Category Archives: Office Leasing Tips

4 Ways To Make Sure Your Business Has Plenty Of Working Space While Coworking

1. Choose The Right Furniture

Some coworking spaces aren’t fully furnished, and you need to buy furniture for your workforce. This is an excellent opportunity for you to choose furniture pieces that are compact yet functional. It’s important that you know the total office area before buying any furniture to maximize the space.

Aside from that, it would be best if you considered the needs of your employees when buying furniture. Do they need a desk with drawers? How much storage space does each employee need? Are you planning to have a common area for meetings? Choosing the right furniture will not only complete the working spaces for you and your employees, but these will also be critical in making the room look more significant, professional, and functional.

2. Go Paperless

Documents and other different papers fill up storage spaces in any office quickly. If you want to clear up significant space to store other items or convert it to an additional workspace, you should consider going paperless.

By going paperless for business, you won’t have any more problems with consuming resources and money on documents. Not only will you be able to cut down on paper costs, but you will also eliminate the clutter in your office. That means no more filing folders and files everywhere! There will also be no need for mailing the papers or hardcopy files. The time you save by going paperless for business can give you more time to do more important things like running your business, improving your marketing strategies through an online system, and cultivating a desirable work culture.

Aside from that, uploading to the cloud is also one of the effective ways to store private information. This is also essential to protect the confidentiality of these materials. Make sure that the passwords are given to people who are allowed to access the documents.

3. Choose The Right Layout

The first factor that you need to consider when thinking about maximizing office space is the layout. You need to think about your office design and make sure that all of the furniture pieces that you will be using will fit into the allotted area.

One of the best tips to use when arranging your office layout to maximize the space is to place furniture on the edges of the walls. It would be best if you aim to have an open space concentrated in one area to make the small office space look less confining. You can add an area rug in the middle area to avoid a cluttered view.

4. Provide Enough Storage Space

Having enough storage space is one of the best ways to keep everything in the office organized and to avoid clutter. When choosing an office storage space, you should consider the needs of your business and your employees. You must provide your employees with lockers so they can place their personal items on these cabinets. It’s also a good idea to give locks so they can keep private things safe.

You should also choose the appropriate storage space for every item that needs to be kept. There are file cabinets for documents, and there are also cabinets or boxes to store some office supplies. To keep everything organized and reduce the clutter, it would be helpful to use labels to keep everything in the right place.

Summary

There are plenty of ways to maximize office space without breaking the bank. By staying organized and providing the right furniture and storage space, you create a lot of working space for your employees even when you have a small office. Aside from that, it would be best if you consider going paperless so you won’t have to stack and store paperwork that uses a large amount of space in the office. Maintaining a small office space and maximizing the area will help you reduce business costs while increasing your employees’ productivity.

And if you are looking for office space, coworking or traditional, we can help. Contact us today to find out about our no cost service.

6 Things To Qualify You to Lease Office Space

1. Furnish a Solid Business Plan

Do you have a brand-new company? Furnishing a solid business plan to the property owner is fundamental to demonstrating your business knowledge to the landlord. You can also give a background on the company budget, expected sales, competition, etc.

It is better to include details such as when you forecast your company to be productive and break even. As a future tenant, your target is for the property owner to believe in your company the same way they will trust your tenancy.

2. Submit Thoroughly Completed Form

In case the landlord provides you the lease application form, submit it after filling out all the data completely. It may sound straightforward, but often some company owners neglect to complete it. If you want to avoid leaving a wrong impression, submit a thoroughly completed form to guarantee your application is on top of the file.

3. Enlist a Credible Tenant Advisor

Enlisting the services of a reputable tenant representative (like the ones we have at OfficeFinder) and/or a lawyer can prove to property owners you’re serious about renting an office space. Having professional representatives to help you deal with landlords will ensure you’ll be able to talk about every crucial detail in your contract and avoid costly mistakes.

What’s more, they can help you shorten the negotiations with the property owner and avoid lengthy proceedings. Also, tenant advisors are familiar with the real estate market since they do this day in and day out.

4. Provide Statements of Assets & Liabilities

For property owners to see your company as a qualified tenant, provide your bank statement showing your assets and liabilities. This statement will show the landlord if your company has adequate assets or cash to pay off your lease after factoring in your debts.

Furthermore, property owners want to see if your assets and cash can cover your entire lease in case of a business failure. Handing over an impressive statement of assets and liabilities will ensure your deal will end positively.

5. Display Stable Credit History

It’s common for companies to experience late payments on loans or credit card statements. In case this happens to you, this is the time to change and clean your habits. For property owners see you as a steady tenant, you need to demonstrate you’re financially stable. And as proof, this will require exhibiting strong credit and financials.

