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Comment by Schiendelman

15 hours ago

I actually think there's a business to be had here.

As described, the landlord can't offer a traditional lease for the actual value of the space.

However, the landlord could offer essentially day rentals without creating a lease. There are systems for this already, such as Peerspace and their ilk, which I've used for small events. I believe these don't trigger the foreclosure clauses.

I think that a property management company managing deeply underwater buildings could play in this, reducing their cost structure by offering day rates. They've often already got a solid NFC entry system. Most of what you need is automated pricing, onboarding and offboarding, and figuring out how you avoid needing physical cleaning/setup/teardown overhead.

18 comments

Schiendelman

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zipy124  14 hours ago

I can't comment on that specific structure, but pop-up shops are one method that in the UK councils will often help vacant buildings with for exactly this reason, with the upside that they may convert into permanent tenants.

  • GJim  14 hours ago

    Yup....

    And the downside is loads of reasonably successful decent small shops in the UK now have to close after 12-24 months when the rents get jacked-up from sensible to astronomical levels. None of them become permeant tenants unless they are a front for money laundering (hence the explosion of nail bars and barbers on the UK high street) or illegal goods (dodgy vape shops).

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqj1rkqqrgro

    Your local press (if yours still exists) will also be full of such stories.

grebc  15 hours ago

I own a commercial property, I wouldn’t want to have day to day rentals.

I don’t enjoy dealing with property management or the fees they charge.

  • Schiendelman  14 hours ago

    Tell me more - is your commercial property vacant? I'm a landlord myself, and the calculus gets very different when you have a long term vacancy.

    • grebc  13 hours ago

      Tenanted.

      I know regardless of the vacancy I would not consider day rates, I’d eat the loss and deal with the cashflow via other means. Consider what sort of fit out would be necessary for what’s lets be honest is being suggested - hot desking - compared to a standard office: lots of IT systems necessary, lots of additional security, lots more cleaning, and likely lots more repairs for wear & tear which probably isn’t recoverable easily.

      4 replies →

mstade  15 hours ago

So, wework? :o)

  • Schiendelman  14 hours ago

    Ha, cute, but no, very different. Wework is a tenant, and does significant buildouts. This would be "you can use the space for a few days or weeks".

    I've seen companies provide some moveable furniture in a space like this - some desks, some extension cords - but it has to be up to the temporary user to configure and put things away when they're done.

  • sam_lowry_  14 hours ago

    Gosh... someone finally explained the WeWork business model that is more reasonable than "walk barefoot and expect money to rain from the sky".