Frederick and Washington counties are finally leaving winter behind and moving into a season of longer days, greener grass, and (probably) a lot of rain.

Spring is here. With it, though, comes a host of items to consider for commercial property owners. As the weather warms up, the list of to-dos gets longer.

With that in mind, here are 10 spring cleaning items to check off the list at your commercial building this season to continue maximizing property value.

1. Check For Any Winter Damage

In the wake of winter, there are a few common areas to check for damage.

Curbs and sidewalks are more likely to crack and chip during winter months as water freezes and refreezes in and around them as well as accidental snow plow nicks and chips – check to see if any maintenance is needed.

Grass can also sometimes be damaged, especially around the edges of sidewalks and parking lots from excessive salt use.

2. Schedule HVAC Maintenance

As the weather gets warmer, you’ll need to transition your facility from heating to air conditioning. As you do, make sure your systems are ready to go.

It’s helpful during this season to schedule HVAC maintenance to ensure that all equipment is in working order, so that your systems are ready to provide comfortable temperatures before the heavy heat of summer really kicks in.

Don’t make the mistake of putting off this inspection and preventative maintenance. A lot of people do, and during the first few hot days of the season, there will be a lot of calls to the HVAC companies, meaning it may be days before a technician is able to come to your building. Plan ahead and stay comfortable.  

Another secret – if you have an HVAC maintenance contract, you can usually get preferential scheduling for emergency repair calls.

3. Condensate Pump

On a related note, you may need to consider maintaining a condensate pump on your indoor air conditioner air handler to ensure proper drainage from your AC unit. If condensation flows away through a gravity line and your pump is not working properly, it can accumulate condensation water and cause water damage.

Functioning condensate pumps prevent this.

4. Schedule a Roof Inspection

Spring is also a great time to schedule a roof inspection, so that you can make sure your building’s protected during upcoming rainstorms.

We also prefer spring inspections because, in the summer, the black roofs of commercial buildings can get uncomfortably hot. Inspectors may be motivated to rush through an inspection to get out of the heat. The cooler weather during spring allows them to be comfortable and take their time delivering quality evaluations.

5. Pressure Wash Exterior Surfaces

During the winter, dirt and grime can accumulate on exterior surfaces like siding, sidewalks, and more.

Spring is a great time to restore the shine of your commercial building with pressure washing. Done right, it restores the aesthetics of your exterior and leaves surfaces looking fresh and clean.

6. Update the Exterminator Contract

Unfortunately, with warmer weather and more moisture come more bugs. Ants, bees, wasps, and other insects are all more active in the spring, and some, in addition to being a nuisance, can cause significant damage to your commercial building.

That makes spring a great time to review your building’s exterminator contract; for your sake and for the sake of your tenants, it’s important to make sure you have quick pest control at the ready.

7. Get Bushes and Trees Inspected

Spring is an ideal time to ensure that the bushes and trees around your commercial building are inspected for any damage. You may not be able to see the consequences of insects, diseases, or funguses, but it is a good idea to have a professional take a look, and, if needed, schedule the necessary treatment.

8. Prune and Plant

In addition to checking your plants for disease, spring is a great season to plant new landscaping arrays and prune existing growth for health.

Pruning should happen in late winter to early spring, before new growth starts in earnest.

In the spring, you’ll want to schedule mulching, and, along with it, the installation of early-season color – typically vibrant flowers like tulips, pansies, or hyacinths.

9. Check the Landscape Sprinklers

If your property has sprinklers that keep the vibrancy in your landscaping, you’ll want to ensure that the system is in working condition for the season.

If the lines weren’t blown out properly heading into winter, water could have frozen and damaged system components. Even if the system was properly winterized, it’s worthwhile to check for clogging or any unexpected issues.

10. Inspect and Clean Out Stormwater Management Inlets

Finally, it’s important to make sure that stormwater management inlets are inspected and in working order.

These are designed to accommodate heavy rainfall around your commercial building. Sometimes, over the course of time, they can become clogged with leaves, silt, gravel, and debris which reduces their effectiveness in removing rainwater from your property.

If they aren’t cleared before heavy rainfall, your facility could be in danger of flood damage.

Is Your Property Manager on Top of All of This?

Spring is a great season, but it definitely brings a big to-do list with it. Is your commercial property manager on top of all of these items?