If you’re planning to apply for any loans, begin with the application already so you can show sufficient cash flow to cover your lease. You can also provide these other standard requirements: balance sheets, tax returns, cash flow documents, and other notices from your bank indicating your financials.

6. Be Ready to Relocate Soon

Finally, if the space you’re eyeing is in a popular and hot office location, see to it you can relocate immediately. Most often, landlords lease prominent locations fast. In case you chance upon an area you feel is right for you, focus on securing the place to prevent another company from renting it.

When there are one or more groups wanting to secure a specific office space, landlords typically favour the able, ready, and eager to move party quickly. Remember, property owners avoid wasting time on clients who are not aware of their requirements. It’s best to know your office space needs, electrical requirements, and zoning needs so you’ll have an idea if the location is a good fit for your company.

Final Thoughts

As an entrepreneur, one of the significant decisions you have to make is whether to purchase a property or rent an office space for your business. If you’re starting your firm and working on a limited budget, it might be in your best financial interest to lease office space.

Please note that it’s essential for potential clients to know you have an office they can physically visit. Showing customers you possess an office space is a huge step in establishing your company. Moreover, demonstrating to property owners, you’re ready to rent will help you get that office space faster.

If you need help finding office space to lease, whether conventional or flexible space, we can help. Contact us today for a no-obligation discussion on how one of our tenant representatives can help.

5 Tips For When Negotiating for an Office Space Rental

5 Tips For When Negotiating an office space rental Office Space Rental is one of the significant expenditures of a rising company. It makes sense then that negotiating for an acceptable lease is a challenging yet necessary process one has to take. Take note that there are several approaches you can adopt to obtain the best deal without undermining your finances or slowing down your business.

Regardless if you hired a tenant broker, do your research on the space you want to rent. Are there other companies eyeing the property? How long has the place been empty? These are aspects that can significantly impact your negotiation process.

And since there’s no such thing as a standard lease, you will find below five tips when negotiating the office space rental you want.

1. Settle Length of Lease Period (Term)

Property owners or landlords are usually amenable to grant long-term leases. In a way, this condition can be beneficial; however, it’s normal for the company to adjust. When this change happens, you’ll find yourself stuck in a lease with either a sizeable or small space for your business.

As a tenant, aim to negotiate a short-term contract with extension options. For instance, seek a two-year deal with a two-year extension option instead of a four-year agreement.

2. Manage Rent Hikes

When it comes to office spaces, it’s unusual to find fixed rent with long-term contracts. Typically, property owners expect yearly increases based on rate hikes found in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

If the landlord requires rent hikes, see if you can arrange for a fixed CPI rent increase. For example, your monthly rent is $7,000 a month. Your second year will increase to $7,200 per month, then $7,400 a month on your third year.

3. Explore Hiring a Tenant Broker

Yes, it’s common to come across stubborn landlords with unreasonable requests. If you’re in this tight situation, you may want to look for alternative office space to rent.

A credible tenant broker, aka tenant representative, can help your company search for available spaces or industrial developments like the Gloucester business park. These professionals can give you a background and help you understand the dynamics of the market. Moreover, they can help you discover office spaces that satisfy your standards, set up viewings, and go with you to see these properties.

Tenant brokers likewise help their clients draft offer letters and deal with property owners so you can obtain a sensible lease for your company.

4. Discuss Office Space Improvements and Repairs

Meanwhile, please note that some contracts will include clauses that state tenants must reinstate premises to their primary condition.

See if you can modify the provision to say that you will return the office space in the same state at the start of your contract as a tenant. This condition excludes devastation by fire that isn’t the responsibility of the tenant and usual wear and tear.

Furthermore, if the property requires upgrading or enhancements, who is responsible for these repairs? Suppose you want fresh carpets, new paint colours, or re-arrange the layout of the office area. Take note that many leases state that tenants can only modify the property with the property owner’s consent.

Request for a provision that allows you to render alterations with the landlord’s permission and that consent will not be unduly conditioned, hampered, or delayed.

5. Be on the Lookout with These Provisions

Lastly, be on the lookout for these one-sided clauses that strongly favours property owners:

The property owner restricts potential assignment or subletting
The property owner expects the tenant to settle tax escalations stemming from the property sale
The property owner has the right to rescind the contract at the landlord’s convenience
The property owner rents the space ‘as is’ to waive compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act or any environmental laws.
The property owner demands a personal guarantee of the principal shareholders of the business
The property owner transfers to the tenant additional operating expenses such as repairs, insurance fees, and building taxes.

Final Thoughts

Keep in mind when negotiating an office space rental, it’s best you carry a definite understanding of what you’re willing to consider and what you can propose. It is also best to have a tenant representative working on your behalf. Always document everything in writing when clarifying lease details that you don’t understand. While this will make the process longer, it will provide you legal protection in cases some of your negotiated terms get excluded in your contract.

