It is usually an exciting experience to move to a new commercial property but the challenge is whether it fits your business needs.
Moving to a new commercial space is a defining moment that will determine the new course that your business will take. If you are a wise business owner, you will need to get a commercial property that caters to you, your customers and your staff needs.
Let’s look at the some of the things that you should look out for when searching a commercial property that will suit your business needs.
-
Location
It is evident that location is the foremost criteria to consider when looking for a commercial space. Although priorities tend to differ from industry to industry, things like suburb demographics, nearness to major transport routes, distance from the airport and accessibility to the CBD are crucial to examine.
If you can’t access such information, you can always visit the Australian Bureau of the Statistics website to obtain the latest statistics. You can alternatively inquire the local councils that have a wealth of demographic information knowledge.
-
Transport
If you select a location that lacks train, bus or tram line, you will diminish the potential customers and staff pool you would tend to get. The reason is that a significant number of Australians use the public transport to commute.
Therefore, to get potential customers constantly heading to your place, get a commercial space that is easily accessible to a train or bus station and a place where there are also other similar businesses around.
-
A fitting size
Usually, commercial leases are hardly shorter, but they tend to be longer than residential leases. For that matter, finding a size that rightly fits your business operation is critical.
According to Leon Kriewaldt, Tenancy Solutions Australia director, a business owner, should find out the amount of time the equipment, customers, and staff would require. He further alludes that it is wrong for tenants to get into the marketplace and fall in love with a particular commercial space only to find out months later that it contains few offices to fit in.
It is also wise to get a commercial space that not only caters for today’s needs but also takes into account tomorrows business requirements. Thus, as an important consideration in searching for a suitable commercial property, look for a space that offers potential expansion opportunities.
-
Parking
Talk to anyone who lives in a major city, especially a densely populated area; you will find out that parking has the same worth as gold. Commercial property spaces also seem to share that attribute. It might be a little bit fine if your staff fails to get parking since it is possible to sniff to a nearby car parking spot. But, for your customers, they will not forgive you if they fail to get a spot that is proximate to your business.
Well, some might suggest that the customers should find a metered parking nearby. But from various surveys carried, people tend to avoid places that cost them cash only to visit if it’s their privilege.
-
A matching neighborhood
Phillip Walter, WBP Property Group national property manager, alludes to the fact that you are able to enhance the customer base when you surround the business with similar or complementary businesses. He further says that you can build some synergies that can enhance performance and even feed on each other you have people in the same market.
-
The right systems
Before making a move to a new premise, you will need to ensure the right systems are in place for the business to function. Moving into a place that has simple inadequacies like lack of air conditioning can have a detrimental effect on your business. When the air conditioning is inadequate, it might be uncomfortable if you have a high density of staff occupying your office.
-
A lighted place
Many real estate agents attest to the fact that places with more light coming into the building are becoming high in demand. People will feel unease working in a place that feels like a dungeon or a nuclear bunker.
-
Energy efficiency
In the modern business environment, energy availability is crucial. If you have a business that consumes a lot of electrical energy, you might have to examine whether the building is able to accommodate it. The power capacity that keeps all the multiple computer screens working especially when it involves larger tenants with a lot of employees.
When you see that the normal grid is not sufficient to run the operations, you might as well consider whether there exists an opportunity to increase the energy levels by adding solar panels.
Just don’t wait to figure out that the power in the building is insufficient to accommodate your business.
-
A good internet connectivity
With internet and data availability becoming a crucial element in the work environment, many businesses seeking a new space want to find such facility functioning. Always determine the amount of data available for each on the floor of the building you intend to lease or buy space. If for any case you come across a building that has poor internet connectivity, you ought to think again before occupying it.
-
Major developments in the area
You ought to examine the happenings around the premise. Do you see any significant development in the near suburbs? Find out whether there is any community infrastructure in the vicinity. When there is a new major project coming up in the area it may be an economic growth indicator and therefore have a positive impact on your business.
When looking for a commercial space, you might realize that areas that are developed tend to lease at a faster rate. This also implies that the rent returns demand is higher compared to the areas that are underdeveloped.
-
Incentives
When you are given a price for the commercial property, don’t assume it’s the best deal you can get. To avoid being taken for a ride you should seek the opinion of an expert. For instance, if the incentive is marked at 25%, it implies that the real terms rent should be way below 25%. But an unsuspecting tenant may miss out on the incentive and end-up being charged a higher amount.
To Conclude
As a business owner looking for a viable commercial space that will accommodate your business, you ought to be alert on many things. Fortunately, the necessary things to check out have been discussed above as a guide in your commercial property search.
