Buying, selling and moving · 10 guides
Commercial Real Estate: problems and fixes, explained by Julie
Julie Smith is the only commercial real estate member of BNI Preston Center. These guides are written for a Dallas–Fort Worth reader who has the problem right now: what is happening, what to check, when to call, and what it costs.
- The rent per square foot is not the price: what commercial space really costs The asking rate on a flyer tells you surprisingly little about what a space will cost your business each month. Here is how to add up the whole number before you commit. Short answer: price the whole occupancy, not the rateRentable versus usable: paying for the lobbyOperating expenses, CAM and the year-end billHow annual increases compound over a term
- The lease is signed: the dates, bills and clauses to track for the next five years Signing the lease is the end of the negotiation, not the end of the work. Here is how to keep track of the dates, bills and obligations that decide what the lease really costs. Start with a one-page summary of what you signedPut the critical dates where someone will see themBefore you open the doorsReading the annual reconciliation instead of just paying it
- Texas property taxes and your commercial lease: why the bill lands on the tenant In most Texas commercial leases, the property tax bill ends up in the tenant's monthly cost. Here is how that works, when it changes, and what you can do about it. Why your rent moves with the tax billHow a Texas property tax bill is builtHow the tax bill reaches tenants under each lease typeThe appraisal notice and the protest window
- Sublease, direct lease or coworking: which kind of space fits a small business now Three ways to get space, three very different sets of trade-offs. Here is how I help small business owners decide between a sublease, a direct lease and a coworking or executive suite. Which one fits: the quick versionThe direct lease: control in exchange for commitmentThe sublease: someone else's space, on their timelineLandlord consent is not a formality
- Selling a commercial building: how the process runs from pricing to closing Selling a commercial property is a sequence of stages, and most of the time goes into a few of them. Here is how the process runs and what an owner can do to keep it moving. The process in one paragraphFirst decide what kind of sale this isHow a commercial building gets pricedDocuments to gather before you list
- Office, retail or warehouse: how to choose space that fits the way your business works The right space is the one that fits how your business actually runs, not the one with the nicest lobby. Here is how I help owners narrow the search before the first tour. The answer in brief: start from how the business operatesWrite the operating profile before you tourWhat office users should weighWhat retail tenants should weigh
- Negotiating a commercial lease on your own: what you can handle and what it costs you Nothing stops a business owner from negotiating a lease directly with a landlord. The question is what that saves, what it costs, and which parts you can safely handle yourself. Yes, you can, and here is what you give upWho the agent across the table works forWhen going alone is reasonableWhere self-represented tenants lose money
- Commercial space empty for months: why it is not leasing and what changes that A vacant suite costs an owner every month it sits empty. In my experience the reason is usually specific and fixable once you look at the space the way a tenant does. Direct answer: empty space usually has a fixable reasonPricing against what tenants actually compareWhat a tenant sees when the door opensMarketing that reaches the brokers who bring tenants
- Buying your first commercial building: the mistakes that cost owners the most Buying a building for your business can be a smart long-term move, and the expensive mistakes are almost all made before closing. Here is what I see first-time buyers miss. The short version: most mistakes happen before the contractBuying for the business you have instead of the one you are buildingTreating the inspection period as paperworkSkipping the environmental question
- Your lease is up in a year and the space no longer fits: renew, move or buy wisely The landlord's renewal letter arrived, the back office is full and nobody on your team has done this before. Here is how the commercial lease decision actually works, from the tenant's side of the table. The letter that shows up twelve months outWhy the renewal rarely favors the tenant by defaultQuestions to answer about your own business firstRenew, relocate or buy: how I frame the three paths