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3-Tips to finding an office space

You've never done this before?

Most of my clients have negotiated a lease between zero and one time. Because office leases are typically between 5-10 years, it's not exactly a skill worth learning (most of the time). You've probably never negotiated a lease either.

The time comes, the lease is up in 9-months, and you find yourself stressed out of your mind because you need move but you don't know what buildings are available, you don't know if the available spaces fit your space needs, you don't know what the rents are, and you don't know if the landlord is giving you a fair deal or screwing you over because you don't have a broker. In short, you feel completely overwhelmed and out of place like the NFL players who are trying to negotiate their own contracts.

But Imagine you knew everything the brokers knew... Here are 3-tips when finding your next office.

Tip #1

Start early. 

I can't tell you how frustrating my job can be when CEOs come to me with 2-months left on their lease, expecting to get a smoking deal on their renewal/relocation. 

Here's the rub--your landlord knows the real estate business. They know finding/touring spaces takes 2-3 weeks, negotiating LOIs takes 4-6 weeks, lease review takes 4-5 weeks, and buildout takes between 4-6 MONTHS. At the very best, they know you need +6 months of runway to move. So when you come to the negotiation table with that aggressive offer, 2-months from the expiration date, they will call your bluff 10/10 times.

Start the process 9-12 months out. 

If you are looking at 2nd Generation Suites or move-in ready spec suites only, you can wait until the 6-9 month range to kick the process off. 

If you are looking to tailor your next space to your exact needs, and fully buildout the suite from shell condition, please please please give yourself 9-12 months of runway.

It's the easiest tip to implement, and the most impactful on a transaction timeline.

If you want my full breakdown, check out my Playboook blog post that outlines every step for you.

Tip #2

Have options.

Even if you are set on moving out of the building, negotiate with your current landlord. 

If you are set on staying, tour the market and find out what other landlords are offering to put pressure on your current landlord to give you a better deal. 

When you go to market, don't just pick one building to tour and negotiate with. Pick 3-5 so when one of the options pulls the rug out because they've been working a deal on the side without telling you, you don't care because you've got 2-4 more options. 

When showing my clients space, I sift through options to try and get between 10-20 spaces on a Survey.

(If you're interested, let me know in the Contact Top page and I can send you a Market Survey example.)

I then review the survey with my client and further sift through to try and get to 4-6 options to tour in-person. 

After touring, we discuss and try to cut to 3-5 to negotiate with. 

And finally, we'll negotiate until we have a front-runner that's giving us such a good deal we can't pass up. 

GIVE YOURSELF OPTIONS.

Tip #3

Don't wait for a lease draft to negotiate. 

Negotiate as much as you can in the LOI. I have a 25-point list of terms I negotiate on with 3-5 different landlords simultaneously for any given deal. 

Here's the thing. Lease negotiations is often a war of attrition. If you are running out of time and move to leases on a specific property, the Landlord is going to wait you out and stand firm until you have to accept and sign the dotted line.

If you've given yourself time (#1), and you've given yourself options (#2), you should be able to negotiate the lease in LOIs without any legal expense and if you want my 25-point list, feel free to reach out in my Contact Tom page and I'll send you all the details.

Final (Bonus) Tip

Get someone who specializes in lease negotiations. 

You don't set up your own data servers. You don't CPA your own books. You don't negotiate your own lease.

Brokers cost you nothing, and the Landlord's starting offer will get better the second you introduce one into the fold. Just do it.

 

If you followed these tips, there's a good chance you'll hedge your bets on screwing up your next office space. 

If you need any help, send me a message in the Contact Tom page and I can answer any questions you may have.

 

Have a great day, and I'll make sure to do the same. 

Best,

-TL

Need help with your office lease?

Meet the Author

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Tom the National Office Broker

tomlandbusiness@gmail.com

Tom is an entrepreneur and commercial real estate expert based out of Dallas, TX with his wife (Allisa) and two daughters (Ocean & Summer). He pioneers the Corporate Occupier Services division at HLC and manages corporate accounts of +200 leases at any given point. His focus on technology, systematic process, and discipline provide a unique combination that supports a tight feedback loop, allowing Tom to continually iterate and perfect every aspect of the Tenant Representation Brokerage role. 

Currently, Tom is set out to document the entire leasing process for companies, and lower the barrier of knowledge that makes Commercial Real Estate professionals so valuable.