Kathy Woodward DDI Commercial | Southcreek

3 Tips for Using Less Electricity in Your Kansas City Office Space

A simple awareness of your office’s lighting needs can help save you money on electricity bills and be a little more environmentally friendly. Here are three ways to make sure you are not using more electric light than you need, as suggested in the article “10 Ideas for Saving Money & Energy in the Office”:

Flip the switch. If a room is empty, turn the light off. It is a very simple concept, but how often are break rooms or conference rooms empty but still lit up? Turn off lights whenever you see that they are unnecessary, and spread the word around the office to do the same.
Try CFL light bulbs. Switch out your traditional incandescent light bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs for more energy efficient lighting. CFLs can last up to 10 times as long as traditional bulbs and save up to 75% on energy costs.
Soak up the natural light. If you have a window in your office, take advantage of this light source and move your desk near it. Or if not see if you can make any adjustments to take advantage of indirect light in your workspace, even if it is only during certain times of day. Not only does this save energy, but natural light is also good for your mood!

Lighting an office space can require a lot of energy (and money) consumption, so be strategic in minimizing those costs!

If you are interested in learning more about commercial office space for lease in Kansas City give Kathy Woodward at DDI Commercial a call at 913-685-4100!

Three Small Office Lease in Kansas City Provisions to Carefully Review

It is important to review all of your lease before signing it, possibly even with the help of a broker or attorney, but here are a few provisions in particular to read carefully, as suggested in the article “Real Estate—Commercial Leasing”:

Basic/Net Rental Rates. Make sure that the basic or net rent that was listed in the lease matches up to listings of the rent in other official documents, such as the confidential information memorandum (CIM), rent roll, and any other income documentation that you need to serve as a record of the value of the space. You will want to be on the lookout for any discrepancies, including in the date listed and any information on rent increases.
Compare Rent to Actual Payments. Make sure that the rental rate listed for a space matches up with what tenants actually pay. Legally, a landlord might not be able to enforce a higher rental rate if they have regularly accepted lower payments from tenants or made an oral agreement to reduce rental costs.
Area. This is another item to check against what is on record in income documentation. You can also ask the landlord if they have area certificates to double check that both the space listed and the measurement standard match up with what is on the lease.

Do all of the research you can to make sure that your rental rate and the amount of space you are renting are correctly listed on your lease.

If you would like to learn more about office lease rates in Kansas City, give Kathy Woodward at DDI Commercial a call at 913-685-4100.

Extra Expenses to Watch Out for in Your Office Space Lease in Overland Park

Do not think that the cost of your office space stops at just the rent. There are almost always extra expenses, depending on your type of lease, so be aware of the financial commitment you are getting yourself into. Here are a few things to be aware of, as described in the article, “How to Get a Good Deal on a Lease“:

General Expenses

Landlords will typically try to pass on extra costs to tenants, including the financial burden of taxes, insurance, and general operating expenses.

CAM

One type of operating expense that landlords will hold you responsible for is Common Area Maintenance (CAM). The cost of maintaining these spaces is divided up among tenants usually based on their share of the total space. These spaces usually include the lobby, parking lot, stairwells, and restrooms.

Repairs

In addition to general maintenance, landlords usually try to put the cost of repairs (besides ones to the roof, parking lot, or exterior walls) on tenants. This could include repairing heating and cooling systems, which is a big financial burden, so be sure to investigate what repairs you are responsible for and the state of equipment in your space before signing the lease.

Be aware of how much you will be paying in added expenses before committing to a lease!

If you are interested in office rental space in Kansas City, give Kathy Woodward at DDI Commercial a call at 913-685-4100!

No-Cost Ways to Make Your Employees Feel Valued in Your Kansas City Office Space

Did you know that one major cause of employee dissatisfaction according to surveys is lack of recognition? Your business might not have the budget to lavish perks and benefits on your employees on a regular basis, but there are a few cost-efficient steps you can take to make people feel more valued, as suggested in the Forbes article, Six Ways to Boost Employee Morale That Won’t Cost You a Dime:

Work with local businesses to get deals. Local businesses might depend on your employees stopping by as they run errands after work or frequenting a certain restaurant for lunch. Talk to these local retailers about deals or weekly specials. It is a win for them as business and gives you something positive to offer to your employees. Go a little further to show that you care about the families that your employees are working to provide for by calling a few local movie theaters, pools, bowling alleys, or other family-friendly entertainment venues to see if they would be interested in partnerships or discounts.
Encourage hobby sharing during lunch or breaks. Start a book club, bring in an expert to speak on gardening, or find other small ways to show people you are interested in what they enjoy outside of work.
Bring the services they need to them. If you have extra space around your office or even just a section of a parking lot, your employees might appreciate you making an effort to bring amenities they need to them. Ask nearby restaurants, food trucks, dry cleaners, or other service providers to come to your business—they get the opportunity to sell their products and your employees benefit from the convenience.

Trying even just one of these options is a good way to show employees that you care!

If you are interested in office space in Kansas, give Kathy Woodward at DDI Commercial a call at 913-685-4100.

Working With Your Landlord to Renew Your Small Office Lease in Kansas City

One way to approach renewing your office space lease is to put yourself in your landlord’s position. Instead of thinking of your landlord as being on the opposing side of negotiations, consider how you can work together to achieve a deal that benefits both of you. Here are some tips for working with your landlord during renewal negotiations, as suggested in the article, Eight Tips for Negotiating an Office Lease Renewal:

Consider Your Landlord’s Concerns

Think for a moment about the main concerns your landlord has. Landlords are typically interested in avoiding difficult rental situations, the value of their spaces, and the current income (cash flow) they are making from the property. Be aware of how your landlord might prioritize these three things and how they fit together. For instance, property value and cash flow are related: property value is calculated based on cash flow during a certain amount of time, with a consideration of cash flow in the future. So you might be able to negotiate for lower rental rates during certain periods in exchange for paying an increased rate when your landlord needs that higher cash flow (i.e. when they are thinking about refinancing).

