The quest for a new office space for your business is always an exciting prospect; whether your business is a new start-up or an established company that needs to expand. There are a few things you need to spend some time considering, such as, where your new office accommodation will be, how much space you will need, and if you should negotiate the deal yourself. Thinking these big decisions through now will save you from potential frustration later.

The Place

Location is critical and leasing office space is no exception. The location of your new office is going to have a lot to do with the price you pay for it. It may also have a lot to do with the success or failure of your business. If your business relies on customer traffic, you are going to have to spend the money to make it convenient for them, with good visibility and reasonably easy access from the street or parking area. Even if your business does not require customer visits, you still need to think about yourself and your staff.

Your new office accommodation will need to have adequate parking for your employees, as well as reasonable access from the parking area. It would also be a big plus for your staff if the new offices were within an easy walk of the local mass transit system.

The Space

The last thing you want to have to do, after you go through all of the hassle of moving into a new office space, is relocate again in a year because you ran out of space, again. While the future success of a new business is hard to judge, an established business has a track record to look at. If your company has gone from being comfortable in 2 offices, to needing 5 offices in three years time, you should probably expect to need a few more offices in a few more years. It is always a good idea to get a little more space than you think you will require over the course of the lease, and you should never lease less space than you really need, even if it is a beautiful office.

Get Help

You are a professional at whatever it is you do; you should hire a professional to do the things you rarely do. Unless your business involves negotiating commercial leases on office properties, you should contract with an experienced agent to help you. An experienced commercial leasing agent will be familiar with many of the potential properties you will be considering, and will know any of the negative aspects about them. There are many points to consider when negotiating an office lease, and an agent will help you avoid mistakes that could hurt in the long run.

The main thing you need to take away from this article is that you should take your time and consider these things before signing any lease agreement. Your business needs you to be thinking about it, not worrying about some problem you got into because you moved too fast on an office lease.

There could be any number of reasons why a property may become vacant. The property could be a recent purchase by a landlord and is undergoing renovation prior to either letting it or selling it on. The property owner may have moved on and their current property has become empty until a new purchaser is found. The property owner could be erecting a new extension and has decided to move out of their property whilst the works are being carried out. What ever the reason it is still crucial to ensure that the empty property is sufficiently insured. If there is a mortgage outstanding on the building then the lender will insist on some form of insurance cover on the premises.

There are specialist insurance companies and brokers in the UK that specifically cater for the needs of a property owner with an empty building. Insurers and brokers that offer unoccupied property insurance quotes will normally have extensive knowledge on this subject and can help with risk management advice. Under an empty property insurance contract, the terms and conditions will differ from those of a standard home insurance policy. Get your advisor to go through with these in detail. There could be conditions on locks, how the water is left and how often the premises need to be visited etc. These conditions will vary from insurer to insurer.

Normally a property may be empty for 3 to 6 month but in certain scenarios it could be vacant for a year or even longer. If the property owner is certain that the property is not going to be empty for longer than 3 or 6 months then some insurers will offer a short term policy. A short term unoccupied property insurance policy can also be purchased online from some insurance companies. The property may be empty but as a property owner you still have duty and care to treat the premises as if there is no insurance cover in place.

A few basic rules in taking care to minimise the risks to your empty property include making sure all accessible windows and external doors are fitted with good locks, turning off the water supply and draining the system, installing an alarm system if budget allows it. Also visiting the property periodically to clear any post and to keep the lawn mowed. Give the property a look that says it not unoccupied. Install timer switches for the lights to turn on and off at random times.

Some insurers will also convert the empty property insurance policy to a landlords let property policy if you decide to rent the premises during the term of your policy. Or it could be converted to a standard home insurance policy if you move in yourself. Insuring a property that is vacant is essential and expert advice is crucial to ensure that the level of cover you obtain meets your exact needs.