Investing in commercial property is different from owning a residential investment property. Your tenants are business clients and should be treated as such, so it is a good idea to treat the relationship as professionally as possible, from the outset.

Here are the top 5 tips from RealRenta that you should keep in mind, before embarking on the journey of Commercial Property Investment:

• Have your leases drawn up legally.

Ensure that the lease includes the lease terms, rent, duration, option rights for renewal, maintenance and fit-out responsibilities, costs and the correct address.

• As a landlord, you have the right to make tenants pay outgoing fees.

You can have your tenants pay rates, taxes, levies, water & utilities. Once these have been negotiated, they need to be clearly documented in the agreement.

• Fit-outs and maintenance are the responsibility of the tenant.

It is important that the lease makes a very clear distinction of what constitutes maintenance and what is actually structural change, as structural change is the landlord’s responsibility.

• What is permitted in the fit-out should be made very clear in the agreement

It is the tenant’s responsibility to return the property to the condition it was, before the uptake of the lease.

• Talk to a legal practitioner about your rights relating to payment defaults, debt and eviction.

Commercial lease agreements work best when the landlord and tenant work together, after all, if your tenant makes money, they will continue to pay the rent.

For more advice on managing your investment property, download our latest RealRenta Free ebook:

http://info.realrenta.com.au/download-our-new-ebook-0