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10 Things You Must Know Before Signing a Small Office Lease in Kansas City: Part IV

Signing a lease is a big decision for your business, and preparation for this process cannot be taken lightly. Here are a few things you must be aware of as you begin looking for a space for your business:

7. Have a working knowledge of rental rates. Rental rates can be tricky. Some landlords set rates artificially high with a few months of free rent to offset the actual cost in order to maintain their property value. Others stipulate that rates increase periodically in set amounts throughout the term of the lease. When paying per square foot, you might find upon closer examination that the landlord’s measurements include square footage that is not really there. Be aware also that leases will often include extra costs on top of base rent, such as operating and marketing costs.
8. Be ready to walk. Even if you become emotionally tied to a potential deal, you need to be ready to walk away from the table. The ability to walk away from a possible deal is empowering and gives you control over the ultimate outcome, ensuring that you get the best deal possible for your business.

Make sure you take the time to educate yourself on the leasing process before entering negotiations!

Is your business looking for an office space for rent in Kansas City? Give us a call today at 913-685-4100 to set up a tour of a Kansas City office space!

Getting Initial Asking Terms in Writing for a Small Office Lease in Kansas City

If the landlord or leasing agent you are working with only gives you the terms verbally, ask for the terms in writing before you draft a counter offer. You can simply ask for them in an email or a copy of the listing containing basic leasing information if the agent or landlord is hesitant to give you a letter. Here are some reasons why it is so important to get the initial leasing terms written down:

Agent Misunderstandings. A leasing agent is working for the interests of the landlord, and it is possible that they could misunderstand the directions of the landlord, or even possibly attempted to alter them. If you have the terms in writing, you can show the landlord that you made a counter offer in good faith based on the information that the leasing agent had given you.
Your Misunderstandings. If you are simply told the terms, it is also possible that you could misunderstand them and not be able to go back and reference them as you write a counter offer. Misunderstood information could lead to you making a counter offer that is either too high or too low.
Research time. Asking for the terms in writing also buys you a little time to research more about the lease, compare terms to other potential leases, or to consult an attorney about the terms.

Remember that asking for terms in writing does not legally require you to move forward with the lease. You can still either counter the terms or just turn them down if you do not think they will work.

If you are looking for an office space for rent in Kansas City, give Kathy Woodward at DDI Commercial a call at 913-685-4100 to find out about our commercial listings!

Loan Agreements for Office Space in Overland Park KS

Once a lender decides to offer a loan to a business for commercial rental property, they will present the business owner with a commitment letter, or loan agreement, with the terms included. The loan agreement will usually include the following components:

The length of the loan
Interest rates (either variable or fixed)
Purpose of the loan (construction on a property, renting of a new property, refinancing)
Closing conditions
Affirmative and negative agreements regarding what the borrower does and does not agree to do
Owner occupancy requirements
Warranties and representation.

Once the borrower and lender have finished negotiating the terms of the agreement and mutually agree, the deal is closed, and the closing process for commercial real estate is usually more involved than for a residential mortgage, owing to different factors that might have to be considered in the process (everything from subleasing to zoning ordinances). This process could take up to two or three months, in some cases.

When negotiating a loan agreement to fund your office space rent in Kansas City, the key is to find a lender that will best meet the needs of your business and allow it to grow. Knowing the ins and outs of how to find and negotiate a loan can help put your business on track for growth.

If you want to find out more about affordable office space in Overland Park, give us a call at 913-685-4100!

Office Space for Rent in Kansas City

Here are a few basic questions to consider if you are thinking about relocating your business to some office space for rent in Kansas City:

Why look? Sometimes an important factor in choosing to find a new office space is location. Unless you are running your small business from home, evaluating the location of your business, analyzing your current lease, or even thinking about buying real estate are all things you might want to want to consider as you try to forge the best possible future for your business.

Why rent? A lot of small businesses looking to relocate steer clear of buying because purchasing real estate requires a large cash outlay (usually about 15-25% of the purchase price). A lot of business owners would prefer to put that amount of money into their actual business rather than the space they occupy.

Where to start? Researching rental costs to get an idea of the average cost per-square-foot in the area you want is a good first step in the process. There are several other factors to consider, including types of rent, the growth of your business, common area maintenance, etc. Finding a lawyer to help negotiate might be another helpful step.

When to commit? A good bottom line to remember is that if the terms of the lease dictated by the landlord do not make it possible to run your business profitably, then it is time to renegotiate, find a new location, or even consider whether finding a new space is right for your business at the time.

This is just a brief overview of basic questions associated with relocating your business; the steps in finding Overland Park office space for lease are more involved than just this, but an overview can be a helpful tool as you consider your options.

Give one of our real estate agents at Southcreek Office Park a call at 913-685-4100 if you are looking to relocate and want to find out more about our available executive suites in Overland Park!

Kansas City Office Space

What is a simple way to avoid some of the frustrations of dealing renting Kansas City office space for the first time? Preparation. Knowing a little bit of the vocabulary used by commercial real estate agents can help you stay on top of the process and more effectively communicate with landlords and real estate agents. Here are a few terms that might help small business owners as they look into commercial office rental:

1.   Gross lease: A type of property lease in which the landlord takes care of all property expenses included in ownership of a space, such as taxes, utilities, and maintenance.
2.   Triple net lease (NNN lease): A type of property lease in which you, the lessee, pays a set rental charge and covers property expenses, including maintenance.
3.   Percentage lease: A type of lease in which costs are determined by the percentage of the volume of sales made at that property.
4.   Usable area: The part of an office or floor of a building that can be occupied by a tenant, measured from permanent wall to permanent wall.
5.   Rentable area: The area within an office that can be used, which includes shared areas of the building and floor such as corridors, lobbies, closets, restrooms, etc.

These and other terms can be helpful to know as you begin your search for office space for rent in Kansas City!

If you would like to talk to one of Southcreek Office Park’s commercial real estate agents about our executive suites in Kansas City, give us a call at 913-685-4100!