BUSINESS VALUATIONS

Management & Letting Rights

Australian Valuers, leaders in Management Rights Valuations

Management Rights are a unique beast in that they were ‘invented’ in Queensland’s Gold Coast to provide an on-site management service within the then newly built high rise holiday let apartment buildings. From there the concept has spread to New South Wales, (also under State Legislation), Victoria and Western Australia.

The majority of Management Rights businesses have the business and the real estate components, but within these are many variations as to type and who owns what real estate.

Permanent complexes

A typical permanent let complex is an apartment building where the on-site manager has a pool of units under his management on behalf of landlords/investors. The Manager rents those units to tenants for 6 or 12 months periods under a standard Residential Tenancy Agreement.

They will manage the tenant, collects rent, arranges repairs & maintenance as needed and charges the landlord at the end of month a percentage (8%) of the collected rent for his service.

Holiday complexes

Similar to the Permanent complexes in that there is a letting pool but the units are let out as holiday accommodation. The term of stay by the holiday maker varies, but often the unit is let on a weekly basis. The larger complexes do allow over nights or one night stays and sometimes run the businesses closer to the hotel model with 24 hour reception and the ability for the guest to order local take-away delivered to his room.

The remuneration to the Manager is at a higher percentage (12%) plus charges to the landlord for linen and room cleans and other sundry expenses.

This style of business generally returns a significantly higher reward for effort, but holiday complexes are not for the first time buyer of a Management Rights. These businesses are in the Australian Tourism sector, which can be exposed to external forces such as the Australian Dollar, Bali/South East Asia competition and the general state of the Australian economy.

In summary these can be very rewarding businesses and well sought after in good times, but they come with an inherent level of risk.

Corporate complexes

Corporate complexes are generally located in capital city Central Business Districts and can vary in size from smallish boutique to hotel style. Often these complexes are located on the CBD fringe and offer a cheaper option than the traditional international chains.

The ‘standard’ corporate complex is a hotel style of business with a letting pool that provides one night stays for guests or longer if required.

A higher percentage of the collected tariff (12%) is charged together with linen and cleaning charges. Other sundry lines of income, which can add up are also part of these businesses.

Like all Management Rights businesses these are susceptible to market forces and other dynamics. Here are some examples:

The price of airfares can positively or negatively affect the occupancy of the complex and achievable tariff;
Federal and State Tax/Charges increases are generally not conducive to growing or maintaining the Net Operating Profit;
Economic factors;
Age and condition of the common areas and units.

Student accommodation

are mostly purpose built where an individual apartments can have 3 or 4 bedrooms which are let separately to a student or student couple.

The Tenancy Agreements in these situations are generally under a Rooming Accommodation Agreement (Form 18) wherein the tenant agrees to rent the room and acknowledges the kitchen, lounge and bathroom are treated as common areas for the residents to share.

The risk exposure for this style of business is primarily the extended Christmas break for university of around 2 to 3 months (risk of long vacancies). However it is now reasonably common now that Student Accommodation providers only offer 21 or 50 week tenancy contracts, therefore allowing only minimal vacancy and potential a good time for maintenance.

Body Corporate Salary Market Assessments

A further service that we offer is determining the market remuneration payable by the Body Corporate to a Caretaker/Manager. In our assessment, we consider the size of the building, site area, plant and equipment, level of common facilities and extent of common areas, in addition to the time and frequency required to undertake those services and duties. Using a Time and Motion study, we assign a frequency under the Management/Caretaking Agreement and a time period to each duty based on our onsite inspection, walkthrough with the onsite representative familiar with the duties and reference to similar buildings which we have recently valued. The result is a quality report that you can rely upon in your negotiations.

Rent Rolls

The most common rent roll valuation method is to identify the annual management fees earned by the agency over one year (excl. extra fees such as inspection fees and letting fees) and to then apply a multiple (approx. 2.0 – 3.3 times) over the management fees of the rent roll.

The lower end multiple is for less desirable rent rolls (such as low rent, high turn-over, social housing & apartment blocks) and the higher end of the multiples is for desirable properties such as single residence houses with a low turn-over rate and higher weekly rentals.

City rent rolls valuations generally produce higher valuation multipliers than regional rent rolls valuations. Further considerations into rent rolls valuations include whether the fees being examined have been grown organically or it has been acquired from another real estate agent. Also the geographical spread of the rent roll and finally whether the outgoing owners are staying on to assist in the transition period.

Rent roll valuations are complex and require an experienced Valuer.

‘Our advice is your security’.

Motel Valuations

There are three types of Motel valuations, these include;

Freehold Going Concern Motel, Leasehold Motel and Freehold ‘Passive’ Investment Motels – please click below to find out more information.

1. Freehold Going Concern Motel – This is were a Motel is operated by the owner of the ‘freehold’ and therefore, is responsible for all repairs, maintenance, upgrading of rooms and all fixtures and fittings. No rent is payable and the owner receives all profit after operating and holding costs.

2. Leasehold Motel – This is where the owner of the ‘freehold’ enters into a lease with an operator, usually for a term of 30 years with annual rent increases.

A ‘leasehold’ Motel is generally well sought after by a range of operators including; couples (Mum and Dad type buyers), syndicates with larger Motel leases to corporate investors. Return on investment can be quite attractive to individual buyers with regional Motels showing returns of 26% and higher to 35%. Higher returns are contingent on the conditions of the Lease, location, age of Motel and other factors.

3. Freehold ‘Passive’ Investment Motels – This is where the land and building/s are owned by the land holder (the landlord) but has no interest in the business as this is operated by the lessee. The business will be subject to a lease usually for a long term of 30 years to the lessee with annual rent increases.

The landlord receives a rent for the land and buildings and are sold on a sales yield (capitalisation rate) dependent on the properties location, age of building/s, lease term, rent increments and other factors. Sales yields can be as low as 7.5% up to yields of 10% to 15% as an example.

The underlying land value is also a consideration, because over time the land upon which the business operates may become more valuable for another use, such as conversion to offices, retail, or residential apartments. This is often the case in Brisbane inner city suburbs at present.

Our Senior Valuer in this space not only has decades of experience as a Qualified Valuer, he has also previously owned and operated motels.

Got questions?

We’re here to help, please contact us today.