| Do you feel your tenant drifting away? Is your relationship one-sided? We asked Larken Associates EVP Robert Marek, who’s active in Pennsylvania as well as New York and New Jersey, for tips on tenant retention. |
1) FLEXIBILITY Tenants, empowered by market conditions, have been asking for shorter lease terms. “Tenants that used to sign for 10-year contracts now want five,” he notes. “The tenant who wanted five years now wants three—and some even ask for one-year contracts. We see that more than we used to, and the way to deal with that is to be flexible enough to be open to it.” |
2) POINT OF CONTACT Regardless of property type, Robert tells us, it’s essential for landlords to pay attention to their tenants. That sounds straightforward, but it isn’t necessarily so, especially if a tenant has to go through a maze of people to find someone who can solve a problem. (The process should not remind them of calling tech support.) For Larken, which only manages properties that it owns, a one-person point of contact has been important in building relationships with tenants, some of which have lasted decades, Robert adds. Pictured: Larkin’s recently completed 67k SF Allentown Commons in Allentown. |
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