Office Space

Leasing Office Space: Internet/Phone Costs Can Affect Your Decision

by Uncategorized

Office Space

When you lease office space, there is more to think about than just paying the rent throughout the lease term. If you lease an individual office space, you will have to often pay for necessities such as furniture, office equipment, phone, Internet and more. Phone service and Internet access are two vital necessities for businesses to possess. However, such amenities can be costly, to say the least. It is these two things that will often factor into your decision as to what type of office space to lease.

Individual Office Space Leasing Means That You Pay For Phone and Internet Service

If you are interested in leasing your own office space, you should be prepared to pay for your phone and Internet service. Not only will you have to pay the monthly bills for these utilities but you will also have to pay for and arrange set up of the phones and computers within the office. Although you get to choose your service plans and configure the items as you wish, it can be a bit of a headache for office space tenants, especially the less than tech-savvy ones.

Shared Office Space Options Usually Include Phone and Internet Service

Your other option for leasing office space is to choose a shared office space location. With a shared office space, you and the other office building tenants will share amenities such as receptionist, mail service, conference rooms and more. It is also in this type of office lease setting when you often have phone and Internet services included. This means that you will already have your phone lines and computer access set up and many times these amenities will be included in your office space rent. You will have unlimited access to phone calls and Internet capabilities for one set price. This can be extremely cost-efficient for your business, especially if computer usage and phone calls are frequent.

Deciding Which Is Right for You

If you are indifferent as to which type of office space you choose, individual or shared, it is always wise to look at the monetary details. Selecting a shared office will allow you to have Internet and phone service included in your rent and not have to deal with setting up these technology avenues. On the other hand, if you choose an individual office, you will have your own space but still need to pay for and set up phone and Internet service. This can be an easy deciding factor for many business owners who wish to have their costs included and ensure that everything is set up and ready to go. Both office space options have their pros and cons. The best way to decide is to determine if cost is an issue when it comes to phone and Internet service. If so, then you should look into the shared office space option and see how much money you will be able to save if you choose to go this route with regard to commercial office space leasing.

Office Lease

Office Leasing: Benefits Of A Built To Suit

by Uncategorized

Office Lease

As a business owner looking to lease office space, you typically have two main options: lease an already existing location that is ready to go or obtain a built to suit office space lease. Some business owners decide that leasing an already existing office is their best bet as it is all ready to be leased and may be more cost efficient as opposed to the alternative.  However, other business owners like the idea of a built to suit office lease.  Here are some benefits to choosing a built to suit office leasing avenue:

 

Get the Office Space Which Suits Your Commercial Business Needs

The best thing about a built to suit office lease is that you will be gaining a location which is built to suit your individual commercial business needs. No longer will you have to accept an office space which might work but not be the best that it can be. With an office lease which is built to suit, the developer will build the office space for you and then lease the premises to you. Throughout the process, the developer will ask for your input and ensure that the finished product is what you envisioned all along. Keep in mind that the lease term for a built to suit lease will be longer than a regular office space lease.

Lease an Office Which Is Often Environmentally Friendly

Another excellent benefit to the built to suit office lease is that many times these office spaces are environmentally friendly. Because the developer may receive certain financial incentives for making their new building energy-efficient, they are more likely to do so which will benefit you in the long run. This means that utility costs will be more favorable and much of the components within the office space will be technologically advanced as well. The end result is an office space which is environmentally friendly and cost-efficient.

Cut Renovation/Addition Costs One Might Incur With an Existing Office Space

It is not very often where a leased office space has everything which the office space tenant desires. That is, unless it is built to suit. A built to suit office lease will help you to cut any renovation and addition costs which you might incur as a result of your ready to lease office space not having everything you want and need for commercial space. Although you may pay more to lease a built to suit office space, you will ultimately save money in the end by not having to fund renovations or additions to the premises.

Built to suit office leases are the perfect answer for business owners who know exactly what they want in their office space, cannot find what they need in already constructed office space and are looking for a location which is up to date with regard to fixtures and overall construction. You will find that more developers are getting involved with built to suit office leases and there is quite a lot out there when it comes to builders who wish to enter into this type of arrangement with business tenants.  If you are searching for a specific office space and want to lease as opposed to buy an office, perusing your built to suit office lease options is a wise choice.

Office Lease: How Long Of A Term Should You Sign?

by Uncategorized

Commercial office space leases are unique in many ways. One way relates to the length of the lease term for the commercial office space. As opposed to residential leases which are usually on an annual basis, commercial leases are a bit longer. You can choose a 3 or 5 year lease in some cases while other landlords require a 7 or 10 year lease when they want the tenant to stay in the leasehold for a bit longer. This will vary by location and landlord preference as well.

When trying to decide which type of lease term is right for you and when you want to choose an office space to lease which offers you the desired lease term, the following considerations will help:

Desire to Permanently Lay Down Roots in the Area

For business owners who know that this town or business center is where they would like to stay permanently, it makes sense to lease the office space for as long as possible. Unless you are interested in buying an office space within a few years, you want to reserve your current location as long as possible, especially if you want to stay in the area for the long term.

How the Location Suits Your Business

If you look at a lease option in a particular area and know that this will be a lucrative locale for your business, you can lease for a longer period of time. For those business owners who want to lease an office space in a current location but may not be sure how they will do overall in that specific area, a shorter lease term is advisable.

Budget Issues

It is good to know that the longer the lease term, the less expensive the lease may be. If you are leasing with monetary considerations in mind, which most business office tenants are, then getting a longer lease, if possible, will yield better financial results for you. Be sure to inquire with your landlord as to the cost for shorter and longer lease terms. Some landlords will offer the lease for the same amount, no matter how long the lease term may be, while others are amenable to lowering the price for a longer lease term.

