A real estate consultant can make your life easier by guiding you through. Their real estate company services will assist you in crafting an optimised property strategy that unlocks the true value of your company’s JTC properties. Guidance from the right real estate consultant can help manage your JTC properties — from finding the right unit to lease to managing renewal of lease and caveat lodging — run smoother and eliminate costly delays. In this comprehensive guide, we highlight how real estate consultant Singapore can make the difference between your company being hamstrung by a complex JTC property lease and thriving in Singapore’s competitive industrial real estate market.
Understanding JTC Properties
JTC Corporation (formerly Jurong Town Corporation) is a government agency that develops and manages Singapore’s industrial real estate. As Singapore’s principal developer and manager of industrial land and facilities, JTC supports businesses from makers to logistics, from manufacturers to research.
Business Parks
They are the converging points of innovation, research, and high-value activities. Some of the business parks in Singapore include the International Business Park and the Changi Business Park. These modern office complexes are well-furnished with all the amenities needed for the smooth running of business activities.
Industrial Estates
Through JTC, industrial estates offer various facilities and factories for manufacturing, logistics, and other industrial activities that are available within the area and supported by the government. Land or factories owned by the industrial estates can also be leased.
Specialised Industrial Developments
To develop ‘clusters’ of scale in niche industries, the Authority promotes the growth of focused, purpose-built gated industry communities, such as the Seletar Aerospace Park for aerospace companies and the Tuas Biomedical Park for biomedical firms.
Water Fabrication Parks
JTC has also created wafer fabrication parks to accommodate the semiconductor sector, including the North Coast Wafer Fab Park and the Tampines Wafer Fab Park. These parks help to ensure the climate and environment are conducive to high‐tech manufacturing and research.
Warehousing and Logistics Facilities
To service Singapore’s strong logistics sector, JTC provides various warehouse and logistics facilities, including the Changi International Logistics Park and the Airport Logistics Park of Singapore, which are poised to support the effective operation of supply chains.
The Role of Real Estate Consultants
Strategic Advice
A real estate consultant can help you effectively understand shifting regional trends and value properties and sites. This will allow you to identify locations, negotiate leases, and plan your portfolio over the long term.
Saving Time and Money
Based on their knowledge and connections with families in the JTC areas, real estate consultants can help make the property-hunting and acquisition process faster for your business. This frees up your time, firm staff, and positional resources that would otherwise have been utilised for property search and negotiation.
Risk Mitigation
Through their intimate knowledge of the industrial real estate market, consultants can advise you on mitigating any risk associated with available JTC properties for rent, such as problems arising from lease disputes or meeting property maintenance requirements.
Real estate consultants offer a comprehensive spectrum of services tailored to businesses with JTC leases:
Property Search and Selection
Consultants can source properties and understand your business needs and location preferences to identify suitable JTC property options within budget. In addition, consultants can provide detailed reports on the sites/properties and arrange site visits to consider shortlisting suitable sites/properties.
Lease Negotiation and Review
Representing your interests in lease negotiations to attain the most favourable terms and conditions is a service as likely to be contracted out as an existing lease that will have been reviewed and measures to optimise it presented by the consultant.
Renewal and Extension of Lease
Upon the expiration of the JTC lease, MRIS offers professional guidance and assistance in lease renewal and extension. Real estate consultants evaluate the lease renewal and extension eligibility and formulate renewal proposals to attain the best possible rate from JTC.
Navigating JTC Lease Agreements
Knowing the details of your JTC lease agreement can be key to planning your business expansion. A real estate consultant can help you digest all the fine print.
Under Clause
An attorney could help you disentangle the legalese and technical jargon in your lease and explain, line by line, the meaning of each clause and its impact on your business.
Risk assessment
Analysing your lease contract line by line, consultants can identify risky elements or dubious clauses and recommend steps and strategies to mitigate such risks.
Negotiating on your behalf
If you want to amend or renegotiate specific clauses in your lease agreements, an REC can discuss with JTC to reach a suitable agreement on your company’s behalf.
