Terri Ramsey Beavers Renting a commercial property for your business is a big step that can significantly impact your professional future. Not only will you want to ensure that your business has a favorable location, but you’ll also need to verify that your company won’t get saddled with high monthly costs.
It all starts during initial negotiations before renting a commercial property. You’ll have to negotiate your lease and work to get the best deal for yourself and your business with the help of your commercial real estate agents. Thankfully, there are several strategies you can use to enjoy significant savings on your rental property. Here are a few tips that can help you get a good deal on your rental:
1. Get Help From the Experts
It’s no secret: real estate negotiations can be challenging and complex. If you’re not a trained real estate professional, you likely won’t possess all the necessary information to barter the lowest price. That’s why you should always get help from a professional attorney and engage a real estate agent to provide an informed opinion and guide you through your situation. They might even be able to negotiate your lease for you altogether, so it will pay to consult the professionals before jumping into negotiations.
2. Have Your Priorities Straight
Before you settle rent and terms for your lease, you’ll need to make sure you have everything squared away on your end. Have a clear budget in mind. This should include an upper limit for how much you’re willing to spend on rent and expenses like insurance and maintenance. Most importantly, you should identify the benefits you can live without. In doing so, you’ll be able to lower the price of your lease by knowing what you want and removing any fluff that you don’t.
3. Keep Your Options Open
Maybe you’ve just found your dream rental. As enticing as it might sound, you shouldn’t limit yourself to negotiating over one property at a time. Instead, you should shop around and enter negotiations with multiple other rentals. That way, you’ll have other offers to leverage during your meetings. Not only will this make you more informed about the state of the market, but you’ll also be able to strike better deals and force landowners to make more competitive offers as they vie for your attention.
4. Think About the Long-Term
It’s not unusual for rent to increase with each subsequent lease renewal. When you’re negotiating with your landlord, it may be a good idea to opt for longer-term leases rather than cheaper short-term ones. While shorter leases might sound appealing due to their lower price of entry, longer leases mean that you’ll have fewer rent increases to worry about in the future, saving your business money in the long run. Of course, the caveat is that newer businesses might not be able to plan ahead when they’re just getting started. Nonetheless, long-term leases are a good idea for more established storefronts.
5. Be Aware of Your Responsibilities
You might assume that your only responsibility with your rental property is to pay rent and keep it in good condition. However, many landlords hold their tenants responsible for more extensive maintenance requirements, such as HVAC, which could have significant financial implications down the line. During your negotiations, make sure you understand your maintenance obligations and try to hold your landlord responsible instead.
If you’re entering into negotiations and feel hopeless about getting a deal that serves your needs, don’t lose heart. Instead, remember these five tips to negotiate an arrangement that suits your needs.
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