It’s essential to study your lease carefully. The contract can possibly contain numerous details you’ll not understand. When faced with this kind of scenario, highlight each unclear point, and discuss it with your tenant broker or the property owner.

Certified OfficeFinder Specialist Our tenant representatives at OfficeFinder do this day in and day out for their clients. Contact us so we can connect you with one in your area. There is no cost for their services and no obligation to request info.

What To Know When Renting Office Space Following The Pandemic

What To Know When Renting Office Space Following The Pandemic Making decisions about renting office space is more challenging because of the impact of coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic. Many people are asking how the current health situation affects office leasing and businesses at large. Is work-from-home the latest trend? Or will the new normal open more opportunities for commercial property owners?

In this article, you’ll learn the essential things about renting office space following the pandemic.

Health And Safety Protocols Compliance

In the ‘new normal,’ property owners are mandated by governments to comply with all health and safety protocols set in place to protect the public. Future tenants are also advised to do the same.

In order to find tenants, office operators are taking this seriously. As an example, our friends who have Offices in Manbre Wharf, have fully implemented health and safety protocols to ensure that tenants are safeguarded from the threats of COVID-19. Everywhere else in the world is having to do the same.

So, what are the general health and safety protocols when it comes to renting offices?

Here are the details of the scope of health and safety protocols involving renting office space and other commercial establishments that you should know before renting office space:

Risk Assessment: Assessment of environmental, health, and safety risks, which tackles the responsibility of landlords and property owners when creating rental policies and agreements.
Management And Reporting Of Cases: It tackles the responsibility of landlords and property owners to report any case of COVID-19 during the period of lease to concerning health and government authorities.
Implementation Of Guidelines: Once health and safety guidelines are fully explained to tenants, landlords and property owners should do all means to monitor full compliance. On the other hand, tenants, particularly office or business owners, must make their employees aware of the policy.

Social Distancing In Offices

Before the strike of COVID-19, many office layouts and designs have open plans, which aimed to promote good collaboration, better communication, teamwork, and cost-savings. However, the current pandemic forces everyone to maintain physical distancing or what is called “social distancing” to keep people safe from one another.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that people practice social distancing by maintaining at least a six feet distance between individuals. Because coronavirus is highly contagious, employee desks must be spaced wide apart, and possibly each employee should have an individual cubicle to avoid getting infected.

Renting Additional Office Spaces

It is now impossible to fit employees in offices as pre-COVID-19 having the same number of people in the same square footage. Business owners either need to set alternating work schedules for their employees by creating an Agile Workplace or lease additional office space, which means additional overhead cost.

Here are some benefits of renting additional office spaces following the pandemic:

Be able to resume peak business operations to attain higher productivity and revenue as compared to last year.
Help businesses recover from low production and sales because of temporary closure or sluggish business operations during the peak of COVID-19.
During the new normal, renting extra office spaces is a better option than compromising the health of your employees and facing legal consequences due to negligence.

Corporate Culture Adjustments

Workplace culture greatly transcends in your office. Corporate culture is highly reflected by the office layout and structure because collaboration, open communication, and promoting productivity are readily seen through open plans. However, there must be some adjustments following the pandemic, which means less worker density, fewer meetings, and less social get-togethers.

When renting a new office space, you may need to also make some adjustments to your previously planned corporate culture. Here are the challenges you might face when adjusting to corporate culture when renting office space following the pandemic crisis:

Recruitment: It will be a challenge to attract new talents, but the virtual world can decrease the burden of hiring new employees. Final face-to-face interviews are still possible in office buildings following the health protocols, such as installing hard, transparent plastic dividers between the interviewers and the job applicants.
Office Design: Designing and modifying existing workspaces can be difficult. Supporting the established culture and following the new health and safety protocols poses a challenge to everyone. For this reason, your architect and interior designer should work together to come up with the best solution designed for your business needs.
Co-Working: While co-working has been a trend and major contributory factor to the office market recovery, the new health protocols that accompany COVID-19 may have an adverse effect on co-working businesses. Co-working companies may diminish following the pandemic, so venturing into this work setting is not advised.

Conclusion

Renting office spaces nowadays can be more challenging than ever. All future tenants must comply with existing health protocols, like ensuring social distancing and wearing of personal protective equipment, like face masks. Business owners would likely need to rent additional office spaces and make the necessary corporate culture adjustments to be productive and realize business goals. Let us know if we can help you find new office space. Contact us today!