When you check your JTC agreement, pay attention to several crucial clauses and terms of the agreement:
Duration of Lease
This provision covers how long you lease the premises. Depending on your business’s long-term plans, that can range from a few years to several decades.
Rent and Terms of Payment
This lease stipulates the amount of rent payable, how frequently (monthly, quarterly, etc) the rent is payable and the payment terms. A consultant would help you understand this clause and ensure its fairness and reasonability.
Security Deposit
JTC often requires a security deposit of approximately 2-3 months’ rent. The amount and terms of the security deposit will be notified via your lease contract.
Permitted Use
The use clause will set out what you can and can’t do on the premises and what precisely the premises are used for. Ensure that your intended use of the premises is allowed under the use clause or you could be in breach of contract.
The Process of JTC Lease Renewal
Understand Your Current and Future Business Requirements
Your current lease likely reflects the space you need, the type of unit you require, the location you’re most familiar with or desired, and a budget consistent with your current business situation. Ask yourself if the terms of your existing lease align with your business needs in the future before pursuing renewal.
Discuss your situation with JTC
Start the conversation with JTC about your lease renewal as soon as possible (but not necessarily more than a year before it expires). Your real estate agent can be involved in initial communications and explain some of the terms of JTC’s lease renewal policies and procedures.
Assemble Renewal Proposal
Your consultant will work with you to create a detailed lease renewal proposal that explains the business case supporting your request, including your space needs, the renewal terms you propose, and any requested changes.
Complete and Sign the Lease
After reaching a final agreement on the lease renewal, your consultant will assist in completing the lease. The consultant will review the renewed lease to ensure that all the negotiated terms, as you approved, are incorporated. The negotiated lease is then signed.
As the existing tenant, during the JTC renewal of lease process, the real estate consultant will be your wingman to facilitate a harmonious negotiation and guide you to a win-win outcome. Here is how a consultant can help you:
Market Insights
Engaging a property consultant would serve as your eyes and ears in the industrial property market in Singapore as they analyse the market trends of similar kerb-appeal buildings and provide a sound direction in renewal negotiation.
Negotiation Expertise
Consultants are skilled negotiators who can present your business case to JTC and leverage their expertise and relationships to negotiate a fair lease on your behalf.
Time and Cost Savings
When your consultant negotiates the renewal, it will save you the time it takes you out of your business and the short-term cost it could impose on you.
Securing JTC Lease Extensions
Business Continuity
If your business has built up good relations with local suppliers, customers, or business partners, keeping your tenancy and staying in the exact location is best.
Cost Savings
A lease extension is often cheaper than buying new premises at market rates or moving premises altogether. If your lease expires soon and the market rent today is more than what you are currently paying, by extending your lease, you may ‘freeze’ the rent at a lower rate than the open market rate would be.
Flexibility
Lease extensions allow you to lock in renewal at your current rent, meaning you can take the time to figure out precisely what you need out of your space while still retaining the option to adjust your situation. This tool is powerful, especially in business flux or a tentative market.
A good real estate consultant will help you obtain good extensions of JTC lease terms and here’s how:
Extension Strategy
If a lease extension makes good business sense, you need guidance to determine the best strategy or timing. An experienced consultant can help you develop a business-appropriate extension approach and plan.
Lease Review and Documentation
After the terms of the extension have been negotiated, your real estate consultant will review the lease documentation in great detail to ensure that all agreed-to terms are appropriately reflected on the paperwork. They can also explain the impacts of any new clauses or obligations that come into play for the extended lease framework.
Post-Lease Extension Support
In addition to supporting the tenant while the JTC lease extension is in place, the real estate consultant may also provide support when the landlord is not currently interested in extending the lease. If any problem arises, the property consultant can provide consultative services. When the tenant’s lease can be extended or wants to consider other property strategies, they can rely on a real estate consultant for support.
Caveat Lodge in Singapore: Protecting Your Interests
Legal security
A caveat creates a legal record of your interest in the property, protecting you against other possible buyers (you may be competing with some) or against other improper dealings. You’ll be notified, for instance, when someone tries to advertise for sale, transfer or mortgage freehold rights to your property.
