What to Bring on Your Office Tour
Office space tours are more than window shopping. Come prepared with the right tools, people, and numbers to get the most out of the time you spend touring.
Booking a tour brings you and your company one step closer to finding a new office space. Office space tours are much more than window shopping. It's important to come prepared with the right tools and questions to get the most out of the time spent touring and discussing options with your advisor. In most office tours, not only will your commercial real estate advisor meet you, but you'll also be meeting a representative of the space, whether that's the landlord's broker, property manager, or the landlord himself. Here are a few suggestions on how to plan and what to bring along.
Three things matter most before an office tour: a space plan showing how the layout fits your headcount and growth, the actual decision makers on the tour rather than delegates, and a clear sense of your budget, ideal lease term, and financial readiness. Getting these right up front turns a tour into real progress instead of just window shopping.
Space Plan
A space plan involves a lot of information that can be beneficial for you and your advisor when touring office space. An initial space plan may just be the current layout of the space for a first tour, but a space plan can help you fit the space for the number of employees you're looking to accommodate, furniture, desk layout, and room requirements. "It's best to be sure your space plan fits your growth over the term of your future lease. Plan for your growth structure," says Tad Wood, Nashville Principal.
Sometimes a building may have amenities such as a shared conference room, kitchen, or common space that can allow for more efficient use of your leased space. This can save you money and provide flexibility if you need to repurpose areas of your leased space.
Decision Maker
It's important that whoever is involved in making the decision to lease office space is on the tour. Hopefully your commercial real estate advisor has helped you save time by narrowing down options ahead of time, eliminating wasted tours so your decision makers can spend focused time touring the best spaces. At TenantBase, technology lets users virtually tour space prior to a physical tour, and easily share interior pictures and floor plans to narrow down options more efficiently.
However, once it's time to go look at space, collaboration among decision makers matters for moving forward with a lease. Often, many factors get clarified while walking through a space, whether it's lease terms or building requirements, and it's best for everyone to be on the same page. Even if tours need to be a bigger group, having the actual decision maker on the tour is the best way to clarify all questions up front and move things along quickly and efficiently.
Price, Term, and Financials
Come knowing what your negotiation factors are and the numbers you're willing to work within. What's the longest term you're willing to commit to? What monthly budget is your company looking to work within? It's best to have a conversation with your advisor ahead of time about what's expected in the current market based on the location and condition of the property you're touring.
With that in mind, you can approach the space knowing what you can bring to the deal. Your company's financials also play a role in negotiations, so it's best to talk about this up front. "Although two years of financials aren't needed on the tour, it's good to start preparing your financials ahead of time, should you see something you like and want to move quickly," says Lucius Carroll, Nashville Advisor.
Tours are a great opportunity to really try a space on for size. Make the most of it by planning ahead to coordinate an ideal space plan, bring along all the decision makers involved, and prepare your numbers ahead of time.
See also: Office Space Tour Checklist →Tour With Confidence
A local tenant rep can help you prepare a real space plan and negotiation strategy before you ever set foot in a building.
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