overland park office space

Checklist for Leasing Overland Park Office Space Part II

Here are some more suggestions for a checklist your business might consider making before leasing a new office space:

5.   Handicapped Accessibility: Is the space wheel-chair accessible with a reasonable amount of handicapped parking? Legally, buildings have to have designated handicapped parking, so if you do not see any, ask the landlord why not, and if they are planning to add spaces. A landlord could try to pass the cost of these kinds of additions and renovations onto their tenants.
6.   Safety and Insurance: You will need general commercial liability insurance to move into most leased commercial spaces. If you cannot get insurance after signing a lease, you might find yourself still stuck paying for that lease anyway. Some specific safety questions you should ask include whether the area is safe and secure, whether it has ample and working nighttime lighting, are there alarm services or onsite guards, are there nearby police or fire departments, the location of the nearest fire hydrant, and whether there are smoke detectors and sprinklers in the building. Concerns like these affect the safety of you and your customers as well as your ability to get insurance and the rates and coverage of that insurance.
7.   Restrictions on Business Use: Are there any restrictions on the type of retail business you can run, the hours or days of your business operation, or how many customers you can have per day?

Think about what will best help your business succeed and grow, and make your own checklist to aid your search for Kansas City office space for lease.

If you are interested in finding an office space lease in Overland Park, give us a call at 913-685-4100!

Checklist for Leasing Overland Park Office Space Part I

Business decisions should not be made impulsively. Think about making a checklist like this to make sure a space will meet your business’s needs:

Property Maintenance: Is the park well maintained? Parks that look run-down will not only hurt your business’s appearance, but may also be a sign that you will be dealing with an unresponsive landlord.
Visibility to Customers: If it is important that you attract street traffic, can the front of your office space be seen from the main road? Or does it have a sign advertising the businesses in the park that is street-visible? Whether you are looking for a retail space, industrial space, or business park, it might be worth looking into whether the owner advertises on behalf of the tenants in order to draw in business.
Parking: Are there plenty of parking spaces? Do not just visit the parking lot after-hours to tell; check it out at several different times on different days to get a good picture of the parking situation. A parking lot that is typically full suggests a strong flow of customer traffic, but it could also mean that your customers will have difficulty finding spots, so find out how much parking your business will be assigned.
Advertising Restrictions: Are there any restrictions on signs such as color, size, lighting, or are you required to use the landlord’s vendor?

Consider these and other factors when you are looking at different business spaces!

If you would like to learn more about Southcreek’s Kansas City office space for rent, give Kathy Woodward at DDI Commercial a call at 913-685-4100!

Ideal Lease Lengths for Your Overland Park Office Space

Once you have decided that you want to find Overland Park office space for lease for your business, you will want to consider the ideal length of your lease term. Sometimes determining lease length can be difficult, because landlords typically want longer leases to secure better financing, whereas tenants are looking for flexibility, which usually means a shorter lease. Here is some information to consider as you think about the ideal lease length for your business:

Tenants who know they will have stable and predictable occupancy needs should try to get longer leases in order to get more favorable lease rates.
Tenants who are quickly growing businesses should try to negotiate leases that allow for expansion rights, permission to sublease their space, or the option to terminate the lease with renegotiated fees.
Retail tenants usually choose the longest leases—sometimes over 25 years.
The average lease terms for office and warehouses leases is usually about five to 10 years, and often tenants have the ability to negotiate one or two lease options that extends the lease term for five years at a time.

As you begin looking into different office space leases, think about what lease length is most ideal for your business’s needs!

If you want to learn more about how to find your ideal office space lease in Overland Park, KS, give us a call at 913-685-4100!

2013 Most Improved Sources of Funding for Overland Park Office Space

Is your business aiming to move into a new commercial real estate space, but looking for the funding to finance this move? There are many different financial sources companies can turn to in order to acquire the funds necessary to move their business to a new space, so businesses have some research and comparing to do before choosing a lender. Urban Land Institute and PriceWaterhouseCoopers conducted a 2013 Emerging Trends in Real Estate survey to attempt to rank what funding sources might see the most financial growth in 2013. These are the ranking results as determined by the survey:

10. Private local investors
9. Nonbank financial institutions
8. Commercial banks
7. Securitized lenders/CMBS
6. Private local investors
5. Mezzanine lenders
4. Insurance companies
3. Private equity/opportunity/hedge funds
2. Institutional investors/pension funds
1. Foreign investors

These rankings represent the anticipated growth in available funding, versus the ranking of different types of funding by available dollars, and remember that these results are based on a nationwide opinion poll, so it is possible that one of the sources might not see growth this coming year. However, if your business is looking for funding sources for your commercial real estate, you might want to look into further research about funding sources like this survey.