How To Find Offices To Rent In Your Area

How To Find Offices To Rent In Your Area Deciding on offices to rent is an important part of running a business because the legitimacy and professionalism of the brand can depend on the appearance and functionality of the office. It’ll be challenging for businesses to haul in clients and employees if their offices look unkempt or don’t have any amenities.

If you’re having a hard time finding offices to rent and can’t get the help of a tenant rep in out of the way locations like office space Oxford and need to do it yourself, this article can help. As long as you know what factors to consider, you should be able to find offices to rent that suit your budget and helps your business succeed.

Here’s how you can find offices to rent in your area:

1. Know How Much Space You Need

Contrary to popular belief, appearance shouldn’t be one of your first considerations when finding an office. For you to be fruitful in your search, you need to start by determining how much space you need.

One good rule of thumb to follow is to ensure that you have about 150 square feet for every employee. This space is sufficient for your employees to move around and utilize several pieces of equipment at work. Use our office space calculator to help determine how much space you need.

2. Determine Your Budget

Finding the perfect office for your business doesn’t mean you’ll need to spend your entire business budget on it. If you want your business to thrive for years, it’s essential that you determine and stick to a budget when finding an office to rent.

Make sure to consider the following when determining your budget:

Determine the average price per square foot
Add common area maintenance fees
Don’t forget to include utilities
Any NNN charges such as taxes, inusrance and maintenance

3. Consider The Location Of Your Employees

Your employees play a vital role in the success of your business. Without them, it’ll be challenging for you to oversee different areas of your business and ensure that your business continues to thrive in the long run.

When finding offices to rent in your area, don’t forget to consider the location of your employees. Ideally, you should rent an office that is convenient for your employees to travel to or is located near their residences. Doing so allows your business to retain and maximize the best talents.

4. Ask Recommendations From Trusted Sources About Agents

You can always work with agents, aka tenant reps, to help you find offices to rent in your area. There are many agents offering their services today. Do you know whom to choose? Fortunately, asking for recommendations from friends who have done this and relying on trusted resources, like OfficeFinder, can help.

Hiring agents will make it easier for you to find offices to rent in your area as these individuals have years of experience in the local real estate market, which means that they can suggest properties you never knew existed. They can also recommend the best locations convenient for your employees and customers.

5. Pay Attention To The Landlord

The landlord you choose to work with can significantly affect your life as an entrepreneur and the productivity of your employees in the long run. You’ll likely experience stress when your landlord requires you to pay hundreds of dollars just to fix one broken light bulb in your office.

The attitude of the landlord can influence the value you can get from your rent, which is why you should exert time and effort to know more about the landlord you’re eyeing to work with. You can do this by talking to some tenants of the building. The information you can get from these individuals will help you assess whether the landlord is professional and fair to their tenants or not.

6. Do Your Best To Negotiate

Money is important in every business, especially when you’re still starting. It’ll be challenging for the business to thrive and succeed if you eventually ran out of finances after a few years of operating.

For you to find offices to rent in your area, make sure to consider the price and do your best to negotiate. If you’ve seen an ad about an office lease that costs $4,000 a month, don’t immediately sign the contract. Set an appointment with the landlord and negotiate the rent down at least 5% below the listed price. You’ll be surprised how many landlords are willing to negotiate and accept lesser fees for their spaces. Especially now with the pandemic slowing business down.

Start Now

There are countless offices available worldwide. Regardless of the nature of your business and the audience you want to engage in, you’ll be able to choose from several options. Find out more about the leasing process.

But for you to find the best office for your business, it’s best if you start your search early and use the services of a tenant rep, like the ones at OfficeFinder, if you can. Contact us today if you would like some assistance. There is no cost to our service or the services of our tenant reps.

Buying, Renting, or Leasing Office Space?

deciding to buy, rent, or lease office space? Setting up an office is quite a task. From deciding the location to furnishing the office, it is time-consuming and requires a lot of effort. In addition to this, moving your office to a new area is labor-intensive.

This task is best left to the experts. If you are moving to a new office, consider this office moving checklist pdf to prepare you for the move.

When setting up an office, you have the option to buy, rent, or lease office space. If you are considering these options, it is always best to get a professional on your team to make sure you avoid any costly mistakes. Each of these choices has advantages as well as disadvantages.

Buying Office Space

Buying a property requires capital. Most small to medium sized businesses lack the resources to purchase office space or they choose to use their capital to grow thier businesses. However, for larger companies and corporations, buying an office space is an investment many choose to make.

Pros

Mortgage payments that will not increase.
Mortgage payments add to equity.
Appreciation over the long term.
You can rent it out excess office space and benefit from an additional source of income.

Cons

Buying requires a large amount of capital investment.
Opportunity cost of that capital investment.
Difficult to scale up in case of an expanding business.
You are responsible for repairs and maintenance, taxes and insurance.

