How to Avoid Signing a Bad Commercial Deal?

When you sign a commercial lease, it is a big step for your business. It is a new opportunity that can help drive your company to a new level. If the process goes well, you’ll have commercial space that saves your capital, accommodates your growth, matches your brands, and much more. However, if you sign a bad commercial lease, you could end up shelling more than required; acquire a bad space, or both for many years.

Commercial Buildings

Fortunately, the mistakes that result in bad commercial real estate decisions can be easy to avert, though. If you follow the below-mentioned steps, you can shield your business and set yourself to sign a great commercial property for lease.

Before you even begin to think about zeroing in on a specific building or a particular commercial space, you need to take a step back and conduct thorough research. You need to find out:

  • What do you require?
  • What you are willing to spend?
  • Where do you wish to be?
  • Where do you see your business progressing?

To do this, you will need to take a look at what you’re already doing in your current offices or other commercial spaces. Then, gather all the stakeholders together to comprehend their present as well as future requirements. Once you have completed your research, you will be ready to proceed to the subsequent part of the process.

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind to avoid signing a bad commercial lease:

Thoroughly Go Through the Details of Your Lease:

It’s extremely important to read the details of your commercial lease agreement prior to signing it. It is standard advice but is regularly ignored. Before you zero in on any commercial property for lease, it is vital to read your lease thoroughly as leases are complicated lease documents that can impact economics if a single word is misinterpreted.

Evaluate All Expenses

Signing a commercial property for lease shows you a whole array of different expenditures. Your rent and any proposed raise over the life of your lease are most probably significant, but they are the only expenses you will be paying. Pay close attention to the operating expenses of the building and how you will be accountable for them. If you can, try to get a gist of how the building is managed. If repair and maintenance expenses are less, it could signify greater expenses in the future as deferred maintenance causes more than regular repair bills.

Pay Close Attention to the End of the Lease Tenure 

Before you select the commercial property for lease, you need to keep certain parameters in mind. One of them is the end of your lease. The ending of the commercial lease is as significant as the beginning. When your lease expires, you will either wish to leave the office space or continue with it. It’s much easier to prepare for both possible outcomes at the start as opposed to start planning when the end is right around the corner. The key to continuing in the same space is to have renewal options drafted into your initial commercial lease agreement.

In a nutshell, the above-mentioned are some of the factors that you need to take into account before you get a commercial property for lease. In this way, you will be able to avoid signing a bad commercial lease that will prove to be disadvantageous for you.

Head over to CRE Matrix to view various commercial leases across industries in India to understand real estate better.

Commercial Leasing Due Diligence Guide: How to Acquire the Best Deal?

When it comes to commercial real estate in India, the process of comprehending the property, the terms of the lease, as well as the way your tenancy will work, is referred to as due diligence. It needs you to do your homework as well as pay attention to the physical, financial as well as legal aspects of the lease. 

If you don’t perform due diligence before leasing a property, business owners end up signing a lease that disrupts their business operations. For example, a few landlords are dishonest and showcase no fair dealings when leasing a property. The majority of landlords lease out properties that are in the process of foreclosure, and a few have bad relationships with their present tenants. Due diligence aids potential commercial real estate tenants to avoid needless conflicts and challenges when they shift to their new office space. 

Additionally, due diligence aids tenants to know as much about the property they wish to lease as the landlord. This assists them to be a beneficial point when negotiating with the property owner. Moreover, while performing due diligence, business owners can find data they can utilize while negotiating reasonable deals. 

Commercial Leasing Due Diligence Tips 

Be on the Lookout for Hidden Expenses 

Sometimes, a commercial lease will make tenants pay for the maintenance expenses. Thereby, it is important that you know all the essentials of the ‘gross lease’, so you’re aware of the expenses that you are accountable for. This will assist you to negotiate and also drop the ones that do not fulfil your business requirements. 

Assess the Terms of the Lease Agreement 

You must be aware of the terms of the commercial lease agreement, particularly regarding default and termination of the lease. The knowledge of the termination clause will assist in negotiating a fair penalty for lease termination before it expires.

Evaluate your Potential Future Development 

To avoid paying for extra spaces that you may never utilize, you need to carefully check your capacity for future development. It’s important to not be extra ambitious, as this can lead to having space that may never get occupied. This is one of the major factors to keep in mind before you sign a commercial lease

Research Market Rates 

Acquire an idea of market rents in the region where you are considering and compare them to whatever price the landlord is asking for the rent. It is also vital to point out that just because you have lived in the same place as the new property does not mean the new rental rate will be in the same bracket. 

Thereby, it is important that you thoroughly research the market rates and comprehend what the present trends are. Before signing the commercial lease and making a payment, you must get an idea of the average market rental in the region. This can assist in negotiating a lower price if your landlord is demanding a higher rate. When researching the market rates, you can spend some time interacting with a broker who will provide you with updated details on the market lease rates. 

In a nutshell, above are some of the due diligence tips to keep in mind before you sign a commercial lease for office space. If you wish to have more insights on commercial leasing, then do subscribe to CRE Matrix