Leasing an office space for your company is a big decision and a long-term commitment, and knowing what to ask before signing a lease can exponentially increase your overall satisfaction in your day-to-day operations. Here are some of the most important questions to ask when leasing office space:
Depending on what type of commercial building you are looking to rent, a wide array of services and amenities such as 24/7 security or wifi may or may not be included. There could also be a portion of shared amenities such as parking, lobby space, lunch rooms etc. Finding out the building amenities and specific suite amenities can help explain the overall cost of the space and help you weigh your priorities versus price to make the best decision possible for your company.
Does the building you’re looking to lease have parking? Is there an extra cost for parking or is it included? In bigger cities like Dallas or Tulsa, parking can be an important factor and knowing what amount of parking comes with your lease is imperative. At Vista Holdings, we plan ahead and make it known if our properties have parking right off the bat by listing whether it’s available on each of our property pages. Typically our buildings either have first come, first serve parking that is free and included in the lease price or if the building has reserved parking you can pay for that at an additional cost.
We highly recommend asking for a copy of the floor plan of the space you’re looking to lease early on in your negotiations so that you can guarantee that the space will meet your business and design needs. Ideally, the floor plan will show exact measurements so that you can visualize and measure where everything would go prior to signing the lease.
When asking about the office space you are looking to lease, it can be helpful to know if there are any signage opportunities available. Depending on the location, size and layout of the building, signage opportunities can be a great asset to showcasing your company’s office. At Vista, we ensure that if signage is an option, it is listed directly on the property page for potential tenants to see.
It’s common for repairs and maintenance to be paid for by the landlord rather than the tenant, but sometimes on smaller or stand alone buildings the tenant is required to pay for all costs. In addition, it can also be common for the landlord and tenant to negotiate repairs and maintenance and then agree on who is responsible for paying for it. It’s important that you get who is responsible for these costs in writing on your lease agreement so there are no misunderstandings or surprise extra costs.
We recommend asking who the other tenants in the building are. This gives you a feel for what the noise level and parking situation may be, as well as an idea of what industries the companies around you are in. Sometimes, in high-privacy industries, the landlord may not be able to tell you who another tenant is, but they’ll let you know if that is the case. Another good thing to ask is whether or not the building has a non-compete clause, meaning that no direct competitors can move into the building if there is already somebody occupying a space in the same industry.
These are just a few of the questions you should ask before signing an office space lease. We highly recommend doing your research and coming prepared to ask questions and negotiate your lease. If you’re interested in leasing office space in Dallas or the surrounding area and would like to work with an honest, upfront and experienced commercial real estate firm, then please don’t hesitate to contact us or browse our available properties.