Unfortunately, subpar commercial property managers don’t comprehensively manage items like these. But the good news is that, if you’re working with us, the answer is yes–we’ve got it covered.

At AushCo, we’re veterans when it comes to the many ins and outs of property management. With understanding across industries and comprehensive knowledge of all types of commercial buildings, you can trust our proven expertise to provide the management solutions your building needs.

We offer a comprehensive breadth of property management service. From rent collection, to tenant communication, to vendor management, to spring cleaning, we take care of everything so you can concentrate on other activities.

Want to make sure your property is in good hands this spring? Get in touch with us.

There is often a lot of confusion around a letter of intent when buying and selling commercial real estate. Is it binding or nonbinding? Is it the same thing as a term sheet or memoranda of understanding? Buying and selling commercial real estate is a serious time in an investor or owner-to-be’s life. Buying property of any type is a big financial investment, but buying a property you hope to profit from is an even bigger leap. That’s why it’s important to truly understand everything about letters of intent.

What Is a Letter of Intent?

A letter of intent (LOI) is the first step when buying or selling commercial real estate. It can help you judge whether or not there’s a great deal on the table or it’s a flop. A letter of intent is, quite literally, a letter from one party to the other countersigned by an addressee. While it may look informal, these letters are legally binding unless they explicitly state otherwise.

Letters of intent are usually the first step in negotiating a deal because they bring any issues out into the open. If there’s something that the parties disagree on and cannot resolve, then the deal is off before it even started. Because LOIs cut to the chase, they can save both parties a decent amount of money when negotiating a deal.

Letters of intent set the groundwork for the negotiations involved with buying or selling commercial real estate and mergers and acquisitions beyond the real estate industry. They list out terms that both parties have already agreed to, what’s left to be negotiated, and specify a timeframe within which negotiations should be completed.

While letters of intent are similar to a term sheet or memoranda of understanding, they are not the same thing. A term sheet is a nonbinding agreement that just sets forth the terms and conditions of an investment. A memorandum of understanding is a more formal document that, while technically nonbinding, is still viewed as a serious document under the law; while they can be used in real estate transactions, they’re more common in international agreements.

Letters of Intent in Real Estate Transactions

While letters of intent are used in many different industries, in commercial real estate, they’re used to document an intent to purchase. These letters allow the buyer to provide evidence of a purchase deal to their lender, document progress towards the end of negotiations, and also document terms before committing to the sale.

When used in real estate, it’s a great way to minimize misunderstandings. However, they are usually nonbinding in real estate and the seller can still sell the property to someone else.

What’s the Impact of an LOI on Negotiations?

Letters of intent can have huge impacts on negotiations between two parties. As stated earlier, they can end negotiations before they even start, but they also set ground work for a successful negotiation.

These letters can protect both parties throughout negotiations. For example, it can restrict one parties ability to poach employees from the other party should the deal fall apart. It can also specifically protect the buyer by setting conditions around their obligations should they be unable to secure financing for the position.

Once you enter into an agreement with another party via a letter of intent, there are some downsides. As negotiations continue over the agreed upon time period, the markets may change against you. You can also inadvertently come across public disclosure agreements and find yourself releasing information you didn’t necessarily want to.

Are LOIs Legally Binding?

How binding a letter of intent is depends on the specific content of each letter. If a letter has a clear statement that it is not legally binding, then clearly it isn’t. However, if a LOI is more formal and does not contain a clear statement of legality, courts may rule that it is legally binding. In order to be safe in your negotiations, treat all documents without an explicit statement of legality as binding. If there isn’t a statement or the statement is unclear, think hard before signing.

To make buying and selling commercial real estate even more complicated, some LOIs have specific sections that are binding and other sections that are not. If this is the case, specific elements that are usually binding can include who writes the contract, the date a deal needs to be reached by, and financing requirements.

When it comes to buying and selling commercial real estate, your broker can draft the letter. However, you may need to get a lawyer involved if there are parts of the contract that are legally binding. If this is the case, the legal language needs to be meticulous and requires a lawyer’s expertise.

Use A Broker Who Understands

Buying and selling commercial real estate in Frederick both represent incredible opportunities – but they can also represent high risk and lots of hassle.

AushCo knows the ins and outs of buying and selling commercial real estate in Frederick, MD. Backed by years of brokerage experience, we know how to help you with everything involved, including letters of intent.

