There is a lot to take in when you're touring a prospective property or office space. Following these tips will help to ensure that you don't overlook an important detail.
1. Come Prepared
Before your tour, put together a printout or a digital document with key stats that you may need as you tour the property. Include financial data to remind you of your budget and measurements of any large furnishings that you will need to relocate. Also, prepare a list of questions that you wish to ask during your tour.
2. Don't Go Alone
It's a good idea to bring along a space planner or architect when touring a potential office space to get advice about how you might remodel or layout the interior to suit your business needs. Your tenant rep broker will also be a valuable asset to your touring team and may notice details that you could potentially miss.
3. Envision Your Team
As you tour the space, think about how your team would fit into the location. Are there private offices for employees that handle sensitive or confidential information? Open floor plan spaces for teamwork and collaboration? Meeting spots for small and large groups from various departments?
4. Look Beyond the Office
Make sure to inspect any common areas in the building. Try to imagine what visitors and clients would think of the lobby, elevators and hallways as you tour.
5. Stroll the Street
Take a walk through the neighborhood to find out what types of businesses are close by. Areas with bars, restaurants, salons, dry cleaners, drugstores and other retailers and service businesses will help your team balance work and their personal lives.
6. Check the Directory
Spend a few minutes familiarizing yourself with the other names on the directory. Are there any competitors in the building or businesses that conflict with your brand image? Does the building seem to cater to companies in a particular niche or are there many types of businesses renting offices?
7. Peruse the Parking Lot
Examine the condition of the employee and visitor parking. Is there enough space for your team? Is the area well lit? Would you feel comfortable walking to and from your car alone at night or early in the morning?
8. Count the Outlets
Before you leave the office space, take an inventory of how many outlets are already in place and where they are located. You'll want to make sure that your space can accommodate desktop computers and office equipment while providing spare plugs for charging laptops and mobile devices.
9. Place a Call
Try placing a call and surfing the web while you're strolling through the space. Is there sufficient mobile coverage throughout the office or are there some dead zones where employees may be unable to use their mobile devices?
10. Visit More Than Once
If you're still interested in the office or property after your tour, make plans to come back at other times of the day to find out what traffic is like, how difficult it is to park and how long it takes to walk from the lobby to your prospective space.
Here are a few other articles you might enjoy:
Subscribe to our blog for more CRE tips!!
