In this blog post, we will discuss the definitive guide to roofing maintenance and repairs for business owners.
A roof is a vital component of any commercial property as it serves as the first line of defense against harsh weather conditions. It not only protects the building structure but also protects the employees, clients, and assets within the building. As a business owner, you must take care of your roof to ensure it does not endanger the people and property inside your building. In this blog post, we will discuss the definitive guide to roofing maintenance and repairs for business owners.
Create a Roof Maintenance Plan
The first step in taking care of your commercial roof is creating a maintenance plan. The purpose of this plan is to establish a regular roof maintenance schedule to keep your roof functioning optimally. You can hire a professional roofing contractor to conduct routine inspections and maintenance activities on your roof. They can help you identify any issues and provide solutions to fix them.
Regularly Clean Your Roof
Roof cleaning is essential to maintaining your roof’s integrity. Over time, dirt, debris, and other materials can accumulate on your roof, leading to damage. Dirt and debris hold water, which can cause leaks and compromise your roof’s structural integrity. Make sure you hire a professional cleaning service to clean your roof regularly.
Address Leaks As Soon As Possible
A leaky roof is a significant concern for any business owner. It can lead to more substantial damage and compromise the safety of the individuals inside the building. If you notice a leak, make sure you address it as soon as possible. Hire a professional roofing contractor to conduct an inspection and provide a repair solution.
Pay Attention to Roof Damage Signs
It is vital to keep a watchful eye on your roof’s condition. Some signs of roof damage include moss and algae growth, discoloration, warping or buckling, damaged shingles, and visible holes. Call a professional roofing contractor immediately if you notice any of these signs.
Hire a Professional for Repairs and Maintenance
Handling roof repairs and maintenance on your own may seem like a cost-effective solution, but it may end up costing more in the long run. Hiring a professional roofing contractor, like those at R & T Roofing and Remodeling, guarantees that the job is done right the first time. The experts have the appropriate tools, training, and experience to handle any roofing issues that may arise.
In conclusion, taking care of your commercial roof is crucial to the success and safety of your business. Creating a roof maintenance plan, regularly cleaning your roof, addressing leaks as soon as possible, paying attention to roof damage signs, and hiring a professional for repairs and maintenance are all vital steps to take. Make sure to work with a reputable roofing contractor who can help you ensure the longevity of your roof. With these tips, you can keep your employees, clients, and assets safe and secure for years to come.
This fall, it’s important to focus on the following maintenance tasks to improve your commercial property and help you avoid future repairs.
Like your car, the commercial property requires periodic maintenance. For sure, you can hire someone to do that maintenance. Still, if a new employee is not something you can afford, you need to know about fall maintenance and do it yourself or call in a professional building maintenance service provider.
The fall is an excellent time to focus on building maintenance tasks because you prepare your property for winter, improve the safety and performance and avoid expensive repairs from essential maintenance you forgot to do.
This fall, it’s important to focus on the following maintenance tasks to improve your commercial property and help you avoid future repairs.
In doing these simple fall repairs, you can improve the lifespan of your facility and help your wallet remain budget-friendly.
Rake the Leaves and Junk from Around the Building
Fall is great. The weather is cooler, and the trees are beautiful, but all that color comes at a cost. You have to rake all the dead leaves from around the building. Don’t forget to clean the gutters, the downspouts, the roof, and the flashing. When leaves and junk accumulates in these areas, water (melted snow) can’t drain away from the building, and if it gets trapped, it can cause leaks, roof damage, or asphalt damage.
Inspect Outdoor Faucets and Irrigation Systems
Before the cold weather approaches, you want to make sure you drain the faucets and disconnect hoses from outside. Otherwise, you risk having them freeze, and replacing pipes and faucets can be expensive. The fall is the perfect time to service outdoor water fixtures. If you aren’t sure about how to perform maintenance in this area, be sure to call in a professional service such as Nashville Building Services to inspect for you. Even if you have to pay for the service, the cost is offset by avoiding future pipe or plumbing damage.
Clean the HVAC System
In the winter, you are more likely to pay higher electricity bills. So do a little maintenance for the AC/furnace system to keep it running efficiently, so your electricity bill doesn’t skyrocket in the winter. It’s time to schedule an annual checkup with a reliable HVAC specialist, and you should do it before you flip the switch to your heater. The service technician will do routine maintenance, including changing air filters, inspecting the system, and cleaning out the ducts.
Keep the Building Insulated
It is important that you keep your building’s interior warm and comfortable by preventing cold air from entering through small openings. Take some time to inspect your windows to see if there are any cold drafts. Your heating system will need to work harder when the warm air in your building is able to escape through small openings. In addition to your windows, make sure that your doors are properly sealed as well.
Avoid Those Electrical Problems
Don’t expect the renters to tell you about, much less fix any exposed wires on electrical appliances, equipment, or outlets. Do some fall maintenance inspection of these areas to ensure that all electrical systems are working correctly. Check the breakers as well. You don’t want a fuse to blow, so you might as well change them now. Also, this is the perfect time to check smoke detectors while you are checking all the other electrical system details. Make sure those smoke detectors have new batteries and are still functioning as well as the day you installed them.
Clean Up Inside and Out
Often as commercial property owners, we forget about interior public areas. Colder temperatures of winter mean that flu and other illnesses pester everyone. Avoid getting sick or having customers get sick by doing a deep cleaning of the building. Disinfecting common areas and cleaning desks, doorknobs, and windows at this time of year is a great idea. After all, you are already doing other maintenance tasks, so you might as well tackle this area too.