Priority of Claims
Where a property has more than one claim or more than one interest registered against it, the order of priority will be determined by the date upon which the caveat was lodged. You gain priority over the previous owner when you lodge your caveat against the land. This helps claim priority over previous owners.
Security of Lease
Suppose your business holds a long-term lease over real estate. In that case, caveat lodge in Singapore ensures that your lease rights are protected and that granting any security interests in that real estate or change of ownership thereof does not diminish or affect your rights as a lessee.
A real estate consultant can help your business apply for caveat lodgement of JTC space. This is how:
Advice on Caveat Necessity
The consultant can make a circumstantial assessment of your situation and advise you whether it is necessary to lodge a caveat on a specific property or whether you are more likely to obtain other security, such as a mortgage. They will explain the advantages and consequences of caveat lodgment and help you choose.
Caveat Documentation Preparation
A real estate consultant can best assist you in drafting caveat documentation that includes all the necessary information regarding the site and the nature of your interest in the land.
The Registration and Lodgment
The consultant can make a lodgment of the caveat on your behalf. He can forward the requisite documents to the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) so that the caveat can be fully registered and remain there. Confirmation of this effect will also be given to you.
Dispute
If there is any dispute with the selling or any challenge of your caveat, real estate consultants will help and counsel you. They would direct you in the proper direction and represent you in the court of law or other type of meeting to have the dispute or the challenge in your favour.
Why Choose a Real Estate Consultant for Your JTC Property Needs
Professional Knowledge
They are familiar with the industrial property market in Singapore, including knowledge and understanding of market trends and economics, property valuations, planning approvals, and property regulations.
Customised Solutions
Each business firm has different property needs and demands. Real estate consultants in Singapore offer customised solutions to your problems and desired goals. Each project is unique and requires a tailored approach, so you can rely on the benefits of customised solutions that a consultant will develop for you. They will ensure the best possible real-estate search and lease negotiations with ease. They can also help your company manage facilities strategy in a much-improved way.
Long-term Strategic Planning
Utilising the services of a real estate consultant can greatly facilitate long-term strategic planning for your business. The consultant can help assess future property needs, identify expansion or relocation options, and establish a comprehensive real estate strategy that supports your future success.
Here are a few brief examples of real-life success stories:
Business Expansion
A manufacturing company with a local business was planning expansion, but the lease on their property would soon expire. The local consultant helped them transition to new offices in time for this important expansion period. They successfully renewed their lease to grow and increase their staff seamlessly, contributing to the local economy.
Renovation and Fit-out
A startup in the tech industry hired a consultant to manage their fitting-out and renovation works. The consultant ensured that all necessary approvals were obtained from JTC and other authorities and that the work was completed on time and within budget. This allowed the startup to quickly move into its new space and focus on business operations.
Mobile Real Estate Management
JTC (Singapore) worked with Avanade to offer a mobile inspection app, which helped property executives with their day-to-day work. Inspectors could use the app to conduct daily inspections of their properties and submit the entries directly in the app, eliminating the need for manual data entry and increasing productivity.
Business Growth and Development
A small business owner partnered with a consultant to develop a comprehensive strategy for their property. The consultant helped them identify growth opportunities, optimise their space usage, and navigate the lease renewal process. This allowed the business to expand its operations, increase revenue, and create new jobs.
Unlock the Full Potential of Your JTC Property with a Trusted Partner
Ultimately, there is no quick fix to finding a solution for the complex JTC properties. It requires mastery of the ins and outs of the industrial real estate process. JF Strategic are a real estate advisory expert with many years of experience perfecting our clients’ multiple JTC property space strategies. Our tailored solutions, extensive local industry knowledge, and deep expertise in helping companies across various industries achieve their strategic goals ensure we deliver the best possible outcomes for you. Whether it is a new JTC property lease, JTC renewal of the lease, or JTC lease extension, we can confidently guide you through the intricacies of industrial real estate.
Read our other articles:
Guide to the Various Caveat Types & How to Lodge a Caveat
Navigating the JTC Lease Renewal Process in Singapore
Importance of JTC Land Rent in Singapore Industrial Sector