Looking into commercial realty in Overland Park for your business? Give a DDI commercial real estate broker in Overland Park a call at 913-685-4100 to find out more about the many different spaces we have to offer!

Overland Park Office Space for Rent Leasing Tips

Lease negotiations can be an arduous process for small businesses leasing Overland Park office space for the first time. Here are a few tips to keep in mind as your business looks into leases:

Watch Out for Assignment Clauses
Be wary of an assignment clause in a lease that states that a change in more than 50% of the stock ownership of the company is prohibited without the approval of the landlord, because this could result in the accident termination of a good lease. If your company grows and gains more investors, you could inadvertently trigger this clause.

Try to Avoid Personal Lease Guarantees
Sometimes landlords want a personal guarantee from the founders of the business if the potential tenant is a corporation or other entity. If possible, avoid this clause, because it could put both your personal and business assets at risk.

Negotiate the Best Possible Lease Relocation Clause
A relocation clause allows the landlord to move a tenant to another space within the building or complex if a larger tenant needs the space. Your company probably will not be able to get this clause removed from the lease, but you could try to negotiate it as much in your favor as possible by requesting three contingencies. First, ask for the same rent, office structure, views, quality of furnishings, etc. in the new space. Second, make sure the clause says that the landlord is responsible for any moving or renovation costs associated with the relocation. Third, insist on at least a month’s notice for relocation.

Being aware of these little parts of leases can help your business avoid any lease surprises down the line.

If you want to find out more about executive suites in Kansas City, give one of our commercial real estate brokers a call at 913-685-4100!

Lease Language for Office Space in Overland Park KS

If you are looking to rent Overland Park office space for lease for the first time, you might want to be familiar with some of the basic vocabulary of the commercial real estate market:

Landlord
Someone who rents property to another (also known as a “lessor”); an owner of property who hands over their right to use that property to a tenant for a specific period of time in exchange for rent. A landlord still holds the title to the property, but the lessee’s (tenant’s) rights are spelled out in a contract called a lease.

Lease
A legal agreement in which a lessee is allowed the use of real or personal property of a lessor in exchange for a rental charge. This contract might provide for restrictions, the purpose of the use of the space, and the length of the lease.

Option Agreement
A legal contract between the landlord of a piece of property and a potential lessee in which the landlord gives the potential tenant the first chance to buy that property up to a certain date and for a fee.

Right of First Refusal
The opportunity given to a tenant to match the terms of proposed contract for another space before that space is rented out to another potential lessee.

Market Price
In general business terms, this refers to the price that buyers and sellers of a product (in the case of commercial real estate, a piece of rental property) have agreed upon in accordance with supply and demand.

Fixed Price
A price spelled out in a certain type of contract. This price is predetermined and invariable, versus dependent on the costs of production.

These are just a few terms to be familiar with as you negotiate for the best possible Overland Park office space!

If you are looking to learn more about available space in Overland Park, give us a call at 913-685-4100!

Overland Park Office Space Negotiation Tips for Small Businesses

If you have been put in charge of negotiating an office space lease in Overland Park for your small business, you may be a bit overwhelmed and wondering how to get a good deal for your business. Negotiating a good lease can be crucial in making sure that your company has enough money to finance future growth.

Often your negotiating abilities are dependent on how much leverage you have. You can figure this out by doing some research on the space—has it been vacant for a while? Are there other companies interested in the space? Knowing these factors can give you an edge in your negotiations. Here are a few other thoughts to consider as you begin your negotiations:

1.   Term of your lease. Even if you aren’t sure how long you want to stay in the space, you might consider the relative advantages and disadvantages of longer or shorter leases. For instance, landlords are often more amenable to making concessions for longer-term leases, but if the demand for rental space decreases over time, you could be stuck paying an above-market rental price if you are locked into that longer lease. A safe bet might be negotiating a shorter-term lease (i.e. a year or two) with options to renew (i.e. four two-year renewal options), versus a ten-year lease.
2.   Amount of space. If you are comparing a few different spaces, you will want to know the exact usable square footage for each space. This is different (less) than the rentable square footage, which includes common areas such as bathrooms, lobbies, elevators, and public corridors.
3.   Permitted use of the rental space. Most leases have a section that discusses how you are permitted to use the leased space. Even if your intentions for the space are initially narrow, try to make this clause as broad as possible to account for the potential growth or change of your business.

