People are always looking for a location to operate their business, whether they are a startup company or an established business. If you are a start up company you want to look for space that is convenient to you and your clients. With today's internet you can search commercial real estate sites that arelocal to your location to find what is available in your area. Some companies are developers and own their own properties and some are agents that represent a number of properties. It is best to deal with a developer or commercial real estate company as they are more knowledgeable of what your needs are. Commercial space comes in all sizes and is available for all uses. You should have a good idea of what you will require in your space. Some things to think about are, how much space do you really need. You should project how much you will grow during the term of the lease.
Some Landlords allow you to move from one space to another within the properties they own during a lease period, if not you should look at the shortest lease you can find if you are not sure of growth.
Other things to think about are whether you need dock doors for deliveries, high ceilings for bulk storage,drive in doors for vehicles,heavy electricity for manfacturing, exposure for drive by reconition. Always make sure the property is zoned for your type of business use before you sign a lease or purchase a building.
If outside storage is needed make sure that is available also. If you have a lot of employes or a lot of vehicles that are used during the day should make sure there is apropiate parking allowed for these vehicles.
Leases and lease vary according to the type properties. You should ask about pass throughs. Most properties have a base rent with common area maintenance fees. These fees usually cover the landscaping of the grounds, trash removal and security lighting. Other things to ask about are taxes and insurance. Most rates include the first years taxes and insurance but have a clause that you are responsible for increases over the base year. This means if the taxes and insurance go up after the base year you will be responsible for your porpionate share, compiled by how much space you occupy divided by the total space in the building.
Established business sometimes want their own free standing building. If this is what you are wanting you should tell the agent up front to save time in locating the right space for you. If space is not available that meets your needs, there are companies that will build a building to your specifications in a location that you want and lease it back to you. There are also situations where you can have a right to purchase it at a future time. This works well for companies that are looking to the future but do not have the capital to purchase a building. You can lease for a time with a predetermined purchase price and build equity in the property and purchase at a later date.
