Moving A Business Out of The Home (real estate, leases)

[SRQBob]

I started a small business out of my home and have been doing fine for a couple of years, but I think it is time to move up and out. I have been looking at commercial and retail property listing. Never having done this before, I am forced to ask, should I be looking for a commercial property manager like [url]http://www.executivepropertymanagementgroup.com[/url] or a real estate agent like Remax?

[Rushmore]

I just did this myself, but have the benefit of having signed a good number of commercial real estate leases in the past.

1. Do not offer a personal guarantee. Period. If they insist, go elsewhere. there are plenty who will sign a lease with no such stipulation. This is the point of incorporating or LLC'ing.

2. They will want a 3-5 year lease. In this market, you do not need to do this.

3. You can find perfectly respectable and nice space in SRQ for $12.50/sq. ft. There is tax, though.

4. No, you do not need a broker, unless we're talking about a big space. If it's just an office, say 1-2K sq ft., you can handle it without any outside interference.

There's a bunch more, I'm sure. Just search commercial real estate in the zip you want, and you'll see plenty, I'm sure.

[Obrero]

Consider buying something too if you can swing it. Commercial condos prices are still in the dumps. You should be be able to pick one up dirt cheap... Cheaper than renting probably.