By Eric Horne (Calgary)
Signing a commercial
lease for your business can be one of the largest financial commitments that you
make. It affects the image that you project, the ease of access to your clients
and the happiness of your employees. In my 10 years in the commercial real
estate industry, I have seen numerous businesses make the deal process
significantly harder than it has to be – or struggle needlessly – because they didn’t
have an effective strategy. Below are the 10 most critical things to do in
order to achieve a smooth leasing process.
Top 10 tips for tenants in commercial real estate
leasing transactions
- Understand your rights and liabilities in your existing lease.
- Use a qualified agent, broker or advisor to provide value and help educate final decision-makers
- Understand the market and what leverage you have.
- Clearly understand your space requirements for today and for the future.
- Act in a timely manner during the decision-making process.
- Develop a strategy at the beginning of the process.
- Finalize your internal and external team members for this process.
- Give yourself adequate time to complete a deal comfortably.
- Consider factors beyond the financial costs and what terms are open for negotiation
- Make your decision with confidence.
Planning ahead and
engaging the right support team are the best things that you can do for
yourself and your business. I encourage any company that currently leases
commercial space to review its lease. If it is within a year of expiring, start
the conversations now. If you are looking to lease for the first time, my
advice for you is to do your homework, get some good assistance and make a
plan.
A licensed broker can
help you understand the current market conditions and grow your business –without
experiencing needless headaches.
(Eric
Horne is a Vice-President of Downtown Office Leasing in Avison Young’s Calgary
office.)
