Many companies want to lease office space in order to have a place to meet clients, a place to work and a place to base their business. Leasing an office space involves renting a space temporarily from a landlord. Leasing contracts vary widely; some include just a physical space while others include services and amenities as well as an office or building area.

Having a professional and even prestigious business address makes it easier to market yourself as a trustworthy business. Leasing allows you to enjoy such an address. Before renting, you will need to find an available office space that meets your needs and negotiate a lease contract. Do the following to master lease office space basics and get the best deal for your business:

1. Hone your contract skills so you can negotiate a fair lease office space agreement.

2. Look through listings of office properties for rent to understand your market and potential costs.

3. Investigate virtual office options if you need small business services.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Understand the legalities of leasing office space

Understanding your office lease agreement is the most important aspect of mastering the lease office space basics. This agreement will define the terms of your contract and will outline your responsibilities and the landlord's responsibilities. You should always have such an agreement in place - checked by your attorney for fairness and legality, of course - and you should always look over and negotiate such an office lease agreement before signing it.

I recommend: Kaktus offers a free downloadable office lease agreement that you can take with you to meetings with a prospective landlord. Dale Willerton offers tips on negotiating lease contracts, which can help you get a fair deal when you're looking for office space for lease. His useful articles include information on how to negotiate office rental rates and how to pick a lease term that makes sense for you.

Browse online office space property listing sites for many options

Looking through listings of office properties for lease is one of the best ways to get a handle on lease office space basics. This is because listings offer you details about the market right now and help you understand the current costs of leasing in your area, availability, who the providers of commercial office space are in your area and what amenities you might expect in your market. This can be useful information to help you understand your options.

I recommend: BusinessNation offers listings of office spaces for lease in every state. Browse by state or use the search feature to find something specific. Star Office Space is an online listing service that allows businesses to search for office space to lease by city. You can also use the site to browse office space for rent by state.

Lease virtual commercial office space to save money and get the benefits you need

While many people assume that finding commercial office property for lease is all about getting an actual office space, many small businesses don't need a physcial office space at all. As more companies downsize and rely on virtual workers, virtual offices offering physical addresses as well as all the amenities and meeting space of traditional offices, are becoming more popular. Before you make any final leasing decisions, consider virtual offices carefully to see whether they fit your needs--you may be surprised.

I recommend: Crown Plaza Virtual Offices details the advantages and the potential challenges of leasing virtual office space. GreenerComputing points out how virtual offices save not just money, but also the environment.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Carefully consider the full costs of leasing. In addition to your lease, you may need to pay for utilities, business services (such as receptionist services), building maintenance or office cleaning, furnishings and other costs. Even something as simple as parking costs or the cost of driving to your new office space can impact the 'real' cost of renting a commercial space. Always compare these costs when comparing office properties for lease.

When you look at your monthly business budget, you’ll likely find one of the highest numbers on the line next to the word 'Rent.' That’s because office space typically is one of a company’s largest expenses. It’s also one of the most important. Negotiating a good deal on your lease, then, is essential. The most common types of commercial leases are:

1. Gross leases (tenant pays rent only)
2. Net leases (tenant pays rent plus a percentage of operating expenses, maintenance fees and insurance premiums)
3. Triple-net leases (tenant pays rent plus all additional fees and premiums)
4. Shopping center leases (tenant pays rent plus a percentage of maintenance fees and perhaps a percentage of gross sales and property taxes)

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Read carefully and completely

Read the fine print. In fact, read all of the print. Doing so is the best way to protect your business from potential space-related snafus.

I recommend: Download a sample commercial lease agreement for your state from the Internet Legal Research Group.

Get what you need

Calculate how many square feet of usable office space you need before beginning any negotiations. Signing the best lease with the most favorable terms is worthless if the space doesn't suit your needs.

I recommend: Use OfficeFinder.com's office space calculator to determine your needs.

