The Easiest Way To Search For & Lease Warehouse Space

Before you start searching for a great for your business, you need to get educated about the commercial warehouse leasing procedure. Being prepared should prevent you from making rapid decisions and costly mistakes thatyou will probably regret later on. Below are some insider tips to help make an informed choice when letting a commercial real estate your business

Start the process of searching commercial space at least 6-12 months before your current lease expires or until your ideal move-in-date. Finding the right space and negotiating the deal alonewill require 1-2 months depending on the size area and current market conditions. Typically the spaces you like will need some type of improvements that the time needed will depend on the scope of work.

Thoroughly examine your business’s current and future needs. Consult with the different department heads for input as well as some key employees.

Get familiar with allthe commercial real estate terms and definitions. Various landlords state and quote things differently. If you are in doubt about what they mean don’t be afraid to ask them to get more information.

If you are not familiar with the commercial real estate leasing process or the current market conditions then consider engaging the help of a tenant agent. Their services don’t cost you anything since building owners pay all of the leasing fees. The landlord representative will have an knowledgable listing agent helping them so it would be a good idea for you to have one as well.

Personally visit all of the properties that meet your needs so thatyou can make a short list. Bear in mind that the layouts can be reconfigured so don’t get stuck on that. Ask the landlord representatives a lot of questions regarding who owns the property, property amenities, required lease duration, how much the landlord is prepared to give in tenant construction allowances, etc..

Do not settle for the first commercial properties you think is acceptable for your needs: continue searching until you have at least two to 3 other choices. These additional options will work to your benefit because you will know what to expect throughout the lease negotiations and you will gain more leverage with numerous building owners 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 are not legally binding. You never want to have a landlord representative’s verbal note. Everything should be in writing.

To help you decide what property is best suited 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 dimensions of the distance, the inquiring base rental rates, the necessary lease term, 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 expenses 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 learn just how much out of pocket you will need to pay above and beyond what the landlord is prepared to give.

Carefully analyze and compare the terms of each proposal. Consider whether it is logical to return to every landlord to negotiate extra concessions. Be sure you fully understand the total expenses you are 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 thatyour business cannot 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 lease contract.

Now it is time to reassess the commercial lease contract. It would be advisable for you to hire an attorney to review the lease. If you have a tenant agent then they could review the lease with you also. Commercial lease language could be negotiated. If you don’t like particular lease items or would like to propose new language now is the time to do so.

Once the end of lease contract negotiations has ended 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 are a new business renting commercial property for the first time or an current business who has only rented 1 or two spaces then consider getting help from a tenant representative. Their services do not cost you anything and you will save a great deal of money and time.