In commercial real estate, timing is very important. The leasing process takes time, and it varies depending on whether it is your first or seventh location. Timing your lease often requires considering the time to incorporate business planning, negotiating lease terms, and complete necessary remodeling before moving into the new space. The key is to give allowance for sufficient time so you can recover from any potential setbacks or delays.
When’s the Right Time to Begin Looking for Office Space?
The consensus when seeking new office space is to start early enough. Most commercial real estate transactions take several months and involve a lot of professionals. From real estate brokers, building inspectors, local permitting, and contractors, you may need to wait at least 3-6 months after you’ve signed a lease before moving into your new office space.
Lease Renewal
Timing also plays a key role when renewing your lease. Ideally, a commercial tenant will start the lease renewal process 12-15 months before the lease expiration date. During this time, you may want to check your lease-renewal clause, so you can find leverage to negotiate a favorable term. As the lease renewal gets closer to the cutoff deadline, your leverage weakens. Hence, it is important to begin very early.
Reducing the Length of the Search Process
What elongates the search process isn’t always the search but the negotiation process. There are many things landlords look at when leasing out their office spaces. This is why it is important to work with a tenant rep. Most importantly, you want to make your company as attractive as possible to prospective landlords. For example, you may want to get pre-approved for business loans, show a willingness to move quickly to get a deal done, and figure out your needs and priorities when it comes to a particular space. A tenant rep broker uses their experience in the market as well as relationships with other landlords, to help facilitate the search and negotiation process.
Lease Terms
Once you have found the right office building, you may also want to consider how long you want to occupy the office space. You can either choose a short-term or a long-term lease option. A short term lease is an agreement to lease a property for a short period, which is usually less than a period of five years. Long term leases are usually longer than five years.
The length of your lease is another timing that you have to seriously consider. The best kind of leasing arrangement for a business owner is the one that suits the company’s goals and objectives. There are a few factors that you may want to consider when choosing lease terms. For example, you may want to consider the growth potential of the business, the business location as well as the nature of the business.
As mentioned earlier, timing is very important. Hence, it is important to work with tenant reps broker to ensure a smooth and fast process when leasing your next office space.
Here are a few other articles you might enjoy:
5 Ways to Make a Greener Office Space
8 Terms to Look for in Your Next Lease
Corporate Tenants & Repairs: Who's Responsible?
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