Before you begin searching for the perfect warehouse space for rent for your small business, you need to get educated about the commercial property leasing process. Being prepared will prevent you from making rapid decisions and costly mistakes you will probably regret later on. The following are some insider suggestions to help make an informed decision when letting a commercial property your company

Initiate the process of finding commercial space at least 6-12 months before your current lease expires or before your ideal move-in-date. Finding the right space and negotiating the deal will require 1-2 months depending on the size area and current market conditions. Typically the spaces you like will need some type of changes that the time required will depend on the scope of work.

Thoroughly research your company’s present and future needs. Consult with the different department heads for input in addition to some key employees.

Get acquainted with the commercial property terms and meanings. Different landlords say and quote things differently. If you’re unsure about what they mean do not be afraid to ask them to provide more information.

If you’re not knowledgeable about the commercial property leasing process or the present market conditions then consider engaging the help of a tenant rep. Their services do not cost anything since landlords compensate all of the rental fees. The landlord rep will have an experienced listing agent helping them so it would be a good idea for you to have one as well.

Physically visit all of the spaces that meet your requirements so you can make a short list. Bear in mind that the layouts can be reconfigured so don’t get stuck on that. Ask the landlord reps a great deal of questions about the ownership, property amenities, required lease term length, how much the landlord is willing to give in tenant improvement allowances, etc..

Do not settle for the first commercial properties you think is suitable for your requirements: continue searching until you have at least two to three other choices. 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 landlords competing for your company. They also give you something to fall back to if the discussions for your first choice go silent.

Send out proposals to your top three to five choices. These are not legally binding. You never want to take a landlord agent’s verbal word. Everything should be in writing.

To help you decide what property is best suited for your business, prepare a spreadsheet to do an apples to apples comparison of each property. Some of the things you need to put into consideration include the dimensions of this distance, the asking base rental rates, the necessary lease duration, and the incremental expenses (taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc). It is also possible to take note about the pros and cons of each property. If you’re budget conscious then you can quickly narrow down the list by calculating the monthly base rents for each property then eliminating those that are way over your budget. The monthly base rent is calculated by multiplying the industrial space square feet from the asking base rate plus any operating expenses then dividing by 12.

If some of the commercial property need tenant improvements then it’s important that you determine what changes you want on each and get preliminary bids. This way if the building owner is offering a finish out allowance you will learn just how much out of pocket you will have to pay over and beyond what the building owner is willing to give.

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

After discussions are finalized and you have made your selection now it is time to have the landlord provide you the first draft of this commercial rental contract.

Now it is 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 could review the lease with you also. Commercial lease language could be negotiated. If you do not like particular lease items or want to propose new language now is the time to do so.

When the end of rental contract negotiations has ended the building owner will provide you a copy of the lease to sign.

There are many more things to consider when renting commercial space however these suggestions will help get you going. If you’re a new business renting commercial property for the first time or an current business who has only leased one or two spaces then consider getting help from a tenant rep. Their services do not cost you anything and you will save a lot of time and money.