Investing in shop lots - what to consider?

1. Human traffic - get a shop lot that is near hypermarkets, shopping centers, banks and fast food chains which already pull a crowd. Otherwise, you may not attract a tenant as fast as expected or wait forever to reap the returns on investment.

2. Survey the occupancy rate of the surrounding area- find out if for some reason people are not moving into that area yet, or what the plans are for the surrounding area. Commercial sites surrounded by housing can boost up the economy.

3. If possible, buy only completed lots - by doing this, you are not risking the unknown, the construction not being completed on the date promised , or who is going to be the tenant next door, if the occupancy rate is high to generate human traffic etc.

4. Survey the developer's  reputation and track record - by doing this , you may avoid developers who start up projects, then abandon it, or do not have licensing and so forth.

5. Compare the price of the shop lot with other areas - it is important to know why you are paying higher or lesser, you may be buying a lot with no car park facility or other infrastructures such as LRT.

6. Choose the right location - take a good look at the property from a macro and micro view. See if there are blockages to the business in terms of traffic flow and fast and easy access. Most people pay for conveniences.

7. Invest on the prime lot - Its better to get the most strategic lot to secure a tenant. Otherwise, the other lots may get tenants and yours would be left vacant.

8. Preferably go for single-frontage shops , which has a large entrance - most retailers do not prefer double frontages, at it would be difficult to take care of two entrance. Moreover, if its a food outlet, the back portion would have to be closed for the kitchen.

9. Avoid buying shop lots with boom gates and those that has too many floors. Boom gates psychologically discourages people from driving in. Also, if your shop lot is on a higher level floor , it would be difficult to rent or even sell.

10. Pick design and concepts that would ease human traffic- some developers are creative and have too large designs or concepts that may not be suitable to generate crowd. People may have to walk long distance to locate your lot or may even miss your lot, since the area is too large.

If you found the above points helpful and like to give your feedback, feel free to drop us a mail at pauline.de.cruz@gmail.com.