A Class Home Builders: How to Determine
an Office Building's Class
The attributes of an office building determine the structure's class. Let's go through this in more depth.
Class A building:
A structure must be brand new or, at the absolute least, have been constructed within the current building cycle to be classified as a Class A structure. It has all of the features that the greatest buildings in town have. It's generally in the city, and it's a high-rise with no functional obsolescence. The best aspect is that it has the highest rent tier. A Class building currently costs between $25 and $30 per square foot, while Class B buildings cost between $18 and $23 per square foot. Notice the small price difference between the two categories; this is also common in your neighborhood.
Class B building:
Depending on your location, Class B buildings are generally over eight years old or older. If your current building cycle is just three to four years old, a five or six-year-old structure might be classified as Class B. Buildings do not age rapidly, thus the age of the structure isn't as essential as it appears. It's the buildings' systems that are the problem.
A Class B building has a five-foot hallway rather than a six-foot corridor. Because no one built six-foot halls until recently, people will feel that way about it. It just feels so much more luxurious if they were like hospital halls with that additional one linear foot.
Class C building:
A Class C building would be more than 17 to 20 years old. This is an example; keep in mind that class dropouts will vary depending on the building cycles in your region. When attempting to classify an office structure, this is critical to comprehend.
In comparison to a Class B building, a Class C building would have higher functional obsolescence. Functional obsolescence may also be observed in places like hallways when the length of the passage is 4 feet or fewer. Because you are so used to modern buildings having five and even six-foot corridors, a building with three to four-foot halls feels confining.
If no buildings with six-foot hallways were erected in your town during the previous building cycle, and you stepped into one, you'd be astonished at the impression it had on visitors. It doesn't cost the builders anything to accomplish this, but it gives the building an upmarket vibe.
Class C structures are older, with a lot of functional obsolescence and systems that are starting to fail. Maintenance on a Class C structure is far more expensive than the other two classifications.
It's difficult to remedy when the bathrooms are between levels since you have to travel up or down half a flight of steps to get there, usually utilizing the fire stairs. That is not only incompatible with the Americans with Disabilities Act, but it is also cumbersome and antiquated. The building's functional obsolescence instantly qualifies it as a Class C structure.
Conclusion
You may possess some structures that, based on their age, would be classified as Class C structures. They may, however, continue to fetch hefty Class B-rate rents. This distinction is solely dependent on how well you keep your home. If you buy a Class A building right now, you'll pay the equivalent of a 6% "Cap Rate"—in other words, you shouldn't buy one since, as of this writing, older buildings provide more bang for your money.
