What We’re Seeing
Since March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has socially and economically disrupted our day-to-day lives. The U.S. retail sector has been hit extremely hard by this pandemic, and your specific location(s), properties and tenants each determine the severity of hardship on you as a building owner. It’s important to continue to make your own assessments based on the statistics, trends and daily developments as they relate to your position.
How We’re Helping Our Clients
We are advising our clients to evaluate the state of their properties relative to previous goals. 2020-2021 will be asterisked with several unexpected circumstances, so it’s not unreasonable to adjust your short and long-term targets.
We are urging building owners to maintain contact with their lender(s) to gauge the options available to them. Many lenders are working with their borrowers to avoid defaults. For example, some are providing options such as interest-only payments or payment deferments.
It’s important to continue to be aware of government resources and the different types of relief available to real estate owners and business owners.
We recommend creating a stabilization strategy. Not every retailer has paused or ceased operations. Look for a path to success for tenants that have slowed. Look for opportunities for those that might close.
Now could be a great time to make capital improvements at the property or start a project you’ve been putting off as a way to retain tenants or attract new ones.
We have made sure to make our tenants aware of all government-sponsored programs to help them pay their rent.
Please feel free to contact us for a free consultation regarding your building.