Custom Commercial Search

It is important to spend some time evaluating the following before starting your search for new business space:

  1. Make a determination about how much space your business will need. In order to decide the actual square footage necessary for your office or industrial space, it will be helpful for you to work with an experienced Interior Architect who can prepare a space inventory for you. This will help to identify how much of an area each department or work group in your company needs. You will also be able to determine the amount of space needed for future growth.
  2. Decide what geographic areas you prefer to remain within. If your employees are required to travel frequently and/or you have a number of clients that visit your office from out of state, you might want to locate close to an airport. If you have goods sent by ship, perhaps being nearer to a sea port should be considered. If you are an attorney, relocating closer to the courthouse might be an option.
  3. Does your company need a building that provides special requirements: If your new business space has special needs, these should be determined before you sign a lease so that they can be included in your agreement. It is much easier and less expensive to have these in place before you move in instead of having to add on or take off your special amenities such as back-up emergency generators, drive-in doors, specialized labs or the like.
  4. What kind of building is needed? Each company has a specific image that they wish to project to their clients. As a result, the type of building in which you elect to locate your business is of utmost importance. Of primary importance is to avoid choosing a building in a declining area regardless of financial considerations.
  5. Inclusions in the landlord’s rental rate: Of importance is the understanding that not all commercial buildings are priced alike. Office space can be leased on a full service or gross basis. This means that the price of square footage per year will include all building operating expenses such as insurance, common area maintenance, taxes, utilities and janitorial services. These leases are based on general operating expenses with annual increases that can exceed the cost of operating expenses within the base year which is most often regarded as the calendar year when the lease begins.
  6. Constructing your improvements: Finding your perfect business space is not very likely and usually some interior construction will be necessary. This construction is known as “Tenant Improvements”. It is very important to determine before the lease is signed how much this will cost – and whether you or the landlord will be responsible for payment of this cost, who will be responsible for management of the construction and who will handle any unexpected delays or building code issues that may occur.

Hire a tenant rep to negotiate your lease: Since the landlord will be paying a leasing commission to his listing broker whether or not you, the tenant, have your own commercial broker, you should be sure to have your own advocate working on your behalf. Since VIP Realty will work with you strictly as a tenant representative, you can be assured we will provide you the guidance needed to obtain a beneficial lease with the best possible terms.