Before you start searching for a great warehouse space for rent for your small company,you need to get informed about the commercial warehouse leasing procedure. Being ready will keep you from making impulsive decisions and costly mistakes you will probably regret in the future. Below are some insider suggestions to help make an informed choice when leasing a commercial space your business

Initiate the process of searching for commercial space at least 6-12 months before your existing lease expires or before your perfect move-in-date. Finding the perfect space and negotiating the deal will take 1-2 months depending on the size area and current market conditions. In most cases the spaces you like will need some sort of modifications which the time required will depend on the scope of work.

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

Get acquainted with the commercial space terms and meanings. Various landlords state and quote things otherwise. If you are in doubt about what they mean do not be afraid to ask them to get more info.

If you are not familiar with the commercial real estate leasing process or the current market conditions then consider engaging the support of a tenant agent. Their services do not cost anything since building owners compensate all of the rental fees. The landlord representative will have an professional listing agent advising them so it would be a good idea for you to have one too.

Personally see all of the properties that meet your needs 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 agents a great deal of questions regarding 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 space you believe is acceptable for your needs: continue looking until you have at least 2 to 3 other options. These additional options will work to your advantage because you will know what to expect throughout the lease negotiations and you will gain more leverage with numerous building owners competing for your company. They also give you something to fall back to if the negotiations for your first choice go silent.

Send out proposals to your top three to five options. These aren’t legally binding. You don’t ever need to have a landlord representative’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. A few of the things you should consider include the size of the space,the inquiring base rental rates,the required lease duration,and the incremental expenses (taxes,insurance,maintenance,etc). You can also take note about the pros and cons of each property. If you are 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 industrial space square feet from the asking base rate plus any operating expenditures then dividing by 12.

If some of the commercial buildings need tenant finish-outs then it’s important that you figure out what changes you want on each and get construction bids. This way if the landlord is offering a tenant improvement allowance you will learn just how much out of pocket you will have to pay above and beyond what the landlord is willing to give.

Carefully analyze and compare the terms of each proposal. Consider whether it makes sense to go back to each landlord to negotiate extra concessions. Make certain you fully understand the total expenses you are expected to cover. Do not get emotionally attached to a specific property until the negotiations are over. Emotional attachment might result in you signing a contract your business can’t live up to.

After negotiations are finalized and you have made your selection now it’s time to have the landlord provide 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. If you have a tenant agent 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 today is the time to do so.

When the end of rental contract negotiations has finished the landlord will provide you a copy of the lease to review and sign.

There are several more things to consider when renting commercial real estate however these ideas will help get you started. If you are a new business renting commercial space for the first time or an existing business who has just leased 1 or 2 spaces then consider getting help from a tenant representative. Their services do not cost you anything and you will save a lot of time and money.