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Step 1
Find available lease locations for retail businesses. Consider your walk-in business possibilities, as well as drive-by business. Consider if you'll be able to be seen from the major intersections in the area.
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Step 2
View and get pricing on at least three locations. Get the information in writing regarding any locations that you are even remotely interested in.
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Step 3
Check out the businesses on each side of your prospective location. Consider if the neighbors will compliment your business or hinder it. If you want to open a donut shop, it might be best not to be next to the weight loss clinic or workout facility.
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Step 4
Have your attorney, preferably a real estate attorney, review your proposed lease agreement. Be sure that you understand the length of your lease, who pays for the utilities, what type of building permits will be required for a build out, when your lease begins and who pays for any major repairs, such as air conditioning or heating. Don't be afraid to counter points or be prepared to walk away if the terms are not what will work for you.
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Step 5
Obtain written guidelines regarding the type of signs allowed or required, as the expense of installing these can be very expensive.
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Step 6
Get all changes in the lease agreement signed and initialed. In finalizing your lease, have the number of the space you're interested in written down and the exact square footage written in the lease and have this square footage verified by an appraiser before signing on the dotted line.
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Step 1
Ask questions regarding types of equipment that you're allowed to have in your space according to your lease. Medical offices sometimes have large equipment such as MRI machines or CAT SCANS. Be sure that this type of equipment is allowed per your lease.
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Step 2
Be sure to select an office location to lease that may help your business to grow. A law firm may find it more time and cost effective to be located close to the county court house or records building. A doctor's office may be more conveniently located in a medical plaza or in a leased space within the hospital building that the doctor is on staff at. It would save the doctor and his patients lots of time and money in travel expenses.
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Step 3
Consider the parking situation for office lease spaces. A high-rise office building may be more convenient for your employees and clients with its large covered parking garage than the street level office space that has parking six blocks down the street or on the street.
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Step 1
Find out the allowances for having large trucks coming in and out. If you need dock space, make sure these are included in the lease for the industrial space.
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Step 2
Ask about the type of codes and permits that would be required in such a lease space in comparison to your type of business. Should your company store or use chemicals, paints or fertilizers, there may be extra permits that could be required, so ask before you sign.
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Step 3
Negotiate if you need both office space and warehouse space. Should you just need warehouse space, find out if you can split a lease with a company that just needs office space if it's the best location to suit both your businesses.