Minimize the hassle and maximize your value. Get in touch with AushCo today.

 

With the proliferation of apps in the marketplace that connect buyers or renters directly with real estate sellers, you may be tempted to “go it alone” when attempting to buy or rent commercial properties. And sometimes, certain people with the right skillset may be able to complete the process successfully on their own or with the help of a few smartphone apps. However, the majority of people will miss out on some key benefits if they decide to take that approach.

The occupation of CRE broker has been around since there was first commercial property to sell. And there’s a few key reasons why the profession first began. A CRE broker has experience, expert knowledge, and skills that you may not have. Here’s why you need these five key qualities a commercial real estate broker can offer you.

Market Knowledge

Oftentimes a CRE broker will specialize in a region or even a city. This is because the commercial real estate market can change drastically between regions, states, counties, and cities. Selling a commercial property in California is very different from brokering a CRE deal in Frederick, MD. This is not only because the laws can be different based on state, but also because the market is different.

Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD are both larger real estate markets – they’re a bit different than the markets in Frederick and Hagerstown. Both Frederick and Hagerstown also have lots of historic buildings which have their own special laws in regards to building preservation and codes.

A quality CRE broker will know the market in the city they specialize in. They’ll be able to tell you when the best time to sell is, or in what neighborhoods you should find your next commercial property. This is something that can’t be replicated with a few Google searches or by reading a book or two. Commercial real estate brokers specialize in the particular markets because they have the experience to know those markets inside and out. Because of this, they’re able to interpret information and trends in the market in ways that a Google search won’t be able to.

Property Experience

A CRE broker with a good amount of experience has been there and done that. They’ve most likely bought or sold the type of property you’re looking for and know exactly what a good deal looks like or which red flags you should watch out for.

Depending on the type of property you’re buying, there can be different challenges. For example, when buying a warehouse property for manufacturing equipment or a distillery, you need to be wary of issues like climate control and how the property handles plumbing or electricity. Does it have the power supply that you need?

But when you’re looking to purchase a building for office use, your concerns may be very different. Instead of worrying about power supplies for manufacturing equipment, you’re worried about the number of conference rooms you’ll be able to fit, or the buildout it will need for the lobby to appear luxurious enough to attract corporate clients.

Commercial real estate brokers can guide first time clients in some factors they’ll want to consider when purchasing the right property for their needs. A CRE broker may be able to guide a first time investor from purchasing a plot of land and steer them towards a light buildout instead. However, for a more experienced investor, a CRE broker can help find a promising property with the right amount of challenge.

Connections in the Market

Part of the reason why commercial real estate brokers are so helpful are their connections in the field. CRE brokers will know industry leaders who might be interested in selling their building or have the business card of the right buyer for your building. With the years of experience a CRE broker has in their specialized region, they know who the major players are and how they can help you sell or buy the right building.

Not only will a CRE broker’s connections help you find the right buyer or seller, they’re also able to help you after the initial buying/selling is over. Where do you look to find a developer with the right skillset for the buildout you need? Your CRE broker may know someone. How about to find the right HVAC or cleaning service for your building? Try your CRE broker.

The networking connections that you’ll have access to with a CRE broker are tantamount to your own personal walking yellow pages.

Negotiation Experience

Negotiating a real estate deal is not as easy as it seems in the movies. You can’t just sit down, slam your fist on the table, throw some money in the air, and get what you want. Negotiating takes real skill, experience, and time.

Negotiation requires intense communication, conflict diffusion, and rapport building. The right person for negotiating real estate brokerage situations will have ideally done this before. A CRE broker will know where they can push for better or have to give a little on your expectations. They’ll be able to build rapport with the other side and avoid conflicts that could risk a great deal.

If you’ve never negotiated a deal before, it’s not a good idea to try it by yourself. You can easily find yourself with a worse deal and be taken advantage of by more experienced parties.

Get the Benefits of Working with a CRE Broker.

With AushCo, you’ll get all the benefits of working with a CRE broker that you need. We have years of experience in Frederick, MD that will help you interpret and understand the market in order to use it to your advantage. We’ll guide you through the process to find the perfect property for your business and help you to seal the deal with high-quality negotiation experience.

AushCo does it all. From buying or selling a property, to finding tenants or finding the right property, we take the challenge out of commercial real estate. If you need help with CRE brokerage, contact us today.

