Yield This is the ratio of income from an investment to the total cost of the investment over a given period of time.

Zoning The rules of a municipality that detail the allowable uses for the real property in specific areas, and only then on specified conditions.

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