Before you begin looking for a good Sonoma wine tasting for your business, you will need to get educated about the commercial property leasing procedure. Being prepared will keep you from making expeditious decisions and costly mistakes you will regret later on. Below are some insider tips to help make an informed choice when letting a commercial real estate your company
Initiate the process of searching for commercial space at least 6-12 months before your existing lease expires or before your ideal move-in-date. Finding the correct space and negotiating the deal alonewill require 1-2 months depending upon the size space and current market conditions. Typically the spaces you like will need some type of modifications which the time needed will depend on the scope of work.
Thoroughly research your business’s present and future needs. Consult with the different department heads for input as well as some key employees.
Get acquainted with allthe commercial space terms and definitions. Different landlords state and quote things otherwise. If you are in doubt about what they mean do not be afraid to ask them to supply more information.
If you are not familiar with the commercial leasing process or the present market conditions then consider engaging the help of a tenant agent. Their services do not cost you anything since landlords compensate all of the leasing commissions. The landlord agent will have an professional listing agent advising them so it would be a great idea for you to have one too.
Physically tour all of the spaces that meet your needs so you can make a brief list. Keep in mind that the layouts can be reconfigured so don’t get stuck on that. Ask the landlord agents a great deal of questions about the ownership, property amenities, required lease duration, how much the landlord is prepared to give in tenant improvement allowances, etc..
Do not settle for the first commercial properties you think is suitable for your needs: continue searching until you have at least 2 to three alternative choices. These extra options will work to your benefit since you will know what to expect during the lease negotiations and you’ll gain more leverage with multiple landlords competing for your company. They also give you something to fall back to whether the negotiations for 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 take a landlord representative’s verbal note. 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 this distance, the inquiring foundation rental rates, the necessary lease duration, and the incremental costs (taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc). You can also take note about the advantages and disadvantages of each property. If you are budget conscious then you can quickly narrow down the list by simply calculating the monthly base rents for each property then removing those which are way above your budget. The monthly base rent is calculated by multiplying the industrial space square feet from the asking base rate plus any operating expenditures then dividing by 12.
If some of the commercial buildings need tenant finish-outs then it’s crucial that you determine what changes you want on each and get construction bids. This way if the landlord is offering a tenant improvement allowance you will learn how much out of pocket you’ll need to pay above and beyond what the landlord is prepared to give.
Carefully examine and compare the terms of each proposal. Consider whether it is logical to go back to every landlord to negotiate additional concessions. Be certain you fully understand the total expenses you are expected to cover. Do not get emotionally attached to a certain property until the negotiations are over. Emotional attachment might result in you signing a contract your business can’t live up to.
After negotiations are finalized and you have made your selection now it’s time to have the landlord provide you the first draft of this commercial lease contract.
Now it’s time to reassess the commercial lease contract. It would be wise for you to hire an attorney to review the lease. If you 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 particular lease items or want to propose new language now is the time to do so.
When the end of lease contract negotiations has ended the building owner will supply you a draft of the lease to review and sign.
There are many more things to think about when renting commercial real estate however these ideas will help get you going. If you are a new company renting commercial property for the first time or an existing company who has only leased 1 or 2 spaces then consider getting help from a tenant agent. Their services don’t cost you anything and you’ll save a great deal of time and money.
