Advice on renting a small office.

[Craig80]

Hello
I've been a sole trader for 15 years, working from home. I am considering renting a small office. I've been looking at offices to rent on RightMove and some of them seem very affordable (I could provide links but not sure if that is allowed on the forum). My question is, how realistic is the advertised price? I know I'll need to add VAT to it but what are some of the hidden costs? The offices are advertised as 'fully serviced' and normally include broadband etc. I believe I'll be eligible for 'Small business rate relief'. I assume it's wise to have a solicitor look over the lease too?
Thanks in advance.
Craig

 

[Gordon - Commercial Finance]

They’re all a bit different. When I got my office I’m in now, I looked at two different ones which were maybe 50 yards apart. One was just rent and we had to put in our own phone lines, broadband, and pay a cleaning and electrics surcharge. The other one was not only cheaper, but broadband, electricity and cleaning was included in the price.

You can guess which one I went for, but the main point is I didn’t find out about any of this until the agent or owner was showing me around the place. One way to find out is to enquire and get a viewing, just like you’re buying a house.

 

[Craig80]

Thanks Gordon. Appreciate the reply. Yeah, I agree, I need to view the offices but I'd like to go armed with a little knowledge so I don't look like a complete idiot ;-). Thanks again, Craig.

 

[Mr D]

Find out if the fully serviced bit is included in the rent - have seen businesses where they pay a separate charge for the fully serviced bit if they want any of it.
Utilities, broadband, cleaning, security, fire etc - oh and insurance.
Find out what is included what is separate and what you have to arrange.

Last office space I saw a few years back if you wanted any of the full service you had to take it all - I would have gone for none and arranged own cleaning and own security.

 

[Craig80]

Ok. Thanks 'Mr D'. Appreciate the advice.

 

[JD-UK-GN]

Hidden costs - a couple of thoughts
- check the parking situation - if it's in town parking can be a nightmare and parking space is not always included.
- check the broadband speed - I have a client with an office that is cheap because it's out in the sticks but he had to buy a special mobile broadband as the internet is so bad out there!

 

[Mark T Jones]

The answer will lie in the contract

regus are particularly ferocious on Addi ons. Others will be far more inclusive. Ask questions. Get answers in writing.

 

[Dan Kav]

From experience be careful of serviced offices (especially Regus). Get the Ts & Cs, House Rules, contract, etc. checked by someone who knows what they're looking for. We've just moved out of a Regus after 2 years (and counting) of constantly fighting their accounts team.

The broadband point from JDUK is valid too - if you need high speed/high use then look at a Leased Line. Some fairly good deals around at the moment.

 

[Lizzyohara]

Have you looked in coworking spaces? I use one near me in Oxford and it's great in terms of contract flexibility and costs. I tend to use it when I want to host meetings. They are becoming more popular so shop around

 

[Chris Ashdown]

Why are you moving to a office, is it to get out of the house, or to meet and greet customers

What are your requirements for the office

Talk to your local planning department they may have a list of landlords who have offices either the council use for start-up companies or private that are on industrial area's rather than town centers

When we started we had a small office in the old industry part of town, that was on a 3 month licence very cheap and continued there for a few years until we out grew it

 

[zomex]

I am in a similar boat to you. Working from home for around 7 years now and purchased a house 2 years ago.

Instead of renting an office which I also looked into doing, I am now taking the action of building a outside office that complies with building regulations and falls under permitted development. This should create a good work/life separation and pay for itself very quickly. If you have a suitable garden you may find that this is a good solution but of course if you are needed an office as a way to meet clients it may not be suitable.

 

[Chris Ashdown]

No problem meeting people in a garden office as long as it does not cause a problem to neighbours

If you google garden offices you find they can be very low cost items and many need no planning applications

 

[DGoldie]

Hey @Craig80 we have a small / private office with 8 desks with screens available for rent in central london. All bills included in rent, fast internet, free water, coffee (and Friday beers), pool table, 2 meeting rooms, presentation equipment, kitchen equipment, kitchen table, bar area, etc - we're a small business also with only 5 staff members so looking to cover some of the costs of our rent without having to move out of a nice office! Let me know if interested and you can come check it out!

 

[DGoldie]

Have you looked in coworking spaces? I use one near me in Oxford and it's great in terms of contract flexibility and costs. I tend to use it when I want to host meetings. They are becoming more popular so shop around

If you also wanted to use ours for meetings you'd have the whole office to yourself!

 

[Darren_Ssc]

Hello
I've been a sole trader for 15 years, working from home. I am considering renting a small office. I've been looking at offices to rent on RightMove and some of them seem very affordable (I could provide links but not sure if that is allowed on the forum). My question is, how realistic is the advertised price? I know I'll need to add VAT to it but what are some of the hidden costs? The offices are advertised as 'fully serviced' and normally include broadband etc. I believe I'll be eligible for 'Small business rate relief'. I assume it's wise to have a solicitor look over the lease too?

I rent a small office from a private landlord. Electricity and water are included (fair usage), there are no rates since it's not that big. There is also no vat to pay. I did have to provide my own desk and heating appliances. It's £100 a week which, for me at least, pays for itself because working from home is a productivity no-no for me.

The contract is basically a couple of paragraphs and they are nice people. 3 month notice at worst anyways.

You'll find such deals if you search hard enough. Gumtree and such are obvious places to look. I'd avoid going through agents if at all possible because you'll see another side of the coin and it isn't pretty. They'll be taking a fair slice in fees and try and tie you in for a long lease so you will need good legal advice.

Also worth looking for offices that have a surplus of space and can do a deal. I've done this before but being in the right place at the right time is a major factor.

Also, avoid the likes of Regus and Basepoint - just check the reviews, enough said.

 

[Darren_Ssc]

Hidden costs - a couple of thoughts
- check the parking situation - if it's in town parking can be a nightmare and parking space is not always included.

Yup, parking is one of those costs it's easy to overlook and soon adds up.

Also, as an afterthought, be careful who your neighbours are going to be. Nothing worse than finding a great little office only to find the guy next door is a loud gobstate who's on the phone all day or a door-slammer or both. Avoid having people above you too, those constant footsteps will drive you insane eventually.

 

[CHUKTC]

Another thing to just bare in mind is phone lines. If the office supplies phone lines who owns the phone number Regus are very good at trapping you with this as I found to my cost many years ago. Also look carefully at termination clauses and end of contract - make sure it meets your needs.

 

[Gordon - Commercial Finance]

The original poster hasn't been back since the day he posted this thread, so I suspect he won't be seeing your offer.

 

[Darren_Ssc]

The original poster hasn't been back since the day he posted this thread, so I suspect he won't be seeing your offer.

He was looking to rent an office anyway, not a desk.