By following the tips above, you will be able to prepare your building for the fall season. Cold weather can seriously compromise your building, so a little bit of preparation goes a long way. Getting ready for incoming cold weather will also help you save money while helping your building thrive in the process.
This article will set forth standard lease clauses for small business owners and those engaging in commercial real estate investing to include or look out for.
Leasing a commercial property is a bit more complicated than renting a residential property. This article will set forth standard lease clauses for small business owners and those engaging in commercial real estate investing to include or look out for, and how the two major types of commercial leases are beneficial and detrimental to small business owners.
What is a Commercial Lease?
A commercial lease is a contract between the property owner, called the landlord, and the business that operates on the property, called the tenant. A commercial lease defines each party’s rights and responsibilities as to the property.
Common Terms in a Commercial Lease
A commercial lease may be difficult to understand due to its length and legalese. Here are ten aspects of a commercial lease every small business owner should be able to understand and identify in any commercial lease they are considering signing on behalf of their company. Understanding your lease thoroughly helps you manage risk and anticipate your cash flow.
Defining the Premises to be Leased
If a commercial property has several offices, units, or other leasable spaces, the lease must specify which of these the tenant has the right to occupy. The unit number and square footage of the unit should be set forth in the lease. The lease may also describe the common areas and the tenant’s right to use those areas.
Setting the Lease Term
Every commercial lease will include a start date and an end date bracketing the lease term. This clause may also provide for possible lease extensions under defined circumstances.
Establishing the Amount of Rent
The tenant must remit monthly rent payments to the landlord in exchange for the right to occupy the premises. This clause may also set forth the amount of security deposit required and whether the rent amount will increase during the lease term.
Permissible Use of the Premises
All leases expressly state that the tenant may not do anything illegal on the leased premises. Some leases will specify what illegal activities are prohibited, such as drug production or distribution, or gambling.
A retail lease will often specify what types of business a tenant may not run in the leased space to protect the exclusivity of other tenants. For example, if a strip mall already has a coffee shop tenant, the lease may specify that the new tenant may not open a coffee shop on the premises.
What Constitutes Default
A commercial lease will specify what acts constitute default by the tenant. Of course, failure to pay rent is a default, but if a tenant fails to adhere to other terms of the lease, such as a prohibition on certain types of business or illegal activities, that may constitute default as well.
This clause will also set forth the consequences of default, such as late fees, interest charges on late rent payments, and eviction.
What the Tenant’s Rights to Cure Are
This clause will set forth the circumstances and timeline under which a tenant can cure the default. If the tenant fails to timely cure a default, the tenant may be evicted.
Whether there is a Tenant Improvement Allowance
For commercial leases involving retail and office buildings, a tenant improvement allowance is common. These types of tenants have specific needs from their leased space.
This clause will set forth how much of the expense to customize the premises for the tenant will be absorbed by the property owner. Property owners often use this clause to provide incentives for prospective tenants to sign the lease.
Whether and When Co-Tenancy is Permitted
In retail leases where smaller businesses rely on the traffic generated by larger businesses, this clause may specify how much rent relief the smaller businesses may receive if the occupancy of the entire building falls below a certain percentage.
As a small business owner, you should take note of the landlord’s offer in this clause. If there is no co-tenancy clause, you might negotiate to have one added.
Whether and When Assignment is Permitted
This clause will specify whether the tenant has the right to assign the lease to a third party. If an assignment is permitted, the clause will set forth the circumstances under which the lease may be assigned. Usually, the property owner’s approval of the assignee is required.
Whether and When Subleasing is Permitted
As in the Assignment Clause, the Subleasing Clause will set forth whether a tenant may sublease all or some of the leased space. The right to do this is very beneficial to small business owners if they find they have leased too much space and wish to cut expenses by taking on a sublessee.
Full-Service Gross Leases
What is a Full-Service Gross Lease?
A full-service gross lease defines the parties’ rights and obligations this way:
Tenant pays monthly rent
Landlord pays all operating expenses as well as for maintenance of the common areas
What Are the Benefits of a Full-Service Gross Lease for a Small Business Owner?
First, a small business owner knows what their monthly rent is, without variation. Second, a small business owner does not have to be concerned with paying utilities. Third, a small business owner has areas in common with other tenants maintained by the landlord.
Are There Any Detriments to a Full-Service Gross Lease for a Small Business Owner?
There may be. A landlord may set the monthly rent a bit higher, knowing that they must cover utilities and maintenance of the common areas.
For landlords, the downside is that there is no incentive for tenants to conserve utilities or take care of the common areas.
Triple Net Leases
What is a Triple Net Lease?
In a triple net lease, often called an NNN lease, the tenant pays their share of utilities, insurance, maintenance such as landscaping and janitorial services, and perhaps property tax in addition to monthly base rent. A tenant’s share of these expenses is usually determined by the square footage of their leased space relative to the property’s total square footage.
What are the Benefits of Having a Triple Net Lease for Small Business Owners?
The primary benefit of entering into a triple net lease is the low base monthly rent, compared with the rent set forth in a full-service gross lease.
For landlords, single tenant triple net leases, often executed by bank branches, drug stores, and quick service restaurants, require little oversight.
What are the Detriments of Entering into a Triple Net Lease?
A small business owner entering into a triple net lease exposes their business to rising operating costs such as property management, janitorial services, property tax, and utilities.
Landlords may be attracted to a triple net lease because they have less responsibility regarding the property. However, a triple net lease situation involving more than one or two tenants can quickly become burdensome to administer.
Hopefully, this article gave you a foundational understanding of commercial leases so that you can enter into a lease on behalf of your small business with eyes wide open.
About the Author
Veronica Baxter is a writer, blogger, and legal assistant operating out of the greater Philadelphia area.
