Before you start searching for an excellent warehouse space for rent for your business,you must to get educated about the commercial real estate leasing procedure. Being ready should keep you from making impulsive decisions and costly mistakes thatyou will regret in the future. The following are some insider tips to help make an informed choice when leasing a commercial warehouse space your business
Start the process of finding commercial space for rent at least 6-12 months before your current lease expires or before your ideal move-in-date. Finding the correct space and negotiating the deal alonewill take 1-2 months depending on the size area and current market conditions. In most cases the spaces you like will need some sort of modifications that the time required will depend on the scope of work.
completely research your company’s current and future needs. Consult with the different department heads for input in addition to some key employees.
Get acquainted with allthe commercial real estate terms and meanings. Different landlords say and quote things otherwise. If you’re in doubt about what they mean do not be afraid to ask them to provide more info.
If you’re not familiar with the commercial rental process or the current market conditions then consider engaging the help of a tenant representative. Their services do not cost you anything since building owners pay all of the rental fees. The landlord agent will have an professional listing agent helping them so it would be a great idea for you to have one also.
Physically tour all of the spaces that meet your needs so thatyou can make a brief list. Bear in mind that the designs can be reconfigured so don’t get stuck on that. Ask the landlord representatives a great deal of questions about who owns the property,property amenities,required lease term length,how much the landlord is willing to give in tenant improvement allowances,etc..
Don’t settle for the first commercial space you believe is suitable for your needs: continue looking until you have at least two to 3 other options. These extra 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 building owners competing for your company. They also give you something to fall back to whether the discussions for your first choice go silent.
Send out proposals to your top three to five options. These are not legally binding. You never want to have a landlord agent’s verbal note. Everything should 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. A few of the things you need to put into consideration include the dimensions of the space,the inquiring foundation rental rates,the required lease duration,and the incremental expenses (taxes,insurance,maintenance,etc). It is also possible to take note about the advantages and disadvantages 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 eliminating those that are way over your budget. The monthly base rent is calculated by multiplying the industrial space square feet from the asking base rate and any operating expenditures then dividing by 12.
If any of the commercial properties need tenant improvements then it is crucial that you figure out what changes 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 have to pay over and beyond what the landlord is willing to give.
Carefully analyze and compare the terms of each proposal. Consider whether it makes sense to go back to every landlord to negotiate extra concessions. Be sure you completely 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’ve made your selection now it is time to have the landlord provide you the first draft of the commercial rental contract.
Now it is time to reassess the commercial rental contract. It would be advisable for you to hire an attorney to review the lease. For those who have a tenant agent then they can review the lease with you also. Commercial lease language can be negotiated. If you do not like particular lease items or want to propose new language today is the time to do so.
Once the end of rental contract negotiations has finished the landlord will give you a copy of the lease to sign.
There are many more things to consider when leasing commercial property however these suggestions will help get you going. If you’re a new business leasing commercial space for the first time or an current business who has only leased one or two spaces then consider getting help from a tenant agent. Their services don’t cost you anything and you’ll save a lot of money and time.