At one time, looking for an area to settle your business was simply the process of getting land to build on, whether that business was an office, hotel, corporate headquarters, distributor, retail store, and so on. Now though, the process of finding the perfect commercial real estate is more strategic than ever, aimed at not only housing the business but providing key access routes for its customers, employees, and transports, taking advantage of zoning laws specific to each area, and creating the appropriate dedicated space that will allow a business to grow into its location and be as successful as it should be.
No matter what kind of business you own, location is a key factor in determining that business’s success. This is why finding the right corporate realtor for your needs could set the rhythm of your entire enterprise’s life, from the way in which it fits into its community, utilizes the land, houses its employees, and makes its transactions. In today’s market, knowing where your business should be located is just as important as knowing what it will be.
- Know your rates
Calculating the future of your business’s profits and expenditures is something that any savvy business owner knows they have to do. Investing in your own commercial real estate can have a huge impact on this calculation. Instead of being swept along by the market rates for rent, never being able to precisely calculate the cost of running your business, owning your own property means that you’re loaning on a fixed interest rate.
In other words: you’ll always know what it will cost to pay for your business’s location from month to month. And knowing that, means that selecting this location is also selecting your rent for the foreseeable future. Being able to precisely map out your expenditures without having to worry about the market is one of the biggest benefits of owning your own commercial real estate.
- Taxes, Taxes, Taxes
Being in charge of an entire business’s tax plan is one of the most daunting tasks facing any business owner. Your investment in commercial real estate has to take this into account: knowing the local tax codes and how they apply to your particular needs will be a major part of your decision. There are quite a few advantages to doing it right, such as deductible expenses on mortgages and renovations. Researching how the taxes work in the areas you’re considering is a huge part of determining which real estate is right for you.
- Building with a Purpose
Your business has specific physical needs that you must consider when buying commercial real estate: this is where location becomes everything. What kinds of access and transportation routes will you need? Does this area have the proper industrial or civic infrastructure for your goals? Will you need additional facilities and parking spaces as the company grows? Is cross-advertising with other local businesses necessary for the success of yours?
Buying commercial real estate gives you the luxury of controlling your own land and changing your own infrastructure as you need to. But that doesn’t matter if you don’t choose the right location to begin with. Despite having the potential to be the best investment you could make for your company, the estate’s location will determine how that investment is valued in the years to come. The surrounding area, traffic, road systems, surrounding businesses, and even weather could radically alter the success of your business. All these things need to be considered by you or your experienced commercial realtor when making this decision.
- Know Your Limits
Businesses are not static: they change and grow. You may have plans for expansion that you can’t achieve right now when you’re buying your property. But you need to keep these plans, or the possibility of ever having them, fully in mind when deciding where your business will be located. It could determine whether you can ever achieve these plans in the future.
The last thing you want is for your area’s building codes or zoning laws to make trouble for you when you decide to expand or change your business. You have to think about the future when choosing your location, assessing what you may want to do with your business so you can determine the viability and cost of doing so in each particular city. The radical differences in codes that determine what you can do to the inside and outside of your particular business in each particular area warrant serious consideration when thinking about location.
- Investment Plan
You want to keep your own future in mind too. The property you buy now will not simply retain its value: it will shift according to the area’s market future. If you want your business to someday be a retirement opportunity for you, you want to map out the future of this potential asset first, as best you can, before buying the property. This purchase isn’t just a necessity but an investment, and location is one of the key factors in determining the future value of that investment.