Analyze rent

Location, size and set-up affect lease costs, and all are good fodder for rent negotiations. Remember to figure security deposits, application fees and insurance into your rent estimate. Ask if utilities are included, and if you'll be expected to pay a portion of the landlord's property taxes or contribute to common area maintenance.

I recommend: Familiarize yourself with commercial real estate markets to find out what you should be paying for space. Check prices on available office rentals in your area at StarOfficeSpace.com or review free market information from OfficeFinder.com. For a fee, you can purchase Cushman & Wakefield's latest 'Office Space Across the World' report or the National Association of Realtors' 'Commercial Real Estate Outlook.'

Discuss lease length

A landlord is likely to be more flexible in negotiating a longer-term lease. Your business, however, will probably want some flexibility, too, and should therefore explore shorter-term leases with favorable renewal options.

I recommend: Lease length is just one consideration among many in lease negotiations; download AllBusiness.com's 'Checklist for Office Leases' for a complete list of issues that deserve your attention.

Address improvements

If you anticipate doing work on your space, get permission to do so in your lease and watch for clauses requiring you to return the space to its original condition. If the landlord agrees to make any repairs prior to your move-in, get it in writing.

I recommend: Having a skilled commercial real estate broker in your corner will help tremendously in negotiating the nuances of your lease, including repair and improvement clauses. Find a broker in your area by searching Cityfeet's Commercial Broker Directory or CCIMNet's Professional Directory.

Agree on allowed uses

Commercial leases generally include the type of work that may be performed in the space. Landlords will want to make the 'allowable use' as narrow as possible, but you should strive to make it broader to allow for future opportunities and new lines of business.

I recommend: Make sure your space is zoned appropriately, and that your lease includes a zoning assurance. Don't take your landlord's word for it, either; check with your local government, a link to which can be found at State and Local Government on the Net.

Protect yourself

If your business fails, you may be left with rent you can't pay. As such, make sure your lease allows for subletting your space. Likewise, if your business succeeds, it may outgrow its space. Make sure your lease affords you a right of first offer, which gives you first dibs on any new space in your building.

I recommend: You'll need a lawyer to pore over the terms of your lease before you sign it. Choose one who's used to working with small businesses and who has experience reading commercial leases. Find one at Real Estate Lawyers.com. Review and purchase a commercial sublease agreement from AllBusiness.com.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Beware of rents calculated per square foot of space, as square-footage often includes space that isn't usable, such as elevators or shared hallways.
• •  Ask for a rent cap to prevent drastic increases in your rent payments upon renewal.
• •  If the market allows, you may be able to negotiate a cash allowance to cover repairs and improvements, a credit to your account or other lease-signing incentives.

The pricing and costs to lease office space can range from hundreds of dollars to many tens of thousands of dollars. Many factors determine the costs of office properties for rent. The prestige of an address and the size of the city in which your business is located, for example, can determine which end of the scale your lease approaches. If your local real estate market is floundering and vacancies are high, you may pay less than someone looking at an office space property listing in a hot market.

Keep in mind that while some things are out of your control when it comes to the costs of office properties for lease, there are many things you can do to keep costs down. Factors such as office size, amenities and lease terms can all affect your leasing costs, which means you can shop around for the best value. When assessing the pricing and costs of lease office space, keep the following in mind:

1. Take advantage of online tools to determine your lease office space needs and budget.

2. Understand how to determine overall long-term as well as short-term office rental space costs;

3. Save money with non-traditional office space leasing agreements.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Use online calculators to estimate your office space leasing costs and needs

Take advantage of online calculators and other tools to determine your needs so you can compare costs on similar office spaces for lease. Once you have determined your parameters and requirements, compare prices on office leases in your area. This is the best way to determine how much you can expect to pay, since office amenities and office size have a significant impact on leasing costs.

