Southcreek News

9 Ways to Save On Energy Expenses in Your Office Rental Space in Kansas City: Vents

Did you know that the Environmental Protection Agency found that about 30% of the energy used by office buildings is used inefficiently? Think of the money your business could save by reducing that number! Here is some information on how to make sure your vents aren’t costing you unnecessary energy:

Tip #3: Check on Your Vents

•   Sometimes energy loss is a result of inefficient heating or cooling systems. Investigate this in your building with easy questions: how is the circulation? Are air ducts clean? Do any clogged filters need to be replaced? Regularly check the striping around office doors and windows for leaks and gaps—fixing leaks can cut up to 10% from your energy bill!
•   If you want to make bigger improvements, look to your HVAC system. Sometimes water in the condenser tubes can leave a slimy buildup, reducing the air conditioner’s efficiency. Occasionally treating this with chemical or ozone cleaning can keep your air conditioner running at top efficiency. Or, instead of paying for continued maintenance, think of replacing outdated units with more energy efficient ones, which could reduce cooling costs by up to 50%.
•   If possible, paint an office building roof a lighter color or plant a rooftop garden to deflect the sun’s heat on warm days and increase your energy savings.

Look into your heating and cooling systems to make sure you are using them as efficiently as possible!

If you want to tour some office suites for rent in Overland Park, give us a call at 913-685-4100 to set up a tour of an office building in Overland Park!

9 Ways to Save On Energy Expenses in Your Office Rental Space in Kansas City: Carpool

Saving energy could also mean personal savings for your employees when it comes to transportation. Helping them out with this could both make your business greener and increase employee satisfaction. Here is some information on carpooling as a way to go green at the office:

Tip #2: Carpool

Transportation is one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gases, and high gas prices can make the commute personally expensive to employees. Some employees might appreciate employers’ effort to make commuting or carpooling easy and a way to save money in the long run.
Try to come up with fun incentives to encourage people to use public transportation or carpool. Employees who use public transportation, walk, or bike could get financial help with transit passes, coupons to local businesses, small prizes, or even bonus vacation days. You could create designated prime parking spots for carpools to encourage people to share rides, or subsidize the cost of parking passes if you do not have dedicated parking.
Keep your employees informed of carpool and public transportation options by keeping a folder in a break room or on your intranet with lists of bike trails, carpool groups, and public transportation schedules. Consider starting a RideShare Program (http://www.marc.org/rideshare/) to make finding carpooling options easy for employees.

Not only will carpooling or public transportation use help your business’s green efforts, it could also increase your employees’ job satisfaction by saving them some money.

If your business is considering an office space lease in Overland Park, give us a call at 913- 685-4100 to find out about our affordable office space in Overland Park!

9 Ways to Save On Energy Expenses in Your Office Rental Space in Kansas City: Lighting

Saving energy is about more than just joining the green revolution; it can also be a big money saver for your company, and is just a responsible business practice. Check out this series of tips on how to reduce energy—and some expenses—in your workplace:

Tip #1: Flip Those Switches.

Lighting makes up the highest portion of a company’s electric bill, and another 4-5% of that bill goes towards counteracting the heat that light bulbs generate, so lighting is a good place to start reducing your energy inefficiencies.
Turn off lights at the end of the work day and the start of the weekend. If this is a difficult task to remember daily, then consider motion-detecting lights. These also help keep seldom used areas from eating up energy, and can be a good asset for a building’s exterior as well, keeping people safe, but not using more energy than necessary.
The best and cheapest form of light is, of course, the sun! So open blinds and doors and consider installing a skylight or two to take advantage of natural light. Be sure to do this only during times of the day and year when heat buildup from sunlight won’t cause cooling problems.

Making a few of these simple lighting adjustments can save your company money in the long run—and give you the satisfaction of being a green business.

Give Kathy Woodward at DDI Commercial a call at 913-685-4100 to find out more about our commercial realty in Kansas City!

Questions to Ask When Leasing an Office Space in Overland Park, KS

Sometimes half the battle when negotiating a lease is knowing the right questions to ask. There are a lot of things you will want to ask your landlord before signing, and many of these questions should also be directed to an expert such as a lawyer or commercial real estate broker. The questions you ask will vary based on the needs of your business, but here are a few examples of things you might want to enquire about:

Does the deal look like it might saddle your business with unforeseen and unnecessary expenses?
What are your operating costs based on— the percentage of space you occupy in your building, or are they divided up amongst the number of tenants in the building, forcing you to pay for the costs associated with empty units?
Does the lease lower your rental rate if you renegotiate another term after the lease expires?
Does your business have first right to lease the space for a longer term if you are currently only renting month-to-month?

These are just a few questions, but hopefully they get you thinking about other details you want to address in your lease. Asking questions consistently as you talk to different landlords will help you become a better negotiator, and getting answers from an expert will confirm that you are on the right track in protecting your business’s interests.

