Insight To Help You Find The Right Office Space For Lease
When you need space for your business, it is important that you search out and choose the right type of professional office space for lease. With the help of a commercial real estate agent, you can research various properties that align with your budget and the needs of your specific business. Here are some recommendations to help you in an upcoming selection process for the right office space to lease.
Evaluate the Office Space Available
A professional office space is going to have a certain amount of square footage that is available to lease and will come with its own cost. Before you evaluate an office space based on its total square foot as compared to the price, be sure you check into the property's load factor. This is the amount or percentage of the office's square footage which is not available for actual office use. The property's load factor is the percentage of the square footage that is dedicated to hallways, elevators, stairwells, a lobby, or restrooms.
So, as you are comparing one property against another, make sure you are considering the percentage of the property that is the load factor. For example, if the property is a 7,000 square foot property but with a 15 percent load factor, you would only be able to use 85 percent of the 7,000 square feet for office needs.
Look at Building Features
The features within the building that you choose to lease are just as important as the size to accommodate your office needs. If the building does not provide the right support for your business needs, then it is not going to work for you no matter how affordable it is or if it is in the right area.
Be sure you look at the building's parking lot or parking availability in the area to make sure it is sufficient to accommodate all the employees who will be using the office space. If there is a large parking lot that is part of the lease contract, it should provide enough space for all your in-office employees to use. Or, if a building does not provide parking but you will be expected to use a nearby parking garage with its own extra cost or requires a contract agreement for each employee, this may reduce the building's usage for your business. You can also look at the building's HVAC system and also the phone line capacity in the building, as examples.