Small office lease Kansas City

5 Steps to Take Before Signing Your Small Office Lease in Kansas City

Before you sign your office space lease, make sure you have taken all of the necessary steps to get the most favorable lease possible. Here are a few things to check off your list before signing the dotted line, as suggested in the article “What Do I Need to Know Before Signing a Commercial Real Estate Lease”:

#1 Know the Jargon

Before tackling lease negotiations, it is important to study up on the terminology you will encounter. For example, you will most likely see the term CAM – Common Area Maintenance, a cost shared among all tenants.

#2 Read the Lease Carefully

Your brain will want to skim a tedious document like this, but take the time to read it closely to make sure everything is in order. Don’t be afraid to ask clarifying questions if there are parts that seem confusing. Carefully note all of your obligations, as well as the landlord’s, as you read.

#3 Prepare Your Business

Make sure that your business has its financial and legal ducks in a row before entering the lease. Don’t forget to file your Articles of Organization or Incorporation, and be ready to provide a guaranty – you will most likely not get out of doing this, but remember that guaranties are negotiable.

#4 Check for Assignability

Check to see that you can assign the lease in the event that you need to sell your business. Location might be a big part of the appeal for a buyer, so if a landlord can terminate your lease over a change of ownership, this decreases the value of your business in the eyes of a potential new owner. Try to include an assignability provision, if only just in the case of the sale of your business, though remember that the landlord will still want to vet the new owner for their financial responsibility.

#5 Negotiate

This is so important – the lease you were given is not set in stone! As you read the lease make a list of provisions that you still want included or ones that you do not like and talk these over with the landlord – you never know what they might be willing to concede.

Once you’ve found a space and settled on the rent, don’t forget to take these few extra steps before signing the lease!

For information on office lease rates in Kansas City, give Kathy Woodward at DDI Commercial a call at 913-685-4100!

10 Small Office Lease in Kansas City Mistakes that Could Hurt Your Business

While negotiating a lease might be a complicated and frustrating process, it is important to be diligent throughout the entirety of negotiations—or your business could suffer the negative effects of leasing mistakes in the long term. Here are a few mistakes tenants often make to be aware of as you conduct negotiations, as suggested in the article “10 Leasing Mistakes Office Tenants Make”:

Entering negotiations at the last minute.
Poor space planning or an inaccurate estimate of your business’s space needs.
Looking at costs above all other concerns.
Losing an opportunity by hesitating before signing.
Failing to define objectives before making decisions.
Not taking into consideration potential growth.
Not considering exit strategies in a lease.
Not working with lawyers or real estate agents who can offer objective legal advice.

These pitfalls can be avoided by giving yourself plenty of time to research commercial lease negotiations and to work your way through the process without the pressure of a looming move-out date from your current space. Before you even enter negotiations, take the time to brainstorm your business needs, goals, and budget for a new office space.

If your business is interested in renting commercial realty in Overland Park, give a DDI Commercial real estate broker a call at 913-685-4100!

Clauses That Provide an “Out” of Your Small Office Lease in Kansas City

Leases almost always favor the landlord, but try to negotiate on things that are important to your business. You might want to try pushing for clauses that address what happens if you need to leave your space before the lease is up. Here are a few to consider, as suggested in the article, “How to Get a Good Deal on a Lease“:

Exclusivity Clause – This guarantees that your landlord will not lease a space in the same building or development to a direct competitor of yours. If a landlord violates this clause, you would be able to free yourself from the lease.
Co-tenancy – Retail businesses in shopping centers often rely on big name “anchor” businesses to draw in traffic, so they have a vested interest in this big businesses staying open. This clause releases the tenant from the lease if a landlord does not replace an anchor tenant within a certain period of time.
Subleasing options – A subleasing clause might allow you as a tenant to sublet some or all of your space to a similar or complimentary business.

It is important to know the conditions under which you can end a lease before signing the bottom line.

If your business is looking for Kansas City office space for rent, give a DDI Commercial real estate broker in Kansas City a call at 913-685-4100!