When searching for an office space, many commercial properties are referred to a class system of either A, B or C. But what exactly does it mean? Does a certain grade mean the building is older, in a better location or more costly? Movehut finds out.
The classes represent a quality rating of the building and so they can attract similar types of tenants. The factors that play a part in determining the class of a commercial property are: age, building amenities, length of lease, location, rent, standard of maintenance. Also the landlord’s credibility and problems from past tenants can affect the class the office falls into.
The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) identifies the three classes as:
Class A
The most desired buildings, with high rental cost, many above average for the area. The offices in this class are usually serviced offices in brand new buildings or recently refurbished buildings. They are set in prime city centre locations and have state of the art facilities. Typically law firms and banks occupy this class of commercial property.
Class B
The most popular type of commercial office space with many to chose from and rents at an average price for the area. The buildings are finished to a good standard, but the materials used in the construction of the office are not the highest of quality.
Class C
The cheapest office spaces available and are usually 15-20 years old. The rents are way below average for the location and the facilities and decorations are not maintained well. Many of these offices are located above other commercial properties such as retails shops.
Although class A buildings are more attractive, class B buildings are proving to be much more popular and cost effective as TheBusinessDesk.com reported happened in Birmingham with ‘138,281 square feet more grade B space than grade A was taken up.’ With these findings are businesses favoring price over quality when searching for commercial offices?
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