Making a bad decision when it comes to choosing office space can have negative repercussions for any business, including loss of customers and a big impact on your bottom line.
As many landlords prefer three to five year leases, it’s essential to know what you’re looking for before signing on the dotted line. Find the right office, make the best decision for your company and start making money.
Tenant Representation
Choosing the wrong broker, or not using one at all, can add up to a very expensive error. Tenant representation is essential, but you don’t want to rely on a broker with a conflict of interest, such as one who represents both the tenant and the landlord.
Use one who strictly represents you as the tenant, which ensures that the broker remains true to their fiduciary duty. You wouldn’t use an attorney to represent bother parties, and the same holds true when signing an office lease.
As a business’s office space is usually one of its biggest expenses, having the right broker on your side can often help to reduce the company’s bottom line and also help protect its interests in a number of other ways.
Determining Priorities
Before signing, have you considered all of the short and long-term priorities of the business? Ideally, you should have an architect conduct a space program to determine your size needs including aspects like floor load capacity in order to support heavy equipment. You may also want a space within a complex that allows for future growth.
Business Identity Theft
Be certain all parties you’re dealing with are honest and reputable, as its not only individuals who are at threat of identity theft. You may even want to check out your landlord prior to signing any paperwork. Due to numerous leasing and rental scams, CheckYourLandlord.com offers a new service that checks property records for prospective tenants, as MSN Real Estate reports.
A business’s identity can be stolen by thieves who might be able to get access to bank accounts, credit cards, tax identification numbers or even the owner’s personal information. To decrease the chances of this financially devastating occurrence, you may want to consider enlisting in the help of professionals like LifeLock. Sign up for fraud protection services before you make any move to help reduce your risk.
Understand Associated Costs
In addition to monthly rent, make sure you understand all costs involved, such as utility costs, common area maintenance fees, Internet and telephone installation costs and possible extra HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning) costs for running your business after hours.
Both you and your broker should inspect all documents thoroughly as they are designed to benefit the landlord and make them money, not you.
Take Your Time
Not giving yourself enough time to make the decision and to go through the entire process of securing a lease can be a big mistake. You need time to explore the market, tour facilities and interview landlords. Most tenants tend to significantly underestimate the time it takes to complete each stage, whether renewing, moving or starting fresh.
Depending on your space needs and how complex your technology, it may take 6 to 12 months or longer just to negotiate the deal, according to The Office Space Guys.