Plans To Expand Employee Base

Another factor which will help you to decide how long of a lease term to enter into involves your current and future employee base. If you are going to stick with the general number of employees in the future and do not foresee plans to increase your employee base, then you may want to sign for a longer lease term as you won’t have to be concerned with the amount of office space in the future since your employee number will remain similar to the employee number you currently have.

Deciding on the length of the lease is an important consideration. You want to try to think ahead and determine approximately how long you will want to stay in that same location. Even though this may be a difficult decision to make so early on, it is something which must be considered prior to signing your new office space lease.

Office Space

Leasing Office Space And The Hidden Costs

by Uncategorized

Office Space

When entering into a leasing arrangement for commercial office space, you may incorrectly assume that the only amount of money you will pay each month or each year is the cost of the lease. However, leasing office space can yield other costs as well. There are often hidden costs which, if you don’t ask questions or review your lease terms efficiently, you may miss these hidden costs. Here are some hidden costs which may play a part in your commercial office space lease:

Improvement and Upgrade Costs

Even though you are moving into a new commercial office lease, there still may need to be some improvements or upgrades you must do in order to get the premises up to your standards. If the landlord allows such improvements, most likely these costs are not included in the price of the lease. In other words, you will have to pay for any improvement or upgrade costs out of pocket. This is always a good consideration to keep in mind.

Maintenance Costs

Although we would like to think that the leased office will always be in tip top shape, there will sometimes be a need for maintenance services. This is often the responsibility of the tenant and you have to be sure that you will have the money on hand in order to pay for any maintenance costs as they occur along the way.

Operating Expenses

Each month, commercial tenants will have to spend money on various operating expenses. Expenses such as electric bills, shared office space expenses and more will have to be taken into consideration by the tenant. These operating expenses can add up so it is important that the commercial office tenant who leases the office space keeps such costs in mind.

Increasing Tax and Maintenance Costs

When a lease is signed, there is usually a term present within the lease related to tax and maintenance costs being included in the rent. There may also be something related to increasing tax and maintenance costs. This is the increase in costs for taxes and maintenance fees which the landlord sees and wants to make sure that such costs are passed along to the tenant. Although this is a common inclusion, it is one which tenants may not know about, especially if they are new to the office space leasing arrangement.

Pre-Existing Condition Costs

Pre-existing condition costs are pertinent for office space tenants who change conditions of the leasehold estate during their lease term. Many times a landlord will want the property returned to its prior state once the lease term expires and the current tenant moves out. This cost can be great, especially if you make a lot of changes to the property during your leasing term. Make sure that you account for such costs and see if this type of pre-existing condition clause is included in your lease.

All of these hidden costs can be ones which pop up and surprise the commercial tenant. They should be listed in the lease but you have to be sure to spot them prior to signing the lease. With a tenant representative to guide you, you can be certain that these lease terms will not be missed and will be pointed out to you by your representative at the time in which you sign the lease.

Office Space

Chicago Office Space: Green Costs and LEED Certification

by Uncategorized

Office Space

In today’s society, individuals and companies are doing what they can to preserve the environment. Simple tasks such as recycling, conserving energy and using environmentally friendly cleaners are some examples of ways in which we are trying to preserve the environment for future generations. With that said, there are also larger ways in which environmental paths are being taken. For example, companies are leasing property in an environmentally friendly manner so that they can keep environmental factors in mind when doing so. The main issue occurs, however, when prospective office building tenants review the increased amount of the lease price due to the building being a green one.

Green Costs

Although most people would enjoy pursuing green commercial options, the truth of the matter is that going green in a commercial environment can be a bit pricey. Even something as simple as using energy-efficient light bulbs will cost the tenant more in the long run. In addition, if the landlord chooses to offer green features to the office space lease, the rent itself may be increased to accommodate for such inclusions. With this in mind, it is important to note that green costs are well worth the expenditure, whether you are a commercial office space tenant or commercial property landlord.

LEED Certification

LEED certification, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a green building rating system. When new buildings are constructed, contractors who want to shoot for LEED certification build the offices with environmental factors per the LEED certification guidelines in mind. This can be a pricey venture for the building owners and may, in fact, trickle down to the commercial office tenants in the end due to a higher rent being charged by the commercial building landlord. However, building owners may opt for the LEED certification goals as they want to do whatever is possible for the environment and may want to draw in environmentally-conscious commercial tenants.

Deciding If Green Office Space Is Right for You

The benefits of leasing green office space are readily apparent. You will be doing your part, as an individual and business, to preserve the environment on a daily basis. Your landlord may handle most of the green upgrades or components but your rates may be a bit higher due to the green qualities of the building. In order to figure out if green costs and an office building with LEED certification is right for you, review the following factors and make your decision accordingly:

  • Business with the Environment in Mind: Do you want to operate your business and lease an office space with the environment in mind? Do you find that you were frustrated with the lack of environmentally friendly features in your prior office spaces? If so, then the green costs will be worth getting an office building to lease which has LEED certification.
  • Cost Factors: You must also ask yourself if you and your company can afford the green costs associated with environmentally friendly office building leases and offices with LEED certification. Even though the building is already built and has received such certification, keep in mind that the green costs may continue for you, the commercial office tenant. If this is still agreeable, then leasing a commercial office space with green characteristics is doable.

Leasing an office with environmental factors in mind is a socially responsible and morally beneficial thing for business owners to do. If you find that you can afford the green costs associated with doing so, then finding a green office space to lease is a wise decision to make.