The process of moving an office is a ton of work.

Identifying the right space. Negotiating the lease. Nailing the fit-out. Coordinating the move. Most people underestimate the amount of work involved, and by the time the process gets rolling, it can become overwhelming.

That’s understandable. Moving an office is too much for almost any one person to handle alone.

Thankfully, you don’t have to do it alone.

Having the right people on your team can help – and delegating during this process is almost a requirement if you want to maintain a little bit of your sanity. Many hands make light work, and they’ll make the transition to the final finished office a lot smoother, too.

With that in mind, let’s break down a bit of the moving process, with a look at how good delegation practices can make the transition more seamless.

Who Should You Involve?

If you’re going to delegate during the office moving process, it makes sense to ask: who are you delegating to?

Here are some of the players you’ll want to bring onto your team. Note that this doesn’t account for other parties, like potential vendor partners or building owners.

The Broker

One of the most important pieces of the delegation puzzle is finding the right commercial real estate broker. They’ll be able to guide you through all components of the moving process, from space selection, to lease negotiation, to the final fit out. With a great broker, the moving process is like driving down a pristine street. With a bad broker, it’s like off-roading in the dark.

Company Team Leaders

Depending on the size of your business, you’ll probably want to periodically involve leaders within the company. They’ll be able to provide insight into how the moving process will impact their teams, and their buy-in will go a long way in making the process smooth for your employees.

Office Admin / Project Manager

Throughout the process, it can be immensely helpful to have an office admin or even a project manager involved. This person will be able to manage a lot of the logistics, bringing options and ideas forward to be priced out, approved, and implemented.

When Should You Involve Other People?

In general, the best approach is the sooner, the better. If you get started early enough, you will have longer timeframes to make decisions and coordinate the process while having time to eliminate a lot of stress. This means you must begin this process well in advance of the end of your current lease. Working against the near-immediate end of a lease is much more difficult.

That means starting to plan early; the minimum time to start preparing for the move is six months in advance; nine to twelve months is even better. Find a broker first. They’ll be able to identify areas where you’ll need help, and then start asking people.

Many of the service providers you will need for a move are not available at a moment’s notice, so coordinating may be difficult if you wait until the last moment – moving companies, for example, are best solicited at least a month or two in advance.

The caveat here is that, as a business owner, you will ultimately be the one to make the most impactful decisions: the location, the direction of the fit-out, etc. Your role should be making the high-level decisions to identify direction and then get confirming feedback from key staff members.

For example, instead of letting company leaders offer suggestions for locations, it’s wiser to identify a location you think is a good fit and then get their feedback to confirm. If you invite collaboration too early in major decisions the old adage will surface – too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the broth. Making the high-level decisions then involving personnel later can expedite the process.

What Should You Delegate?

The final point of consideration: what should you delegate? The answer: almost every part of the process that can be easily and effectively done by someone else.

As a business owner, your primary responsibility is strategic direction. If you try to handle all of the tactical implications of your choices, you’ll be buried. Ideally, your job is to delegate and then approve things like:

The design of the new space.

There are a thousand small decisions to be made relating to the design of your new space. Will the floor be carpet? Vinyl? Composite tile? What color will the walls be? Where will interior signage go? What will the lighting be like?

Your broker should be able to walk you through the necessary decisions, potentially with help from designers.

Additionally, specialty industries may have certain space and design requirements. Call centers or dental offices or law offices, for example, have industry-specific functions, flows, and specialized requirements that necessitate strict usage of space – you’ll want to work with a specialized consultant. If you don’t have connections based on your use case, your broker should be able to connect you with consultants who can help.

Vendor management during the fit-out.

There are a variety of ways the fit-out might play out, but the worst case scenario is when you’re responsible for overseeing every vendor interaction personally. With the fit-out designed and confirmed, your new landlord may manage the vendors during this process. Your broker may play a role.

Don’t handle it alone.

The moving process.

There’s a lot that goes into the actual process of physically moving your office: finding the moving service, changing your mailing address at the right time, making sure paper files are available in the new space when it’s set up and scheduling and coordinating the move so that downtime is minimized – everything adds up. This is where an admin or project manager can be extremely helpful.

They’ll make sure the moving process goes smoothly, so that your first day in the new space is celebratory instead of dysfunctional.

