11 CRE ACRONYMS TO KNOW

Commercial Real Estate, much like any other field, has numerous acronyms, and industry terms that, when unfamiliar with the jargon, can sound like another language. The First Capital Property Group team is well versed in these terms as experts in the commercial real estate industry specifically the brokerage services, advisory services, commercial management, and association management areas.

Proud in the fact that we work closely with owners, landlords, tenants, and business owners alike, walking through each step of a transaction and decision to reach the specific and unique goals of our clients, the First Capital Property Group team wants you to be informed. Here, are some of the most used acronyms someone stepping into the commercial real estate industry would benefit from knowing a little about.

FCPG: First Capital Property Group, Inc. – Your full-service privately-owned, Commercial Real Estate company based in Orlando providing management and brokerage services since 1995. Through any of our specialties of acquisition, disposition, leasing, property management & consultation for commercial owners & associations, FCPG acts with the mission statement: Building Wealth and Trust through Stewardship in mind.

AMO: Accredited Management Organization – An AMO accreditation sets the standard in property management for excellence. FCPG has been an AMO firm since 2015. Only 540 firms hold the designation; FCPG is 1 of 3 headquartered in Central Florida. The AMO designation is associated with firms who have an elite reputation, fiscal stability, exceptional managers, and ethical conduct.

CCIM: Certified Commercial Investment Member – FCPG has 4 CCIM brokers who are recognized as experts in the disciplines of commercial and investment real estate. Viewed as the gold standard of commercial real estate professionals, CCIM members complete advanced coursework and training in financial and market analysis and demonstrate extensive experience in the commercial real estate industry. To qualify for a CCIM designation, a broker must include a portfolio of qualifying experience and pass an exam, then maintain continued education requirement to keep the designation. Less than 10% of all commercial real estate professionals are CCIMs.

CPM: Certified Property Manager – FCPG has 3 in-house Certified Property Managers who oversee and are directly involved with the management of our entire portfolio. A CPM completes 8 certification courses, passes a two-part exam, and continues their education annually to ensure their knowledge base and skillset is being enhanced to better serve the properties. CPMs provide a higher level of service with the ethics, asset analysis, accounting, marketing, and leasing, team leadership, maintenance and operations, property financing and property valuation and cash flow knowledge.

BTR: Build to Rent – the multi-family market is hot, hot, hot right now, and that extends beyond residential home sales and traditional apartment products. Developers have expanded their product mixes to include what is called build-to-rent developments. This is single family home developments built to be rented out instead of sold to the end-user. In the FCPG office, our land team (Austin, Bryan, and Jesse) are connected to numerous high-profile developers searching for land and have insight to off-market land deals ideal for these product types.

NNN: Triple-net. A lease structure where the tenant or lessee promises to pay all the expenses of the property, including real estate taxes, building insurance, and maintenance. This is the most common lease type for retail properties and typically drives a rental rate lower to accommodate for the tenant paying the additional expenses. For tenants, when comparing the rates at multiple properties, be sure to check that both rates are the same structure. The FCPG team are experts in navigating a lease structure to best accommodate the needs of the tenant and the property owner.

RSF / USF: Rentable Square Feet vs Useable Square Feet – Useable Square Feet is the amount of space that a user occupies and does not share with any other users in the building while rentable square feet include a percentage of the common area space in relation to your percentage of useable square feet in the building. To find the rentable square footage number, a common area factor is used. For landlords, this differentiation is what allows the common area maintenance, electricity, and utilities spent on the common area space to be billed back to the tenants. Curious about the difference this can make to a property’s bottom line, reach out to our management team today!

CAP: capitalization rate or cap rate. This term refers to the expected rate of return on a commercial property and often used to compare the profitability of real estate assets. The number is a percentage and is found by dividing a property’s net operating income (NOI) by its value. CAP Rates are subject to vary due to them being based on predictions or future income and are not the only factor to be considered when analyzing a properties potential.

LOI: Letter of Intent – One of the initial steps in getting a lease signed, a letter of Intent is the preliminary agreement between a tenant and a landlord. This can be on formal letterhead or in an email body. The purposed is for the deal terms and specifics to be worked through prior to drafting a formal lease. Items such as lease rate, lease term, annual increases, tenant improvement allowances, free rent, assignability, and guarantees are discussed. A LOI is typically non-binding, though, some do include language that makes it binding, so it is important to make note of any legal language included in the document prior to signing. Often viewed as a good faith agreement, a completed Letter of Intent shows mutual agreement in terms that will be reflected in the formal lease. Through the +$421,000,000 in real estate transactions that the FCPG team has completed, our brokers are well versed in the LOI process and how to navigate this importance stage of lease negotiations.

CA: Confidentiality Agreement – CAs are commonly used to provide legal notice that the information in a document a viewer is opening is to not be redistributed or shared to other parties. This document captures the viewer’s name and contact information at minimum, though company name, title, and other fields are sometimes included. Offering Memorandums with financial information, or any other document with sensitive information that requires a disclaimer would feature a Confidentiality Agreement prior to opening.

CORFAC: Surprisingly CORFAC is not an acronym, but rather a condensed mash-up of “CORporate FACilitators”; CORFAC is a global network comprised of privately owned entrepreneurial commercial real estate firms with expertise in office, industrial and retail brokerage, tenant and landlord representation, investment sales, multifamily, self-storage, acquisitions and dispositions, property management and corporate services. While FCPG are experts in the Greater Central Florida Market, we are not as well-versed in the out-of-state markets, but through CORFAC we are able to collaborate with our fellow firms to provide full services in all the major markets.

FCPG is driven by serving our clients to our best ability and acting with the stewardship mindset. This continues to propel the properties served forward accomplishing the goals of each owner, tenant, landlord, asset manager and client alike. Reach out today to learn how we can help reach your commercial real estate goals.