Office Space Listings

At last count there were several dozen websites where you can find listings for office space online where you can find office space for lease, rent or sale. Virtually all of them are national or international in scope. In other words, they do not have a local focus or local understanding of the market. There are local commercial real estate companies that post office space listings on their own websites, but those listings are just the ones that they have; not all of the office space listings available in the market in which you are searching for an office. Unlike residential real estate there are very few multiple listing services (MLS) when it comes to commercial properties and office space online.

Top 9 Tips for the Do-It-Yourselfer

Do you really want to spend hours searching the Internet for Office Space Listings? If you do, scroll down to the bottom of the page and we will provide you our Top 9 Tips for the Do-It-Yourselfer.  You could get lucky and find just the right space for your business on one of the the first sites you explore. It does happen. What then? You will contact the listing agent to set up a walk through. If you like it, you may decide to make an offer.

Do you know your office market and what the deal terms should be?

It is more than just the rental rate, lots more. You will need to spend more time researching what lease terms and rental you should be agreeing to accept. An attorney can help with many, but not the market related ones, only the legal terminology.

The listing agent only represents the landlord, no matter what they say.
They are not your ally.

If you found a listing you like, there is already a commission built into it. If you do not bring your own broker into the deal, the listing agents keeps the entire commission. If you get a representative, they will split it. Why wouldn't you get help from a local professional when it does not cost you anything?

Engage the services of local tenant representative. Its free!
You have nothing to lose

We do provide you a lot of information on our site to allow you to do it yourself, but you are much better off engaging the services of a tenant representative. Here is what they can do for you:

• Save you time in searching for office space listings. They have proprietary up-to-date databases on available office space that they have either developed themselves over years or pay thousands of dollars a month to be able to access reliable information.

•  This is there day-to-day business. They have both the knowledge and expertise to make sure you negotiate the best deal possible and avoid costly mistakes. As a tenant, you lease office space only a few times in your business life, while landlords do it over and over again. Shouldn't you level the playing field?

Take advantage of the ability to get personal assistance in your market from a knowledgeable and experienced commercial real estate office tenant representation expert by engaging an OfficeFinder professional. There is no cost to you for their services.

Related: Why Commercial Real Estate Listing Web Sites Provide Poor Customer Service

Top 9 Tips for the Do-It-Yourselfer

If you are still determined to do it yourself, to find office space online, here are a few tips that will help you on your way.

1. When searching use Google and be as accurate as you can on what you are looking to find.

   • e.g. downtown Seattle office space for lease.

   • Use the organic results. The paid results are almost always executive suites (unless that is what you want).

   • Craigslist is typically good for small requirements only.

   • Loopnet is the largest commercial listing site, but there are fees required for full access.

2. Check the copyright of the website you find to make sure it is current. One the big problems with listing sites is out of date information.

   • When you find a listing you are interested in, a good listing site will show you when it was last updated.

3. When you find a listing you want more information on, call the listing agent.

   • If you fill out a form, it is to track the lead and sends an email for the agent to follow up. You will have only a 50/50 chance of hearing from them. If you do hear from them it will typically be the next day or two. Roughly 50% of those inquiries are never answered and most listing sites do not have a backup agent to help you.

4. You will find many office space listing websites that are fishing for leads and won't put you in contact with the listing agent.

   • Instead you will be contacted by the agent that is paying them instead. Once again the 50/50 contact rule applies.

   • If there is no phone number, chances are good that is what they are doing.

   • When you are contacted, make sure to ask about the agents role.

5. Once you have decided on an office space you like, gather as much market information as you can to determine what a good rental rate is for your space.

   • Check local commercial real estate websites for market information article or reports. You can get a general idea of what you should be paying.

   • If you are in a major market, the national commercial real estate brokerages will have market studies you can access.

   • Comparing the property you are interested in with the right class of building. It could seem like you are getting a great deal on your class B building if you are comparing it to the class A reports.

6. Make sure you can get all the services you need at the property. In particular, check that your communications and Internet services will work there.

7. Ask for a request for proposal from the listing agent or landlord that will include your full package of improvements and incentives. Let them set the starting point from which to negotiate.

   • Include everything you are going to want. Do your homework as to what you will need. Spell it out. If you don't ask for it at this stage, it will be hard to get later.

8. Have an attorney review your lease agreement before signing it. It will be money well spent.

9. Other resources you can use are located on the left sidebar above.

If you have changed your mind and would rather have local personal assistance from an experienced professional, we'd be happy to help.