Looking for Overland Park office space for lease? Give a DDI Commercial real estate broker in Overland Park a call at 913-685-4100 to find out about our available spaces!

10 Things You Must Know Before Signing a Small Office Lease in Kansas City: Part IV

Signing a lease is a big decision for your business, and preparation for this process cannot be taken lightly. Here are a few things you must be aware of as you begin looking for a space for your business:

7. Have a working knowledge of rental rates. Rental rates can be tricky. Some landlords set rates artificially high with a few months of free rent to offset the actual cost in order to maintain their property value. Others stipulate that rates increase periodically in set amounts throughout the term of the lease. When paying per square foot, you might find upon closer examination that the landlord’s measurements include square footage that is not really there. Be aware also that leases will often include extra costs on top of base rent, such as operating and marketing costs.
8. Be ready to walk. Even if you become emotionally tied to a potential deal, you need to be ready to walk away from the table. The ability to walk away from a possible deal is empowering and gives you control over the ultimate outcome, ensuring that you get the best deal possible for your business.

Make sure you take the time to educate yourself on the leasing process before entering negotiations!

Is your business looking for an office space for rent in Kansas City? Give us a call today at 913-685-4100 to set up a tour of a Kansas City office space!

10 Things You Must Know Before Signing a Small Office Lease in Kansas City: Part III

Here are a few more tips to keep in mind before signing a lease for an office rental space:

5. Seek expert advice. Consult someone throughout the negotiation process like a lawyer, accountant, or lease consultant who can work for the best interests of your business. They can advise you on what to negotiate for, include clauses for your business’s protection, and save you from signing anything that will cause money loss and problems in the long term. You will most likely have a lot of questions throughout the lease negotiations, and an expert can help answer those questions with the best interests of your business in mind.
6. Understand the space. Sometimes the calculations for the square footage of a space are not exactly straightforward, so you will need to know how your landlord is measuring the unit space. Is the listed size based on the space’s actual square footage? Or does it include square footage that does not really exist? Is it perfectly accurate? You might also start by looking at smaller spaces in a building. If you start with a smaller space and then ask about bigger ones, the landlord might try to entice you to the bigger space with good incentives.

Approaching a lease negotiation with a little bit of knowledge and a willingness to ask for help could prevent your business from making costly negotiation mistakes.

Give a commercial real estate broker in Overland Park (http://www.ddicommercial.com/our-agents/) a call at 913-685-4100 to find out about our available Overland Park office space for rent (http://www.ddicommercial.com/)!

10 Things You Must Know Before Signing a Small Office Lease in Kansas City: Part II

Rushing into a lease could mean a huge financial setback for your business in the long run. Here are a few things to consider before you sign a lease:

3. Negotiate. Remember that while landlords and lease brokers will expect negotiations, they would love for you to take the first deal they offer, since they built in room to drop the price. If you do anything less than negotiate, you will probably end up paying more and excluding from the lease important clauses to protect your business. When negotiating, be prepared and do not appear too eager. Leave pride aside in pursuit of the best possible deal. Start low, go for extra perks such as free rent, and ask for more than you expect.
4. If this is your first lease negotiation, practice. Talk to plenty of landlords, ask as many questions as you need to, find out about different incentives—try to get an overall feel for the negotiation process. Doing so will help you better understand what is on the market and prepare you for the actual negotiations once have an idea of what is available, what your business needs, and what you can ask for in a negotiation.

Preparing for negotiations and honing your negotiation skills can help your business find the best possible office rental situation.

Is it time for your business to move into a new office rental space in Kansas City? Give us a call at 913-685-4100 to find out about our available Kansas City office space for rent!

10 Things You Must Know Before Signing a Small Office Lease in Kansas City

Before you sign an office space lease for your business, there are a few facts you should know. Here are some things to keep in mind before you sign the dotted line:

Take the time to do your homework. If you rush through the process, you will not be able to properly evaluate the marketplace to make sure it will fit your business’s needs during your tenancy. If you are approaching a lease renewal, give yourself plenty of time to negotiate so you have plenty of time to transition to a new space if you cannot settle on agreeable terms.
Business leases are not like residential leases. Know in advance that a business lease will be completely different than a personal dwelling lease, which typically only includes a set monthly price and utilities. In residential leases, the government protects the interests of the tenant and the landlord is responsible for repairs. In business leases, there are expenses that you will be responsible for above and beyond basic costs, and the government does not offer the same kinds of legal protection. Everything will be in your lease, so make sure you understand what expenses you are responsible for as well as the legal rights of both you and your landlord.

Don’t get stuck in an unfavorable lease by rushing through the process!

If your business is looking for a new office space in Kansas, give us a call at 913-685-4100 to find out about our available office space in Overland Park, KS!