I recommend: OfficeFinder has a handy online calculator that allows you to estimate office space for rent based on amenities and office space attributes. Office Space Search USA offers a calculator that determines how much commercial office space you need. Use Instant Offices' leasing cost calculator to receive two figures: one showing how much you might pay for a standard office lease, and one showing how much you might pay to rent a non-traditional office.

Learn how to accurately determine costs relating to office space leasing

The costs of office leases depend on your city, office location, building amenities, address prestige, hidden costs (including building maintenance fees or utilities), insurance, office size, the rate of vacancy in the area and other factors. Overall leasing costs can range from $200 to tens of thousands of dollars per month; the cost of leasing an office space, per square foot, ranged from $24 (Atlanta) to over $100 (New York) as of 2008.

I recommend: Finding office space is a little easier with Small Business Notes' guide to evaluating business leasing costs. This article goes further than many calculators in helping you determine long-term as well as short-term pricing and costs of lease office space. Alan Bernier offers a useful guide to reducing the costs of an office lease.

Invest in shared office space for lease to save money

Non-traditional leasing services allow you to rent shared office space, or serviced office space, in a reputable location at a fraction of the cost of leasing office space on your own. Shared office space leases often include receptionist services, voicemail and use of business equipment.

I recommend: Pinpoint Office Space allows you to easily find serviced office spaces with plenty of amenities. Premier Business Centers offers serviced office rental space for businesses in California, Washington and Texas.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  To find an office space to rent or lease that's in your budget, create a checklist of items you must have and items you want to have, keeping in mind the uses of your office. If you frequently receive client and customer visits, a centrally-located and professional office is essential. If, however, your office space is mainly a 'base of operations' consider getting a space outside of the main business area of your city, which can often save you hundreds of dollars.

If you've ever undertaken a hunt for office space to lease, you know that the variety of available real estate—and its ratings and cost—can be highly subjective. Add in legal terms governing the actual lease, and finding the right office building for your business can be downright bewildering.

All but the smallest of businesses need at least a small office to use as a home base. Use this list of basic vocabulary to help you get oriented as you shop for business space.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Gross lease

If you've secured office space through a gross lease, you are paying a set, flat fee for using the space while the landlord is responsible for all utility costs and other expenses.

I recommend: BusinessDictionary.com defines a gross lease and gives a list of typical expenses paid by the landlord in a gross lease situation.

Lessor

The lessor is, in terms of office real estate leases, the person or business entity that owns a property and rents it out to a tenant, which may be a person or business entity. The tenant is sometimes known as the lessee.

I recommend: GreatRealtyUSA defines the real estate term "lessor" and offers a link to the definition of "lessee" also.

Net leases

A net lease is a rental agreement where the lessee agrees to pay a lump sum of rent, in addition to a portion of one or more of the following as they relate to the property being leased: property taxes, insurance and maintenance.

I recommend: REALTECH Real Estate Services gives an in-depth explanation of net leases.

Base year

The base year is a calendar year presumed to be average in terms of office space operating and maintenance expenses, which is then used as the standard for how much of the office space's operating expenses will be paid by the landlord in following years, with the lessee responsible for paying anything above the amount of the base year expenditures.

I recommend: In his ActiveRain blog, Evan Keith Langert, director of KW Commercial Real Estate, explains what the base year is, how it's calculated and gives an illustrative example.

Common Area Maintenance

Common Area Maintenance or CAM charges are fees paid by tenants for services that are of benefit to all tenants--for example plowing a parking lot, building-wide security or maintenance of common areas, such as the lobby in an office building.

I recommend: Stuart Maue explains typical CAM charges and what to look for in an audit to be sure that CAM charges are appropriate and reasonable.

Class A, B and C

Class A, B and C are ratings given to office space or other commercial real estate that are used to set price points. Determining factors for which class an office building falls into may include how recently a building was renovated, what amenities are provided and where it's located.

I recommend: HowStuffWorks explains the differences between typical Class A, B and C office buildings.