What You Should Know About Commercial Property Leasing

So you’re ready to put your business into a commercial space. The process may seem daunting.

It’s long and impatience can lead to costly mistakes.

A commercial real estate lease, or business rental agreement, lets a business rent commercial space. There are several types of commercial leases, including gross/full service, modified gross, net, and triple net (NNN), to name a few. The process leading up to making a commitment includes identifying the property that will serve your company best, and negotiating with the landlord in order to get the best deal possible, and one your company can afford.

There are many pitfalls which a broker providing tenant representation can help you avoid. There are a few rules of thumb.

• Put Together a Business Plan: Landlords want to know you have a plan and financial resources before they will sign a lease. Also, know your budget.
• Allow Enough Time: Give yourself several months before you plan to open. This will allow time to find your perfect location, and allow for any build-out that needs to happen.
• Do Your Research: Decide the type of location you’re looking for, what you need to succeed. Is it foot traffic? High visibility? Near a major road? Know what you’re looking for before you start.
• Talk to other business operators: You can learn a lot by talking to business operators about the things they wish they’d have known before opening in a particular location. What do they wish they’d done differently, or what really worked well?
• Be Ready to Negotiate: Many aspects of a commercial lease can be negotiated, and not just the monthly rent. You might want changes made to a space, or a landlord’s approval for additional signage. Lease negotiation can be frustrating or rewarding, but it’s an absolute must to get what you need.
• Hire an Attorney Before Signing a Lease: Leases are complex legal documents and you need to understand them before you sign. An attorney can alert you to important details that are in your best interest to be added or deleted.
• Don’t: Lease more space than you need. This is a common mistake made by first-time tenants and even if you can afford it, the extra cost will needlessly cut into your bottom line.

The Golden Rule of Commercial Real Estate Leasing: Don’t go into it on your own. Find a good tenant broker with a solid commercial real estate background to help you. These brokers work only for you, not the landlord, and are market experts.

Tenant brokers will not only help you hit the “Do’s,” they’ll help you avoid the “Don’ts.” They are trained to help get you the most favorable lease terms and will often make suggestions you haven’t thought of.

According to Under30CEO.com, “Having a tenant broker can typically save the tenant up to 25 percent of the total value of the lease.”

We Should Work Together

Caton Commercial Real Estate includes tenant representation amongst its services, giving businesses and developers an advantage over their competition by identifying commercial locations that meet a diverse range of criteria. Innovative marketplace software tracks demographic information, traffic patterns, and surplus/leakage data from consumer sources.

This, combined with our wealth of knowledge in the local marketplace, provides a double-edged approach to tenants that continues to yield success for our clients by positioning their businesses near their consumer base.

Contact us today and let’s talk about how we can help you.