Ready to make a move? Get in touch.

Intimidated by the prospect of moving? At AushCo, we’re here to help. We have years of experience in brokering commercial real estate in Frederick to make great deals happen, and we take pride in helping our clients make the most of their moves.

You don’t have to do it alone – and you shouldn’t. By delegating the right things to the right people, you can make your office move the exciting opportunity it’s meant to be.

Avoid the stress. Get in touch with us to get started.

 

How long should a commercial lease be?

If you’re searching for a new office location, it’s an important question to get right. A good lease can prime your business for long-term success. The wrong lease can cause recurring inefficiencies that drag your business down.

Leases matter. And the timeframe of a lease is one of the determining factors that shapes the entire agreement. That puts a lot of pressure on all parties to come up with a length that makes sense.

If you’re feeling intimidated, don’t worry – we’re here to help. With decades of experience in commercial real estate and lease negotiations, we take pride in identifying winning solutions for all parties. The right timeframe exists, and we can help you find it.

So, how long should your lease be? Let’s take a look.

 

The Average Length of a Commercial Lease

Here’s a good baseline to start with: the average length of a commercial lease is five to seven years, with the majority of leases falling into the five-year side of that range.

Why is five years the average? Well, it tends to be a good middle ground for property owners and prospective tenants. It’s long enough to guarantee a level of stability for the property owners, but it’s generally not so long that it feels restrictive to the prospective tenant.

Anything that’s significantly longer or shorter is often the result of special circumstances or a creative agreement. That said, there are several factors that can influence the length of a lease above or below the industry average.

Those include:

The stage of the business.

Is the business in growth or decline? Or, is it stable?

If you’re a growing business, you may opt for a shorter lease to allow for flexibility; you don’t want things to be uncomfortably cramped in the space when you get to the third year because you’ve grown and are squeezing in new employees.

Similarly, if you’re working to phase out of your business, you’ll also want a shorter lease term. We’ve witnessed, for instance, a doctor near the end of his career opt for a three-year lease term with the option to renegotiate at the end of the agreement. He wasn’t sure whether or not he’d be ready to retire at that time, but he wanted to leave his options open.

If your business is notably stable, on the other hand, you may want to consider a longer lease term. You may be able to get decreased rent via a longer term lease if you have a very high confidence in the fit of the space. Take note, though: this can be risky if you hit an unexpected growth or contraction phase and your space no longer fits your needs.

The type of business.

There are a few types of business that may be well-suited for longer lease terms. These tend to be companies in highly-specialized industries, or situations where an extremely customized fit-out/layout /design is a necessity. These layouts are specialized and many times expensive to replicate so locking in a longer term is typically preferred.

Dentists, for example, generally require unique amenities that increase the cost of the fit-out so that a longer term makes sense. Laboratory or medical environments often fall under this umbrella, too.

The longest lease we’ve seen was in the biomedical space for 15 years. It was negotiated on the basis of a highly-specialized fit-out that involved intricate lab equipment installation. Because of the longer term, the high upfront cost was amortized to become more cost effective on a monthly basis.

The age of the space.

Finally, the age of the space can be a contributing factor in determining the length of the lease.

First generation spaces (new construction), for example, tend to generate longer leases. It costs more to get a new space up, and owners are looking to recoup that cost, which is more easily done via a longer lease. After that, though, things normalize; second and third generation spaces fall back toward the average lease length of five years.

 

A Few Tips on Negotiating the Length of a Lease

With those factors considered, hopefully you’ve gotten a better idea of how long your lease should be. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

You’ll be able to get a more advanced fit-out if you take a longer lease. If a landlord is going to put $30K into a space, they’ll want to know that you’ll be staying there for the amount of time it’ll take to make the commitment worthwhile.

You can work out renewal terms to reduce risk. If you think you’ll be in a place for 15 years but are hesitant to completely commit, you can set a lease up to have renewal terms with pre-negotiated rent. This gives your business a chance to opt out but eliminates the hassle of renegotiation (and potentially saves you rising rent costs in the process).

Breaking a lease isn’t advised, but it is possible. If the fit isn’t sustainable, you may end up paying the unamortized amount in order to leave or use some other negotiation tactic.

It’s usually best to go with something close to the standard. There’s a reason most leases are five to seven years: that length almost always makes the most sense. Going with anything shorter can be unreasonably costly. Going with anything longer can be unreasonably risky.

