6 Questions Your CRE Agent MUST Ask

Time is our most precious asset so in an effort to help you avoid wasting any of it when thinking about your company’s real estate decisions, I’m going to discuss the 6 questions your advisor must ask you when you meet for the first time.

Prefer video? Check out the video for this post here.

QUESTION 1: WHAT’S YOUR TIMING?

That is not mean, ‘when does your lease expire?’ but rather how immediate is your nee. From there you could formulate a plan to educate yourself and have appropriate time to leverage the market without being too early or too late and forced to make decisions that aren’t best for you and your company.

QUESTION 2: WHAT’S YOUR HEADCOUNT?

How many people do you need space for now and how many folks do you need to plan for to incorporate business growth? This is crucial so that you do not outgrow your new space too quickly and not waste money on unused space.

QUESTION 3: HOW MANY PRIVATE OFFICES DO YOU NEED?

Some space configurations won’t work. It’s best to eliminate them early to avoid seeing stuff that won’t fit you.

QUESTION 4: WHAT’S THE BEST LOCATION?

Is visibility important for client exposure? Is foot traffic important to your business? Where does your team live and how do they commute to work? Eliminate the areas that won’t work early to avoid seeing irrelevant offices.

QUESTION 5: WHAT ARE THE MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM TERM LENGTHS YOU WILL CONSIDER?

How long are you going to commit for? What’s the trajectory and stability of your business? Understanding lease length will help eliminate options because some spaces available will be raw (meaning they need a build-out) and the landlords will only build for longer terms. The sooner you addressed this, the quicker you can get to the real options available.

QUESTION 6: WHAT’S YOUR BUDGET?

You don’t want to be brought to a Ferrari dealership only to be told you can afford a Hyundai. Yes, it’s good to see a range of options to be sure, but there’s no need to see buildings where you definitely won’t land. Your time is valuable, and part of my job is to make sure you don’t waste it on things that aren’t appropriate.

My hope for you is that this blog post gets you thinking about your office real estate and the things that truly matter. Office hunting is fun, it’s exciting. But, your business still needs to run. These 6 questions will help guide your search so you see the best spaces available for your near and long term needs.

Looking for office space? Let’s talk.