Renting Office Space

In renting office space, it is usually a shorter-term period. You have the option to rent the space on a month-to-month basis or for a year or two. As with any contract for space, make sure to review the agreement thoroughly.

Pros

Allows for more flexibility in length of term.
Businesses have the option to relocate according to their needs.
Renting does not require a large investment.
The money is not tied up in the real estate and can be invested in the business in another way.

Cons

Monthly payments will increase over time with renewals.
Landlord may choose not to renew forcing you to move.

Leasing Office Space

Leasing office space is for a longer term period. Usually 2 – 10 years.

According to Statista.com, tech companies prefer leasing instead of buying a commercial property. Despite COVID-19 hampering business growth, tech companies were able to lease about 1.2 million square feet in the United States alone.

Pros

Monthly rental payments will be consistant for a longer period than renting office space.
Less capital is needed to lease office space than if you were to buy it.
The landlord is typically responsible for repair and maintenance of your office.
Leasing a property offers tax deductions.
At the end of the leasing period, you have the option to leave or renew the contract. So it offers some growth flexibility.

Cons

If you renew a lease, the terms of the contract may change, and rent may increase.
You have to comply with the requirements of the landlord.

Conclusion

Deciding on buying, renting, or leasing a property, is a big decision. A company’s business goals and growth prospects should be cinsidereed in making a suitable choice. In addition to this, the location of the office, the terms of a contract, the duration of renting/leasing, requirements of your employee, facilities, and other factors must be considered. Hence, you should take your time in deciding.

it is always best to get a commercial real estate professional on your team when making the buy, rent, or lease office space decsion to make sure you avoid any costly mistakes. This is the type of work they do day in and day out. They know what they are doing and represent you. The biggest mistake you can make is not having a professional on your team! Find one here.

16 Tips to Finding Your Next Rental Property

looking for rental property Finding a quality rental property, whether commercial or residential, can be tedious and time-consuming. This might be caused by the broad range of choices available, price, or the quality of these rental properties being different. So, what should you do to find the perfect rental property?

If this is your concern, we’ve got you covered. Here are some tips that you should consider when searching for your next rental property:

1. Work With an Experienced Buyer Broker

There is no reason not to. It won’t cost you anything. In fact, it will save you from making costly mistakes. They do this day in and day out. They do not get paid until you get what you want. They are on your side. Listing agents are solely responsible to the seller, not matter what they tell you.

2. Closely Examine The Local Rental Regulations

Before you even buy a rental property, you need to familiarize yourself with the local rental regulations. But to do this, it’s best to have help from reliable and licensed professionals, such as those you can find at Rooftop Real Estate Management. This is especially important if this is your first time purchasing a rental property. Doing this entails going through the tenant security deposits, laws and regulations for property registration, rent control, evictions, tenant security deposits, and a lot more.

After understanding the local rental regulations, you’ll be more than capable of running a successful rental property venture while simultaneously avoiding any legal disagreements.

3. Make Sure To Separate Your Business And Personal Finances

One common error many new rental property owners make is investing personal funds into the business venture. However, this isn’t advisable as it opens you up to the possibility of your personal money being used to settle your business liabilities.

Moreover, mixing up your business and personal finances might also result in tax complications, further complicating your investment into the business.

4. Place The Down Payment

When investing in a rental property, you need to determine how much down payment you’ll be required to pay. This value is typically between 20 to 30% of the property’s value, and you can get its financing either through a personal loan or bank financing.

When saving for the down payment, here are some useful tips that’ll enable you to have the money in the required timeline;

Getting a second job.
Reducing your rent.
Open an automatic savings deposit.
Cutting off unnecessary living expenses.
Settling all present debts.

5. Have A Long-Term Investing Strategy

Real estate is a long-term investment. Therefore, to guarantee its success, you need to approach this venture with a long-term strategy. The best way you can attain this is by putting a particular goal and devoting a lot more time to fully understand the real estate market. As you do this, it’s essential always to be realistic and to base your expectations on your financial capabilities.

Here are a couple of useful questions that can help you develop a long-term investment strategy:

Should you buy multiple rental properties?
How much should you pay for the rental property?
What property types and investment strategies should you consider?
Does the real estate investment tie-up with your retirement plan?

Once you answer all these questions, you’ll be in a great position to put in place a great plan to purchase the rental property.

6. Be Wary of High-Interest Rates

If you take out a loan to buy your first real estate property, it’s wise to be cautious of the high-interest rate charged by lenders. Usually, this rate lies between 5% to 7.5%, which is much higher than the mortgage rate.

Lenders usually do this since you’re far more likely to default on this payment, unlike with your home. Therefore, the higher the interest rate compensates for, the greater risk they’re taking.

