Before you start looking for an excellent business space for rent for your company,you should to get educated about the commercial real estate leasing process. Being ready will prevent you from making hasty decisions and costly mistakes thatyou will come to regret later on. Below are some insider suggestions to help make an informed decision when letting a commercial real estate your business
Start the process of locating commercial space at least 6-12 months before your current lease expires or until your ideal move-in-date. Locating the perfect space and negotiating the deal alonewill take 1-2 months depending upon the size area and current market conditions. In most cases the spaces you like will need some sort of modifications that the time needed will depend on the scope of work.
Thoroughly examine your company’s present and future needs. Consult with the various department heads for input in addition to some key employees.
Get acquainted with the commercial property terms and definitions. Various landlords state and quote things differently. If you’re unsure about what they mean do not be afraid to ask them to get more information.
If you’re not knowledgeable about the commercial property leasing process or the present market conditions then consider engaging the assistance of a tenant agent such as AustinTenantAdvisors.com. Their services do not cost you anything since landlords pay all of the rental commissions. The landlord rep will have an experienced listing agent representing them so it would be a great idea for you to have one as well.
Physically visit all of the properties that meet your requirements so thatyou can make a brief list. Keep in mind that the designs can be reconfigured so don’t get stuck on that. Ask the landlord agents a lot of questions about who owns the property,property amenities,required lease term length,how much the landlord is prepared to give in tenant construction allowances,etc..
Don’t settle for the first commercial properties you think is suitable for your requirements: continue searching until you have at least two to 3 other choices. These additional options will work to your advantage since you will know what to expect during the lease negotiations and you’ll gain more leverage with numerous landlords competing for your business. They also give you something to fall back to if the discussions to your first choice go silent.
Send out proposals to your top three to five choices. These aren’t legally binding. You don’t ever want to have a landlord representative’s verbal word. Everything should be in writing.
To help you decide what property is most suitable for your company,prepare a spreadsheet to do an apples to apples comparison of every property. A few of the things you should consider include the size of the space,the asking foundation rental rates,the required lease duration,and the incremental costs (taxes,insurance,maintenance,etc). It is also possible to take note about the pros and cons of each property. If you’re budget conscious then you can quickly narrow down the list by calculating the monthly base rents for each property then removing those that are way over your budget. The monthly base rent is calculated by multiplying the commercial space square feet from the asking base rate and any operating expenditures then dividing by 12.
If some of the commercial properties need tenant improvements then it’s important that you figure out what improvements you want on each and get bids from contractors. That way if the landlord is offering a tenant improvement allowance you will know how much out of pocket you’ll need to pay over and beyond what the landlord is prepared to give.
Carefully analyze and compare the terms of each proposal. Consider whether it makes sense to return to every landlord to negotiate additional concessions. Make sure you fully understand the total expenses you’re expected to cover. Don’t get emotionally attached to a certain property until the discussions are over. Emotional attachment might lead to you signing a contract thatyour business cannot live up to.
After discussions are finalized and you have made your selection now it’s time to have the landlord offer you the first draft of the commercial rental contract.
Now it’s time to reassess the commercial rental contract. It would be wise for you to hire an attorney to review the lease. For those who have a tenant representative then they could review the lease with you as well. Industrial lease language could be negotiated. If you do not like certain lease items or would like to propose new language now is the time to do so.
When the end of rental contract negotiations has ended the building owner will provide you a copy of the lease to review.
There are many more things to think about when leasing commercial space however these ideas will help get you going. If you’re a new company leasing commercial property for the first time or an current company who has only leased one or two spaces then consider getting help from a tenant rep. Their services do not cost you anything and you’ll save a lot of money and time.
