New York Accountants

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A lease, at its core, is a business relationship - an agreement between a tenant and a landlord. Although leasing commercial real estate may appear simplistic, perhaps even one-dimensional, it is crucial to take 7 essential steps. Otherwise, the process can turn into disarray.

1. Define your requirements

   The first questions to tackle are as follow: "What am I looking for?" and "What would suit me best?"From prerequisites such as deciding location to determining the property's prospective use, evaluating the space is critical.

2. Locate suitable property

   After determining space requirements, a hands-on search begins. Locate suitable properties, survey the market, and narrow down the CRE contestants.
   

3. Tour properties

   A property review and physical tour is the next step of commercial leasing. Since an expected lessee engages in numerous visits and tours, it would be beneficial to take notes on each property.

4.  Make a proposal to lease

   The proposal process consists of five elements: preparing a RFP (request for proposal), issuing the RFP to suitable properties, reviewing the landlords' responses, evaluating offers, and perhaps preparing a Comparative Lease Analysis.

   •  response to proposal

5. Space planning and architectural evaluation
6.  Negotiate the lease contract

   Negotiating may be tedious and frustrating. It is important to meticulously examine every aspect of the deal to avoid future problems. A checklist, legal involvement, and realization of tenant's resources are discussed thoroughly in this category.

7.  Close the transaction The mutual execution of a lease.

The above is an excerpt from Navigating Commercial Property Leases by Bob McComb. For more information about this book, please click here.