7. Ask Other Landlords for Advice

In any business venture, you choose to partake in, seeking advice from those already experienced in the industry is essential. This means that as you look for a real estate property, make sure to consult other landlords to get useful insights from their past experiences. As you do this, also take into account their investment bias, that is, the landlord’s purchasing strategy, experiences, and ultimate objective.

By talking to other landlords, you also get useful advice on how to identify hood tenants, which is a crucial skill for your peace of mind as a property owner. Another alternative to get these useful insights is to become a member of a local landlord association. With guidance from other experienced landlords, you’ll be able to avoid mistakes. For example, you get to understand why hiring a property management company is recommended.

8. Budget for Vacancies

A rental property won’t always have tenants. This means there are months when one or several units are vacant, which will cost you money. Therefore, as you search for the ideal rental property, make sure not to overlook this factor.

The vacancy rates differ from one market to another. Low-demand rental properties have a greater vacancy rate of more than 20%, while that of the highly demanded areas is less than 2%. With that said, it’s always advisable to consult with other landlords in the area to get a rough estimate of the vacancy rate. By doing this, you’ll be able to determine whether the investment in a specific rental property is worthwhile.

9. Identify Your Property Expenses

One thing that’s standard across all rental property investments is that they accrue expenses over time. These expenses can either be monthly or annually, but you should also be well prepared for an unexpected expense that might occur.

The possible expenses you might need to settle are:

Unforeseen and anticipated maintenance and repair expenses.
Property taxes that are owed to the state, which depends on the county, town, or state the rental property is found.

10. Calculate The Margin

Setting the margin rate of return is vital since it determines whether you’ll generate the desired profit. You need to set the margin rate at 10% and set the maintenance cost at around 1% of the property’s value. This means for a property valued at $500,000, the maintenance cost should be $5,000.

In addition, you need to consider other expenses such as possible property taxes, monthly expenses, including janitorial, landscaping and pest control, as well as homeowner’s association fees.

11. Examine If There Are Short-Term Rental Restrictions

The increased popularity of short-term property rentals for residential properties has seen some neighborhoods putting in place short-term rental restrictions. For example, some homeowner’s associations put in restrictions that forbid the rental of houses for less than 30 days. Therefore, you should confirm whether there are such restrictions on a property you’re planning to buy.

12. Get an Inspection

You must never overlook the significance of an inspection. Making sure the property is inspected is essential as it saves you money and time since you get to identify if there are any issues with the property. If you already purchased the property without getting it inspected, this leaves you with a huge loss that can amount to thousands of dollars.

Therefore, make sure the rental property is inspected before you make the purchase. If any issues are detected, this improves your bargaining power since you’ll need to do the repairs independently. Alternatively, you can ask the current owners to do the repairs before making the purchase.

13. Get Pre-Qualified

If you want to get a better picture of the property that you want to invest in, pre-qualification is more than necessary. But for you to get pre-qualified, you need to know several aspects, including the following:

Ensure a low debt to income ratio.
Have liquid cash to pay the down payment.
Have a credit score that’s at least 680, but a score of 740 or higher is better.
Access to cash that can settle at least six months’ expenses.

14. Look Into The Neighborhood

Even after finding the perfect rental property, you need to make sure to confirm that it’s located in an ideal neighborhood. This means considering essential factors such as the rental property’s access to public transportation, crime rates, and available amenities.

You should buy the rental property once you’re satisfied that it’s in excellent condition and also the neighborhood it’s located in.

15. Make Sure Your Credit Is In Check

When searching for your next rental property, your credit rating is crucial. If you’ve got a great credit score, you enjoy a better negotiating power and higher chances of getting access to credit needed to finance buying the rental property.

In contrast, if you don’t have a great credit rating, you’ll find it a lot harder to find a great rental property since the lenders won’t be willing to offer you the needed finance. Therefore, you’ll need to finance the property’s purchase either using your savings or having to pay high-interest rates if one lender is willing to take the risk with you.

16. Calculate The Property’s Operating Expenses

Knowing the operating expenses is crucial as this will also guide you to determine how much rent should be paid for each unit. In most cases, the operating expenses range between 35% to 80% of the total operating income. This means that if the total rental income paid by your tenants is $5,000, your monthly operating expenses should be approximately $2,000.

Takeaway

The search for an appropriate rental property is never easy. However, after reading this article, you now know some useful tips to consider that’ll help you find the perfect rental property to generate additional income.

Looking for office space? We can help. Contact us today!

How To Find The Best Local Movers To Move Your Office

Local Movers

Moving your office physically is a very challenging task to take on. It takes a lot of preparation, so you can be sure that you’re not committing any mistakes. After all, there’s so much at stake. You can’t delay or lose anything, as this can also adversely impact your business operations. This is why it’s very important for you to make the right choice and not settle when it comes to the quality of the movers that you’re entrusting to move your office.