If you think you are ready to begin the negotiations process, give one of Southcreek’s commercial realtors a call at 913-685-4100 to talk to us about available executive suites in Kansas City!

Familiarity with the terms and basics of renting Overland Park office space can be a leg up for a small business looking to find an office rental space. To help you keep up with negotiations with commercial real estate agents and landlords, check out some more commercial real estate terms to know:

1.   Tenant improvements: Improvements done to the interior of an office rental space, which can be paid for by the tenant, the landlord, or both, depending on the type of lease.
2.   Common area maintenance (CAM): The additional rental charges that tenants pay to maintain common areas of the property, which are typically available for use by multiple people and owned by all tenants.
3.   Letter of intent: An informal, non-binding agreement between the lessee and landlord declaring their intent to proceed with negotiations.
4.   Latent defect: A problem with the property that could not have been discovered through normal inspections performed before the agreement.
5.   Work letter: An agreement between the tenant and the landlord dealing with all issues related to the construction, or build out, of the interior of the rental space.

Having these terms in mind can help you be a little more prepared to wade through all of the charges, types of leases, and agreements that are a part of finding Kansas City office space for rent.

If you and your small business would like to learn more about Overland Park office space for rent through Southcreek Office Park, give us a call at 913-685-4100!

Office Building Overland Park

Before you get ready to pick your perfect office building in Overland Park, think about brushing up on your leasing-lingo. Most leases are slightly different, so knowing how to negotiate a lease could help your business save money and get exactly what you are looking for. Here are some suggestions for what to be aware of when figuring out a lease:

Improvements made by the tenant. You might want to make some improvements or changes to your new office space. Be sure to be aware of what your lease says about this. Form leases usually state that a tenant must have the landlord’s consent to make any alterations, so if you are thinking about making any improvements, you might want to make sure that your lease includes a clause that allows you to do so with your landlord’s consent and that the consent will not be delayed or withheld unreasonably. You should also be on the lookout for any clauses that say that a space must be returned in its original condition at the end of the lease.
Common area maintenance and operating costs. Be aware of any operating costs that your landlord is holding you responsible for. If they are separate charges, you might try to negotiate a cap on the amount or a fixed fee.
Option to renew. If you are thinking about renewing, see if you can negotiate to renew your rent at a set predetermined price instead of based on “fair market” price at the time.
Right of first offer and right of first refusal. Right of first offer means that your landlord is obligated to present any space in the building that becomes available to your business before offering it to third parties. Right of first refusal means that your landlord has to offer you first any deals he or she is might make with third parties for a space, giving you the opportunity to preempt the third party and match that deal.

Knowing the ins and outs of a lease could save your business money in the long run and ensure that you are getting exactly what you want from your office space lease in Overland Park.

If you would like inquire about lease negotiations for Overland Park office space through Southcreek, give us a call at 913-685-4100!

Southcreek Tenant Spotlight – Soleran

As part of the May tenant spotlight, Southcreek is featuring the offices of Soleran, Inc.: Soleran is a company that helps you manage and grow your sales efficiently and effectively. Soleran’s focus is on the customer, continually “setting the bar” for customer satisfaction. Soleran helps business with a product called eSalesTrack, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool. eSalesTrack is an on-line CRM tool that is accessible 24/7 via the web and via mobile devices. Soleran’s customer base is a wide range of companies from financial institutions to food vendors, from roofers to personal trainers, and many more.

The Company was founded in the Kansas City area and proudly calls Overland Park its home. Grady Hawley and Greg Truitt founded Soleran. Both can be reached at 913.647.5900 or via email at info@esalestrack.com. Soleran, Inc. is located in Suite 140 of Building XIIB, 7400 West 132nd Street, Overland Park, KS 66213. Visit us at www.esalestrack.com.