Are you getting ready to negotiate your commercial lease for your office? Negotiating a commercial lease the correct way is important. The last thing you want is to get a lease that does not benefit you or your business.
If this is your first time negotiating a commercial lease, you may be wondering exactly how you can go about getting one that works in your favor. Take a look at these tips so that you can get the best lease possible for your business.
Get It In Writing
One of the things you must do when you are negotiating is to make sure that you are getting everything in writing. You can talk about the terms of the lease with the leasing agent, but before you do any kind of counter offer make sure that you are getting these terms in writing.
Even if you don’t get a physical letter but instead get the terms of the lease in an email this is a good place to start. Getting things in writing is especially important if you plan to do a counteroffer.
When you go through a leasing agent they may misunderstand the landlord’s terms or they may try to change some of the landlord’s stipulations. Sometimes even you may misunderstand, if you do not see the terms in writing, so make sure that you do.
Negotiate the Lease
Some leases are non-negotiable and there’s nothing you can do about it. However, there are some leases where you can negotiate with your landlord.
When you’re leasing commercial real estate it is expected that a counteroffer will be made. Don’t be surprised that the first price you hear is not necessarily the one that the landlord has set in stone.
They are usually expecting a counter offer so they will price the lease higher so that when you do make your counteroffer, they will be able to negotiate with you. When you are making a counter offer it is also important to do it in writing. This looks professional and it will speak volumes for you. Try not to get too anxious as you don’t want to seem desperate once you have submitted the letter. If you haven’t heard anything back in a week then you can follow up.
Review Your Lease
One of the things you must do is carefully review your lease once it is finalized. Do not sign off until you are clear about the operating expenses. You need to know how much of the maintenance cost you will be asked to bear.
You also need to know what you can and cannot do inside the commercial space, in terms of decorating or fixing a layout that is right for your office, if there are specifications from the landlord about how to do layouts, you can hire prime interior services to assist you. Remember to ask about the termination and exit clauses for your lease make sure these are also very clear to you.
Get the Right Lease
Getting the right lease for your commercial office is critical. You want to make sure that the lease agreement benefits you as much as possible.
Try to negotiate with your potential landlord and find out as much as you can about the lease agreement you are being given, before you sign off on it.