Find Savings for Both Tenant and Landlord

Both you and your landlord have the same goal of avoiding the difficulty and expense of relocating. Just as you do not want to set up in a new space, your landlord does not want an empty space on their hands and the headache of soliciting new tenants, negotiating a new lease, and dealing with improvements. And if you have been a reliable and respectful tenant, they might prefer continuing a relationship with you over the unknown. Talk with your landlord about the ways that your renewal can benefit them as well, and keep in mind the other party’s needs and concerns as you negotiate.

Sometimes concern for your landlord’s needs can result in a good deal for both of you!

If you are interested in commercial realty in Kansas City, give Kathy Woodward at DDI Commercial a call at 913-685-4100!

Comparing Responses to a Proposal for an Office Space Lease in Overland Park: Part II

When you are in the initial phases of finding a new office space for your business, it is important to give yourself options. Once you have written proposals to a number of landlords, take some time to compare their responses to gather some objective data on how the different spaces meet your needs and fit in your budget. Here are a few more points of comparison, as suggested in the article, Proposal Responses:

Lease Length. It is important to consider how long you would like to lease a space and what kind of clauses in the lease landlords are suggesting. If you are a growing business, you will want to look for options that allow you to begin with a short lease term with options to renew or possibly expand into surrounding space.
Operating Expense Histories. You can glean some useful information about a potential space by asking for a three year history of their operating expenses. Unless there have been obvious issues such as increases in energy costs, insurance issues, or maintenance contract negotiations, a well-well run and stable business should have pretty consistent operating expenses from year to year.

Take some time to evaluate your responses objectively before you move forward in choosing a space!

If your business is interested in commercial space for rent in Overland Park, give Kathy Woodward at DDI Commercial a call at 913-685-4100.

Simple Steps for Finding a New Kansas City Office Space

Whether you need to move up or downsize, there are several different factors to consider before beginning the search for a new office space and making any final decisions. Here are a few steps that can help you make this process go more smoothly, as seen in the article Planning for a New Office Space in the New Year:

Create a Needs List

The first step to take is creating a list of your business’s needs—not wants or wishes, but the things you truly cannot compromise on. This will help you figure out if the type of space you need is even available in the area where you are looking.

One way of managing this process is creating a move team so it is easy to delegate information gathering tasks. Assign a project leader and set important dates and deadlines with the team.

Space Considerations

Here are a few key questions to help you determine your space needs:

Do you need a lot of general office space—room for people, desks or equipment?
Do you need a space with plenty of conference rooms for client meetings, presentations, or private conferences?
Is parking a major concern?
Are you downsizing and need to redesign your office layout?
Do you need both an office space and warehouse in the same location?

Consider these steps and questions to help determine what your business needs before you start searching and negotiating!

If you are looking for commercial realty in Overland Park, give Kathy Woodward at DDI Commercial a call at 913-685-4100!

How to Figure Square Footage for an Office Rental Space: Step 1

Determining how much square footage your business will need is an important part of the process of finding an office rental space and requires careful attention to detail. Do not let yourself be blindsided by unforeseen expenses or unusable space in your new office space. Here is the first of 5 steps for accurately measuring square footage in a commercial space:

Step 1: Know the Jargon

It is important to understand the terminology that will be thrown at you during lease negotiations. Here are a few terms you should be prepared for:

Usable Square Footage – The space that a tenant actually occupies. This is the figure that real estate agents will often quote to prospective tenants, but it does not tell the whole story of a space.
Rentable Square Footage – This number is the combination of your usable square footage and a percentage of the common space of the building that you will share with other tenants, such as hallways, elevators, lobbies, and stairwells.
Gross Square Footage – all of the rentable square footage in a building.
Load Factor – Calculation of total monthly rent based on the rentable square footage times the unit price per square foot. Often the price per square foot will be different for common-area square footage versus usable square footage.

Prepare yourself to navigate the process of calculating square footage!

If you are interested in office rental space in Kansas City, give Kathy Woodward at DDI Commercial a call at 913-685-4100 to find out about our available space!

4 Tips for Small Business Moving Out of the Home and into an Office Space in Kansas City: Part II

Once you have decided that you are ready to move your small business out of the home, and you have assessed your budget and business needs, there a still a few more steps to smoothly transition into a new office space:

#3 Choose a Location

Making a final location decision will require some research. You want to make sure the presence of your business will be felt, but also that you are visible and accessible to your regular customers or clients. If you are in retail, it is a good idea to have a design or store concept ready to help you describe your business plan to landlords looking for a certain kind of tenant for their property.

#4 Update Your Paperwork

When you move to a new city, state, or county, you will have to make sure to update several different business requirements. For instance, your “Doing Business As” name will need to be updated with the local government, as well as your business licenses and permits. You will also need to make sure you understand your new location’s tax requirements. Finally, make sure you notify your former state of your move.

If it is time to move your small business out of your home office, do not be afraid to take that leap, but do prepare yourself by assessing your needs and finances, doing a little research, and making sure you have all of your paperwork in order.

If you are looking at commercial MLS listings in Kansas City, give Kathy Woodward at DDI Commercial a call at 913-685-4100 to learn about our available spaces!