Unless your circumstances really are special, don’t be afraid of the average.

 

Ready to Find the Best Lease for Your Business?

If you’re ready to find the lease that works for your business, let’s talk.

At AushCo, we have years of experience in brokering commercial real estate in Frederick to make great deals happen, and we take pride in benefitting our clients’ businesses. Whatever your ideal lease term is, we’ll help you to find it.

Don’t be intimidated by the prospect of lease negotiation. Treat it as an opportunity and capitalize it by getting in touch with us today.

Investing in commercial real estate can be a fun and exciting business. You get to transform buildings from something unwanted into to something beautiful, productive, and profitable. But it can be a risky business, too. The success of your commercial real estate investment all depends on its resale value.

But what causes the return on your investment to go up and down? How do you balance expenses versus potential value?

Let’s take a look.

The Build Out

Your location’s build out is a deciding factor in your commercial real estate investment’s future success. What industry should you build it out for? Which one will give you the most return on your expenses?

While it may make sense to wait on the build out until you have a potential buyer for some industries (the healthcare industry for example), a build out can really increase the value for your commercial real estate investment for relatively little expense.

Projects that add clear aesthetic value can include painting the hallways, renovating signage to increase visibility, or even updating entryways with flooring and lighting. A beautiful entryway makes a great first impression on a potential buyer and can instantly increase your return for relatively little input.

Location

Now, if you’ve already bought your commercial real estate investment, then you’re locked into your location. But if you haven’t bought your resale project yet, then you need to carefully consider the location.

What’s around your building? What industry has a large impact in this part of town? How far is the commute to major cities? Commuting systems?

This could have a major impact on your resale value. A building in a great location with a talented workforce to hire and customers waiting outside the door will clearly sell for more than one that is far from any major commuting routes, has little foot traffic, and has no interesting things to do in the area.

However, location can also depend on the industry. For example, buying a building that’s located near a large healthcare office park and building it out into a retail store wouldn’t make sense, just like buying a building near a mall and turning it into a corporate warehouse probably wouldn’t make sense, either. Your future plans for your building have to match the industries around it. Do they complement each other?

Demographics

Take a close look at the demographics of the area around your building. Is it well-educated? Are there think tanks, universities, or other idea-creating entities around?

You want your building to be surrounded by a hirable workforce that offers opportunity for potential tenants. If would-be tenants shy away from the area because the employee pool is thin there, then most likely your building will have relatively low value.

You also want to look at market growth in the building’s area. Have more shops, restaurants, and apartment buildings gone up recently? Has the population grown at all? Does it look like it will? Or, on the other hand, is the population declining and are shops beginning to close?

You’ll get the most value for your building if you catch an area on the upswing versus trying to catch the last bit of growth in a declining market.

Tenant Desirability

How much money is the building pulling in now? Does it have a steady and reliable community of good tenants who pay their rent on time and have plans to stay? Or does it struggle to rent out office space and attract tenants who are just looking for a cheap place to set up shop?

You can learn a lot about the future of your building by looking at its past. It’s going to be much harder to turn a tenant population around 180 degrees and begin attracting well-paying, class A tenants when the building has only been rented sporadically by less desirable tenants in the past.

But if your building can display a history of excellent visibility for tenants whose businesses have grown and flourished, then your building will be more profitable and have an easier time attracting tenants in the future.

Building Efficiency

When you’re setting up a commercial real estate investment for resale, you need to consider its operational efficiency. Does it cost a fortune to heat it in the winter and cool it in the summer? If so, that’s not exactly a selling point for future owners.

Take the time to install the little things that make your building more efficient – or, in some cases, the big things. Switch out lightbulbs for energy-efficient LEDs and try your best to get fixed-rate electricity contracts. Take a close look at your HVAC system – is it set up for success or is your furnace starting to reach the end of its lifetime?

Your commercial real estate investment will be much more profitable if the future owner sees a lean, mean machine that’s set up to cost them the least amount in day-to-day operational expenses.

Get the Guidance You Need

When it comes to buying your commercial real estate investment, building it out, and selling it, you need to know what you’re doing. Without the right guidance, it can be hard to get a good ROI.

AushCo has been working in the Maryland commercial real estate industry since 2002. We’ve worked in commercial real estate investment, brokerage, property management, and can offer you customized guidance to meet your CRE goals.

