Before you begin looking for a good commercial property rental for rent for your small company,you should to get educated about the commercial real estate leasing process. Being prepared should keep you from making hurried decisions and costly mistakes you will regret in the future. Below are some insider tips to help make an informed decision when renting a commercial office space your company
Initiate the process of hunting for commercial space at least 6-12 months before your existing lease expires or before your ideal move-in-date. Finding the right space and negotiating the deal will require 1-2 months depending upon the size space and current market conditions. In most cases the spaces you like will need some type of tenant improvements that the time required will depend on the scope of work.
completely research your company’s present and future needs. Consult with the different department heads for input as well as some key employees.
Get acquainted with the commercial real estate terms and meanings. Different landlords state and quote things differently. If you’re unsure about what they mean do not be afraid to ask them to get more info.
If you’re not knowledgeable about the commercial real estate leasing process or the present market conditions then consider engaging the help of a tenant agent such as AustinTenantAdvisors. Their services do not cost you anything because building owners pay all the leasing commissions. The landlord representative will have an knowledgable listing agent advising them so it would be a good idea for you to have one as well.
Personally see all the properties that meet your requirements so you can make a short list. Bear in mind that the designs can be reconfigured so don’t get stuck on that. Ask the landlord agents a lot of questions regarding the ownership,property amenities,required lease term length,how much the landlord is willing to give in tenant construction allowances,etc..
Do not settle for the first commercial properties you think is suitable for your requirements: continue looking until you have at least two to three other choices. These extra options will work to your benefit since you will know what to expect throughout the lease negotiations and you will gain more leverage with multiple building owners competing for your company. They also give you something to fall back to whether the discussions to your first choice go sideways.
Send out proposals to your top three to five choices. These aren’t legally binding. You never need to take a landlord agent’s verbal word. Everything needs to be in writing.
To help you decide what property is most suitable for your business,prepare a spreadsheet to do an apples to apples comparison of every property. Some of the things you should consider include the size of the space,the asking foundation rental rates,the necessary 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 simply 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 any of the commercial spaces need tenant improvements then it is important that you figure out what improvements you want on each and get preliminary bids. This way if the landlord is offering a tenant improvement allowance you will know how much out of pocket you will need to pay over and beyond what the landlord is willing to give.
Carefully analyze and compare the terms of each proposal. Consider whether it is logical to go back to every landlord to negotiate extra concessions. Make certain you fully understand the total expenses you’re expected to cover. Do not get emotionally attached to a specific property until the discussions are over. Emotional attachment might result in you signing a contract your business can’t live up to.
After discussions are finalized and you have made your selection now it is time to have the landlord offer you the first draft of the commercial rental contract.
Now it is 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 can review the lease with you as well. Industrial lease language can be negotiated. If you do not like certain lease items or want to propose new language now is the time to do so.
Once the end of rental contract negotiations has finished the landlord will supply you a draft of the lease to review.
There are several more things to think about when renting commercial property however these tips will help get you started. If you’re a new business renting space for the first time or an existing business who has only rented one or two spaces then consider getting help from a tenant representative. Their services don’t cost you anything and you will save a great deal of time and money.
