Recommendations On How To Search For & Rent Industrial Warehouse Properties

Before you start searching for an excellent warehouse space for rent for your small company,you should to get informed about the commercial property leasing procedure. Being prepared should help prevent you from making rapid decisions and costly mistakes thatyou will come to regret in the future. Below are some insider suggestions to help make an informed decision when renting a commercial warehouse space your business

Initiate the process of hunting for commercial space at least 6-12 months before your existing lease terminates or until your perfect move-in-date. Locating the right space and negotiating the deal will require 1-2 months depending on the size space and current market conditions. In most cases the spaces you like will require some sort of changes that the time needed will depend on the scope of work.

Thoroughly research your company’s current and future needs. Consult with the various department heads for input as well as some key employees.

Get familiar with allthe commercial property terms and meanings. Different landlords say and quote things otherwise. If you are in doubt about what they mean don’t be afraid to ask them to supply more information.

If you are not knowledgeable about the commercial property leasing process or the current market conditions then consider engaging the support of a tenant representative. Their services don’t cost you anything because building owners pay all the rental fees. The landlord rep will have an experienced listing agent advising them so it would be a great idea for you to have one too.

Physically visit all the spaces that meet your requirements so thatyou can make a brief list. Keep in mind that the designs can be reconfigured so don’t get stuck on that. Ask the landlord reps a great deal 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..

Don’t settle for the first commercial properties you think is suitable for your requirements: continue searching until you have at least 2 to 3 alternative options. These extra options will work to your advantage because you will know what to expect during the lease negotiations and you will gain more leverage with multiple building owners competing for your tenancy. They also give you something to fall back to if the negotiations to your first choice fall through.

Send out proposals to your top three to five options. These are not legally binding. You don’t ever want to have a landlord agent’s verbal note. Everything should be in writing.

To help you decide what property is best suited 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 asking base rental rates,the necessary lease duration,and the incremental expenses (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 eliminating those which are way over your budget. The monthly base rent is calculated by multiplying the commercial space square feet from the asking base rate plus any operating expenses then dividing by 12.

If any of the commercial buildings require 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 just how much out of pocket you will need to pay over and beyond what the landlord is prepared to give.

Carefully analyze and compare the terms of each proposal. Consider whether it makes sense to return to every landlord to negotiate additional concessions. Make certain you completely understand the total expenses you are expected to cover. Don’t get emotionally attached to a specific property until the negotiations are over. Emotional attachment might lead to you signing a contract thatyour business can’t live up to.

After negotiations are finalized and you have made your selection now it’s time to have the landlord offer you the first draft of this commercial rental contract.

Now it’s 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 representative then they can review the lease with you also. Industrial lease language can be negotiated. If you don’t like certain lease items or would like to propose new language today is the time to do so.

Once the end of rental contract negotiations has ended the landlord will supply you a draft of the lease to review.

There are many more things to think about when renting commercial space however these tips will help get you going. If you are a new company renting space for the first time or an existing company who has just leased 1 or 2 spaces then consider getting help from a tenant rep. Their services don’t cost you anything and you will save a lot of money and time.