Don’t wait until it’s too late. AushCo is here to help you get the best ROI on your commercial real estate investment.

Talk to us today.

Whether you’re starting a business or moving your old one to a new location, renting a new office space can be exciting and stressful. Often, it represents a growth period for your business. But there’s a lot to consider when signing a commercial lease. Unlike your typical apartment lease, these contracts are often for five or even ten-year periods. You want to be 100% certain you’re asking the right questions to protect your own interests before you sign on the dotted line.

Here are five questions we recommend asking before you sign the lease and rent commercial property.

What’s Included in the Lease?

Does the lease address concerns like utilities, parking spots, or snow removal? Don’t get too caught up in the excitement of moving and forget the smaller details. Signing a lease only to find out you don’t have enough parking spots for your employees, let alone customers, can create big problems and extra expenses.

Don’t forget to make sure that all verbal agreements are also included in the lease. For example, if you were told during the office tour that the landlord would handle all snow removal, but you don’t see it in the contract, make sure to address it. Verbal agreements are very hard to enforce later on if they’re not in the contract. Conversations can be easily misunderstood, and words can be taken back. But once an agreement is in writing, it cannot be changed.

When you’re looking to rent commercial property, go over the lease with a fine-tooth comb and make sure you get answers to any questions you may have before signing. After all, your new office space will be the home of your business for as long as the contract is viable. You want to make sure everything is crystal clear.

Who’s Responsible for Repairs, Upgrades, etc.?

This is a major detail that needs to be clearly communicated before the lease is signed. The world is in a state of constant change. What if the building’s wiring needs to be updated to accommodate a 5G network? Who’s responsible for paying for that?

Whose responsibility it is for upgrades needs to be clearly stated in the lease to avoid problems later on. Most likely, repairs that are your fault and in your immediate office space will fall to you. But what about repairs in common areas? What systems are in place to get a pothole in the parking lot filled?

If the exterior of your office building is in disrepair, it can reflect badly on your business and cause you to lose customers. Knowing who’s in charge of such repairs can give you either the responsibility of fixing it or set precedence for you to confront your landlord.

Who’s Your Neighbor?

If you’re a prestigious law firm, for example, you most likely don’t want to be housed next to a noisy bar. Your neighbors can have a big impact on your business. If you’re a medical professional, there can be plenty of benefits to having a physical therapist, psychiatrist, or chiropractor as neighbors. Setting up a referral network that benefits everyone is particularly easy when you’re all within walking distance.

Who your neighbors are can easily add or detract from your business. Do you have a means of recourse if your direct competitor moves in next door? Make sure to look at the existing clientele of the building before signing the lease. Discuss any issues before signing as well.

Are You Allowed to Sublease?

Unfortunately, emergencies happen. What if you need to leave the area or your business sadly comes to a close earlier than you had predicted? Subleasing can provide you with an “out” without breaking your contract to rent commercial property. Make sure your lease includes the process for subletting, any restrictions on who you can sublet to, and what your responsibilities are as far as finding someone to sublet to, vetting, etc.

If subleasing isn’t allowed, but you feel you still need to have an out should the worst happen, discuss options with your landlord. Commercial leases to rent commercial property are notoriously strict. After all, it’s a big investment for both you and your landlord. But there are ways to include an “out” in your contract. Make sure it’s discussed before signing and with the help of a broker or lawyer.

Who’s Representing Your Interests?

Entering into a lease to rent commercial property is a serious activity. If you’re unsure of what you’re doing or haven’t entered into a commercial lease before, then you need to have someone there with the experience to guide you. Remember, the landlord and his team have their own interests in mind. You can’t rely on them to promote your interests as well.

Working with an experienced real estate broker can help you get a great deal on your commercial property. They’ll be able to help you find a great area with the right neighbors and the right conditions on the lease.

AushCo is proud to offer not only commercial brokerage services, but also help in finding the perfect property. AushCo has owned, developed, constructed, leased, and sold commercial investment properties throughout the Frederick and Hagerstown area. We understand the processes, nuances, challenges, and victories that come with commercial real estate ownership. We apply that knowledge so that our clients make the best decisions.

If you need help with your decision to rent commercial property, get in touch with AushCo today. We can help you make the right decisions to get your business into a great building.