One of the most important aspects of finding movers for hire in your area is how easy they are to use, and how they can truly make your office move a breeze. But it’s important to consider several factors before you decide on one. That way, you can end up working with the best company that can handle your relocation.

Here’s how:

Ask Around For Recommendations

If you know of others that went through a relocation or office move, ask them for recommendations. Word-of-mouth is usually a good indicator, as suggested by one of the best local movers in Annapolis MD. Ask them for any complaints they may have with other movers they’ve worked with. Chances are because these are people that you know and trust, they’ll give you unfiltered recommendations on the reputation of a moving company.

Check The History Of The Moving Business

When you’re narrowing down your search to include only local movers, it’s easy for you to check the history of the moving company, particularly how long they’ve been in business. When a moving company has survived the test of time, this often means that they’re good at what they do. Moreover, with an office move, you can’t take any risks with a company that just opened yesterday. Otherwise, you might lose some of your office equipment to thieves or damage along the way.

Pay close attention to the manner that they answer your questions or even how they deal with you, as their clients. Any red flag that could indicate poor professionalism, it’s best to move along and work with a more reliable local mover instead.

Make Sure They’re Reputable Movers

There are certain factors that are truly indicative of a mover’s quality. Take special notice of these as a part of your checklist. If you don’t want to end up hiring an unreliable or unscrupulous mover, the one you hire must have the following:

They offer a free quote, and have a comprehensive list of moving services;
They don’t have regular, or repeated complaints;
They comply with the safety standards set by the law;
They’ve got a good experience in handling valuables and other belongings.

Take The Time To Really Go Through All Of Your Options

There are many great companies that offer great services. You just need to know where to look. The great thing about going with local movers is that you’re limiting your research area. So, there’s no reason for you not to do deep and thorough research.

It’s important to have an open mind when you’re doing the research into companies to entrust your office move with. You’ll be comparing different moving companies and the different services they offer to see if any of the options really are the best for your needs. Technology is also on your side, as so many movers now have websites. It’s easier for you to make comparisons before first visiting their physical office.

Check For Their License And Insurance

The best and most reputable local movers are those that have all the legal requirements and license necessary to operate. Beyond that, they also have an insurance policy to cover your move.

This is very important for you to check through, as with an office move, you’ll be taking with you valuable business assets that you can’t afford to lose. The last thing you’d want is for your business to go through financial losses all because of a simple mistake when moving.

Remember that relocating also has a lot of risks associated with it. No matter how careful a mover is, there’s still outside forces such as highway robbery and theft. You never know when these risks can happen. But if you fall victim to these, having an insurance policy can help you start over again.

Weigh The Price Quoted With The Services They Offer

Working with the best local movers doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to pay more. While moving can be expensive, there are so many quality movers that can work with the budget you have. They key is for you to balance the price quoted with the services that they offer. You shouldn’t have to pay anything more than you have to.

Conclusion

Choosing the right moving company to move your office is crucial before you move. Moving is already stressful enough in itself, so you’ll want to ensure that you’re working with a moving company that’ll make it hassle-free for you. Once you set up new office, it’ll be nice to open up the moving boxes and see that everything is still intact and present.

If you would like some help finding the right office space with a great working enviroment, contact us. It is what we do with our network of over 450 local tenant reps. All at no cost to you.

How Smart Working Helps Your Business Achieve Greater Success

Smart working

The workscape today varies vastly from 10 or 20 years ago, with around eight million people working from home part of the week — a fact that is indicative of the big changes that ubiquitous connectivity have brought to all sectors. The Internet, new software and new hardware have made it easier for companies to work in a ‘smarter’ fashion (i.e. more efficiently, more speedily, and with a lower rate of errors.) Whether you have a small or medium-sized business, you may wonder what steps you can take to improve procedures. If so, discover a few tips for taking the leap to smart working methods.

Smarter Office Space

Smart office design takes into account the different needs that different employees and procedures have. A simple ‘open office design’ won’t do, for instance, in companies in which sales or management have to meet privately with important clients, or where some employees require complete silence to do their job. However, because the aim of smart working is to achieve goals in the quickest, most efficient way possible, it may also involve investing in employee’s home offices; providing them with the equipment they need to take part in video conferences and to liaise via professional networking platforms. Smart companies can go the extra mile by ensuring home-based employees have ergonomic equipment and tools, so they can perform at their best but also protect their health.

