questions about leasing a commercial property

[michellew01]

hi,

i've found a property that i'm happy with and i'm planning to call the landlord today to tell him I am very interested, and that I just need to clarify a few things to help me make my final decision,

on my list of questions are

who is liable for repairs - ie the roof i noticed when looking yesterday that a tile on the roof is loose, ( I would expect this to be fixed anyway before i too the property over)

am i allowed to change things - ie put in 2 doors, one to block the open staircase and the other to block off the kitchenette

how they require rent payment- monthly, qaurterly,

do they require a deposit/security


are there any other important things I should ask?




I'm also trying to find decent shop fittings - don't mind 2nd hand if in good condition, what a nightmare trying to find a reasonably priced counter,
I'm thinking slat wall over most of the walls and then adding shelves,gondolas etc as and where?

 

[Alison Jones]

HI

With the counter are you needing a high counter.

We found Ikea sold work tops in varying lengths that you bought the legs for seperately and we got 2 of them and made a counter, got cloth to cover round it so we can store things behind the counter with noone seeing them. This did not cost that much.

Alison

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

who is liable for repairs - ie the roof i noticed when looking yesterday that a tile on the roof is loose, ( I would expect this to be fixed anyway before i too the property over)

am i allowed to change things - ie put in 2 doors, one to block the open staircase and the other to block off the kitchenette

how they require rent payment- monthly, qaurterly,

do they require a deposit/security

Generally the landlord is responsible for exterior repairs but it does depend on the terms of the lease.

Again what you can and cant do will be determined by the lease agreement.

Some rents are paid monthly some quarterly and you normally negotiate terms once you want to proceed. Dont forget their is always room to negotiate any terms and dont be afraid to ask for an intial rent free period, especially if you will be spending quite a bit tidying up the property etc.

I would strongly advise you to get a solictor involved - it may well be the best money you ever spend. Its so tempting to try and save on fees like this but it can save a huge amount in future. I speak from experience as one who has rented offices and from seeing clients who have done.

Good luck!

 

[michellew01]

thanks Alison,

ideally I want a counter I can display things on, preferbly with a glass top?

i've looked at Ikea and will be getting quite a lot of the fittings from there especially there glass cabinets

 

[Alison Jones]

HI

With the lease would be worth asking if there are any other costs apart from your rent as some charge you a service charge.

Whether the gas, electric and water are included in the rent or if you need to have your own suppliers.

Also some have the insurance included or some you need to arrange yourself.

Also we did not do this with our premises and in hindsight we should have done we just assumed that the boiler was working, got keys and found the boiler was completely dead and had to spend out on a new one which we were not planning for.

And something that new businesses may not want to know about but in this climate should is if there is a get out clause in the lease - ie if you give notice of x you can leave the premises earlier then the lease states without any financial penalties. It is something worth knowing before signing lease.

Alison

 

[michellew01]

Generally the landlord is responsible for exterior repairs but it does depend on the terms of the lease.

Again what you can and cant do will be determined by the lease agreement.

Some rents are paid monthly some quarterly and you normally negotiate terms once you want to proceed. Dont forget their is always room to negotiate any terms and dont be afraid to ask for an intial rent free period, especially if you will be spending quite a bit tidying up the property etc.

I would strongly advise you to get a solictor involved - it may well be the best money you ever spend. Its so tempting to try and save on fees like this but it can save a huge amount in future. I speak from experience as one who has rented offices and from seeing clients who have done.

Good luck!

Thanks Nicola, I will deffiantly be getting a solicitor involved when I have decided it is what I really want to do,

the current tennat (it's a sub let) has already agreed a lower rent and a break in the clause after 18ths

 

[ethical PR]

Hi Michelle

Most landlords require a deposit and monthly payments by standing order.

What you will be responsible for depends on the terms and conditions of the contract and length of the lease. Be careful if you are responsible for fixtures and fittings as anything from the boiler breaking down to leaks are your liability.

From past experience, I would definitely say it definitely pays to get tradesperson, or use a friendly expert that you know, to look over the property in case they spot anything that might need immediate attention.

I would suggest it's also worth getting a lawyer experienced in commercial lettings to look over any contract before signing up.

 

[michellew01]

HI

With the lease would be worth asking if there are any other costs apart from your rent as some charge you a service charge.

Whether the gas, electric and water are included in the rent or if you need to have your own suppliers.

Also some have the insurance included or some you need to arrange yourself.

Also we did not do this with our premises and in hindsight we should have done we just assumed that the boiler was working, got keys and found the boiler was completely dead and had to spend out on a new one which we were not planning for.

And something that new businesses may not want to know about but in this climate should is if there is a get out clause in the lease - ie if you give notice of x you can leave the premises earlier then the lease states without any financial penalties. It is something worth knowing before signing lease.

Alison

thanks Alsion, hadn't thought about utilities (well if they were included) I don't think they are but will clarify it, I know there is a water meter,

good thinking about the boiler, i'll check that - thank you

get out clause has been agreed with a 3 mth notice period

 

[Alison Jones]

With the involvement with a solicitor would say that this is not always necessarilily the case, we only paid a solicitor for the swear fees for signing. We had to pay the landlords legal fees (that is one thing to find out some landlords just use a standard lease and don't charge, others charge legal fees we had to pay nearly £2K for that) hence the reason we did not pay solitor our end. This is not ideal for everyone but if you read it from cover to cover yourself and have family or friends to use to read through and discuss it may be that then you are happy with it.

Would say we knew our lease from cover to cover by the time we got the keys and knew instantly if the landlords had broken their terms of the lease (think if we had used a solicitor we may not have realised when any terms had been broken).

Alison

 

[michellew01]

thanks for your help, you have given me a few more things to ask that I hadn't thought off