Tips for renting your small business location

The cost of the physical location for your small business's daily operations can be one of the most significant costs that you are faced with paying as the business owner.If working out of your home is not a viable option for you and buying your own business location is out of the question, renting is a good solution.Here are some helpful tips on choosing the right rental option for your budget and needs.

Look for something smaller rather than larger when you are choosing a rental location.These days fewer and fewer small business owners are able to afford large and spacious rental properties, making it hard for the owners of these rental properties to rent out their space and earn their money. Instead, you find that more and more of these locations are being rented out in sections to a number of different small business owners for a lower monthly cost.Additionally, if you are just starting out, you may not need a lot of space.If you can save money by getting by with less space, you will be better off financially.

It is a buyer's market and this fact is true even when it comes to rental properties.As a renter you have a lot of say when it comes to asking for concessions and choosing the duration of your lease.Although you may come across renters who only offer specific lease durations, more often you will find that renters would rather have their properties making money for them than not.Shorter leases are generally better for new business owners who have not yet developed a strong track record.If your business has been around for several years already, it could be to your advantage to have a longer lease if it means locking in today's lease amount for several years.

Other concessions that you want to consider negotiating with a potential renter include locking in terns as well as rates.You may want to negotiate renovations into the price.You could even ask to have maintenance fees like janitorial expenses, repairs, parking spots, garbage removal, snow shoveling services, and management fees paid for by the landlord.One concession that you should not expect is to not have to pay the security deposit.Security deposits are more important now than ever before.In fact, landlords are requiring stricter security deposits to cover their losses in the case that the business they rent to goes under (an all too common occurrence).Landlords are small business owners too and they need to make sure that they are not renting out their spaces and making all kinds of concession just to have their renter leave a 5 year lease 6 months into the agreement.

If there are a lot of options for rental spaces in your area, it is a good idea to work with a broker or realtor who knows the properties in your area and can help you to narrow your search.If you are looking for a highly specific location with specific terms, you may be better off having someone else help you negotiate the terms of your lease.You should know as much about your landlord as possible.Just because they offer a great property, doesn't mean that they will be a dream to rent from.You have a right to know that your landlord is credit worthy so negotiate running a credit check on the owner of the property into the deal.They have a right to look into your history to make sure they will get paid; you have a right to ensure that you will get what you are paying for.