Leasing a commercial property is markedly different from renting a residential property. Moreover, your main aim in leasing a commercial property is to use it to grow your business and make a profit. That is why you should not forget to discuss the following issues before signing a commercial lease:
Subleasing Issues
Don't assume that just because the property is huge you have the right to sublease some of its sections to other businesses. The landlord is signing the lease with you, and not with those other businesses. This means you need the landlord's permission up front if you want to sublease some unused sections to other people. Ensure this is clearly represented in the lease if it is something you would be interested in.
Exclusivity Rights
Some businesses don't respond well to competition, especially if the competitor is right next door. Therefore, if you are only renting a section of the property, you should confirm that you have exclusivity rights that prevent the landlord from renting out other sections to similar businesses. If you don't want to open a sushi restaurant this week only to have another one open right next door next week, get the exclusivity rights in your lease agreement.
Understand the CAM Terms
Some types of leases include Common Area Maintenance (CAM) fees, which, as the name suggests, are used to take care of the common areas of the premises. This is what is used for cleaning the bathrooms, repairing the parking lot, or fixing security lights in common areas. Unfortunately, some unscrupulous landlords take advantage of ignorant renters and include other expenses that aren't exactly needed for the common areas. Therefore, understand what exactly is included in the CAM charges before signing the lease.
Dispute Resolution Issues
Disagreements may arise between you and the landlord somewhere down the line, and when they do, you don't need to spend an arm and a leg to solve them. Unfortunately, that might not be up to you if you if you don't take dispute resolution into consideration when negotiating the lease. Ideally, you need a lease agreement that gives preference to mediation and arbitration, which are inexpensive methods of solving disputes, instead of conventional litigation.
Most people only use real estate agents when buying real estate property, but not when renting. This may not be a big deal where residential properties are concerned. However, when it comes to a property, it's a good idea to engage a commercial real estate brokering expert or realtor.