Before you start searching for a great business space for rent for your startup,you need to get informed about the commercial real estate leasing process. Being prepared will prevent you from making rapid decisions and costly mistakes thatyou will probably regret later on. The following are some insider tips to help make an informed decision when letting a commercial real estate your company

Start the process of searching for commercial space at least 6-12 months before your existing lease terminates or until your ideal move-in-date. Locating the right space and negotiating the deal will require 1-2 months depending upon the size space and current market conditions. In most cases the spaces you like will need some sort of improvements which the time required will depend on the scope of work.

completely analyze your company’s present and future needs. Consult with the different department heads for input as well as some key employees.

Get familiar with the commercial real estate terms and meanings. Various landlords say and quote things differently. If you’re unsure about what they mean don’t be afraid to ask them to provide more info.

If you’re not familiar with the commercial real estate leasing process or the present market conditions then consider engaging the help of a tenant representative such as Austin Tenant Advisors. Their services don’t cost you anything because landlords compensate all of the rental commissions. The landlord representative will have an professional listing agent representing them so it would be a good idea for you to have one as well.

Physically see all of the properties that meet your requirements so thatyou can make a short list. Keep in mind that the designs can be reconfigured so don’t get stuck on that. Ask the landlord reps a lot of questions about who owns the property,property amenities,required lease duration,how much the landlord is prepared to give in tenant construction allowances,etc..

Don’t settle for the first commercial space you believe is suitable for your requirements: continue looking until you have at least two to 3 other choices. These additional options will work to your advantage since you will know what to expect during the lease negotiations and you will gain more leverage with numerous landlords competing for your company. They also give you something to fall back to if the discussions to your first choice go silent.

Send out proposals to your top three to five choices. These aren’t legally binding. You never want to take a landlord representative’s verbal word. Everything needs to 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 should put into consideration include the dimensions of the space,the inquiring base rental rates,the required lease duration,and the incremental costs (taxes,insurance,maintenance,etc). You can also 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 above your budget. The monthly base rent is calculated by multiplying the commercial space square feet by the asking base rate and any operating expenditures then dividing by 12.

If some of the commercial spaces need tenant improvements then it’s important that you determine what improvements you want on each and get preliminary bids. That way if the landlord is offering a tenant improvement allowance you will learn how much out of pocket you will have to pay above and beyond what the landlord is prepared to give.

Carefully examine and compare the terms of each proposal. Consider whether it is logical to go back to each landlord to negotiate additional concessions. Make sure you completely understand the total expenses you’re expected to cover. Don’t get emotionally attached to a certain property until the discussions are over. Emotional attachment might result in you signing a contract thatyour business cannot live up to.

After discussions are finalized and you’ve made your selection now it’s time to have the landlord offer you the first draft of the commercial rental contract.

Now it’s 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. Industrial lease language could be negotiated. If you don’t like certain lease items or want to propose new language today is the time to do so.

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

There are several more things to consider when renting commercial space however these tips will help get you started. If you’re a new business renting space for the first time or an existing business who has just leased one or two spaces then consider getting help from a tenant representative. Their services don’t cost you anything and you will save a great deal of money and time.