Relying on Technology

There are a bevy of tools available to enable teams to achieve goals in a more evidence-based, reliable fashion. As stated by JournyX, companies that use timesheets or who have employees who accrue expenses, can track and manage these aspects of an employee’s working life via dedicated software. The latter should meet customized needs, validate time and expense data so that managers don’t waste time looking for and correcting mistakes, offer integration with key business symptoms, and capture real-time insights and provide visual dashboards. Other tools commonly used by smart teams working in various locations include blockchain (to protect sensitive data), collaborative tools like Office 365, Podio and Asana, and MindMeister (an online mind mapping tool that captures and shares ideas via a visual framework).

Experience-Based Working

The final link in the chain is experience-based working, which seeks to provide workers with an ideal environment — one in which employees have a say regarding where, how, and when they work. The current health crisis has prompted many companies to make a permanent change, as their results showed that allowing employees to work from home has boosted rather than hampered performance. Deutsche Bank, for instance, which once only had a few thousands employees working remotely, adapted quickly and efficiently to a situation in which up to 70,000 were doing so. In the UK, around 95% of its staff are working from home and there is no reason why this cannot continue in the long-term.

Smart working involves questioning older systems and their efficiency, analyzing whether or not they are still useful today. It also involves relying on software and online networking to enable teams to work together smoothly. Finally, it involves greater flexibility and customization, so that employee feedback can be taken into account when deciding on matters such as place of work and schedules.

If you are looking for your smart office space, contact us. We can help with our network of over 450 local office space experts. All at no cost to you.

Tips To Keep Your Business Up To Date With Advancing Technology

Every business owner has to keep up to date with advancing technology. It’s true even for those who don’t run technology businesses and it can be overwhelming!

IT advancing at Work

IT seems to be always changing. Computers and networks, security systems, phone systems, and office productivity software are all products of technology and continually advancing. How can you keep up? Technology helps businesses in many ways. These can include systems for customer relationship management, software for tracking daily purchases, network linking the different members of the organization, or keeping the IT aspect of a business up to date. There is help from Information Technology (IT) support providers like Orlando IT support provider Data Cube Systems who will ensure you don’t fall behind. There’s no doubt that technology brings many benefits to the table.

However, technology evolves at a rate that can be daunting for business owners. At times, it seems that it’s too fast, leaving companies struggling to keep up and adopt. Nevertheless, technology helps businesses to function effectively and efficiently.

Below are a few tips to keep your business up to date with advancing technology:

Identify Your Needs

Take some time to think and determine what’s relevant to you and your business. For example, if your company focuses on sales, you likely have a sales team that reaches out to clients that are, most of the time, out of the office. That means that you need useful tools for quick and easy communication between you and your team members.

What you can do is to start making a list of the things that your business needs. So, your employees stay connected with clients and with one another. Your hardware needs are likely to be mobile phones, tablets, or laptops in addition to the computer network and phone system in your office.

Then make a separate list of the things that your whole team needs to make the most out of those technologies. It could be the ability to start and participate in conference calls. Or maybe you and your staff need to obtain access to the same document or spreadsheet file anytime and anywhere to update or input data.

It’s essential to know what you need, and it’s the first step that your business can take to identify the most appropriate technology and implement it right away.

Strengthen Customer Service Practices In Your Business

As a business owner, you know so well how essential it is to provide excellent service to your clients. Putting customer service at the top of your priority list is another way to ensure that your business keeps up with technological advancements. Excellent customer service requires your systems to run as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

You have to find ways to improve your website, especially if your customers are making payments or interacting with you through it. Your website should deliver a seamless experience to your clients, avoiding inconveniences as much as possible.

If you want your customer service practices to become of the bests and help you retain your customer base, you have to keep an eye on tech trends. One excellent technological product to help you with building and maintaining relationships with your clients is CRM software.

Define Your IT Strategy

Your business needs a defined IT strategy. It’s essential to note that defining an IT strategy is another way for your company to keep up to date with advancing technology. Assess your needs and evaluate whatever resources are available to you at the moment.

The IT strategy of your business should help you narrow down the kinds of technologies that you need for your business to run efficiently. Once you’ve already come up with an IT strategy and identified the technological products that you need from software, hardware, electronics, to equipment, it’s time to ensure that your office space can handle everything comfortably. If you’re planning to rent an office space, make sure it has the features that support the technological resources of your business.

Nothing Beats Planning Ahead

The best way to keep your business up to date with advancing technology is to plan ahead. Always remember not to become reactive when new technology trends come out. Use the buzz around new technology getting scheduled for unveiling to your advantage. And have your third-party Orlando IT support provider analyze upcoming technologies and ask them to assess whether or not these technologies suit the IT strategy and needs of your business and the current office setup you have.

Final Thoughts

You have to stay current with the ever-changing trends in technology if you want your business to remain relevant and competitive in the modern business world. It will help your business maximize its existing technological resources and invest in the right technologies moving forward.