Southcreek News

Operations and Management Administrative Fees for Office Space in Kansas

If you are already paying CAM fees as a tenant, beware of any added fees for operational or management costs. These fees might be labeled as “Administrative Fees,” and are a landlord’s way of trying to get a tenant to contribute to his or her own costs. These administrative fees are typically based on a percent of total CAM costs. As a tenant, you will want to object to such costs, or at least see evidence of how your share of these fees has been calculated. Most tenants object to O&M fees because the landlord already makes a profit off of the rent tenants pay, even without the CAM fees. Here are some tips for dealing with these extra fees in a lease:

If your CAM fee includes O&M fees that go towards liability insurance costs, the salaries for administrators or management (on or off-site), advertising, or professional services (i.e. legal or accounting), you should try to negotiate these specifically out of our lease.
Savvy negotiating tenants will try to reduce the percentage of these fees (which can range from 5% to 25%) and eliminate costs that are not related to maintenance (i.e. utilities, insurance, taxes).
You could try to argue that repair and maintenance costs related to buildings (i.e. roofs, foundations, exterior walls) are not your responsibility because they are not common areas used by you and your customers.

You might not be able to eliminate these fees entirely, but be aware that they might be in your lease and you might be able to at least negotiate their reduction.

If you are looking for affordable office space in Kansas City, give a DDI Commercial real estate broker in Kansas City a call at 913-685-4100 to talk about our available spaces!

Discount Midland Event Tickets for Southcreek Office Park Tenants

This spring brings plenty of deals for Southcreek tenants for events at The Midland and the Sprint Center! From concerts to speakers, check out the great shows that will be passing through in the next few months and the deals you can get on them! Midland Events 2013

Here is some more information about the events:

The Piano Guys
The Midland
Saturday 5/4/13 8:00 pm (Doors open one hour prior)
Offer Expires: 5/1 at 5:00 pm

Bon Jovi: Because We Can
Sprint Center
Saturday 4/13/13 7:30 pm

The Tenors: live in concert
The Midland
Friday 5/10/13 8:00 pm
Offer Expires: 5/6 at 5:00 pm

Jillian Michaels: Maxemize Your Life Tour
The Midland
Sunday 5/12/13 6:30 pm
Offer Expires: 5/9 at 5:00 pm

Rick Springfield: live in concert
The Midland
Saturday 7/27/13 8:00 pm
Offer Expires: 7/24 at 5:00 pm

Remember that that these tickets are subject to availability and while supplies last, so take advantage of them soon! Call Heather at 816-949-7147 Monday – Friday between 9:00 am – 5:00 pm to place your ticket order. The only fee is a $1.25 handling fee.

These are just a few of the deals and coupons available to Southcreek tenants. Find out more about these and other deals in the April issue of What’s Up at the Creek? If you are looking for affordable office space in Overland Park and want some information about our available spaces, call a DDI commercial real estate broker in Overland Park at 913-685-4100!

Dare to Dream Benefit Golf Tournament Near Southcreek Office Park

Good golf weather is right around the corner, so kick off your spring golfing by signing up for the Dare to Dream Benefit Golf Tournament to raise money for Special Olympics! Special Olympics provides year round atheltic training and competition for children and adults with mental or developmental disabilities, and there are over 16,713 athletes in the state of Missouri alone. The money raised from this year’s benefit will specifically fund a scholarship that will allow Special Olympics Missouri Atheltes from around the state to attend a week long Athletes’ Sports Camp this summer in Mexico, MO. Here is some more information about this upcoming event:

Date: May 4th

Time:
Registration begins at 7:00 am
Shotgun start at 8:00 am

Location: Swope Memorial Golf Course (6900 Swope Memorial Drive)

Individual Player Fee: $100

To Register: Visit the website or call 913-789-0353 for a registration form. Space is limited so register soon!

Contact Information:
Laurie Shadoan
913-798-0353
shadoan@somo.org

This event welcomes all players from beginners to experienced golfers. Sign up for the tournament soon to enjoy some spring weather and contribute to a good cause!

Looking for business space for rent in Overland Park? Give a commercial real estate broker in Overland Park a call at 913-685-4100 today to learn about all of our available spaces!

Tips for Negotiating Standard CAM Fees for Commercial Space for Rent in Overland Park

If you are negotiating a lease for a new space, one thing you will have to deal with is standard common area maintenance (CAM) fees, as well as administrative CAM fees. Here is some information about standard CAM fees that might be useful as you begin negotiating about them:

CAM fees are the costs associated with maintenance and repair of common areas that have a direct effect on all tenants, such as hallways, stairwells, elevators, lobbies, and restrooms in common areas. Usually parking lot maintenance costs, which include landscaping and lighting, are included in CAM fees, as well as sidewalks.
You should always try to negotiate your CAM fees. Businesses that rent larger spaces have better chances of getting these fees reduced, but it cannot hurt to try no matter how small the space.
If your CAM fees are not up for negotiation, at least include in your lease a provision permitting you to review your landlord’s bills in order to confirm that you are being fairly charged for CAM fees.
Try to negotiate a cap for the percentage that the CAM fees can be increased each year, and list this cap separately from other increases in rent.

CAM fees can be confusing—even for commercial real estate agents—so make sure you know what they are and how they apply to your rental situation so that you can make sure you are not paying more than you should be.

Have some questions for a commercial real estate broker in Overland Park? Give us a call at 913-685-4100 and we can answer any questions you have about our commercial realty in Overland Park!

Leasing Terms to Include in a Counter Offer for Office Space in Kansas City

A counter offer requires that you provide some details about your business, but the essence of the letter is to address important lease terms, such as lease length and renewal options or property improvements. Here are some tips on addressing some of these major points in a counter offer:

Length of the Lease. Be very clear about the lease length terms you are asking for—a two-year lease with three, one-year options to renew is different than five straight years with no renewal options. Typically landlords prefer leases that are 2 years or longer, but it could not hurt to ask for a one-year lease. These often cost more and might have less renewal options, but at least you will not be locked into a space. Since there is a chance your business might outgrow the space, or might struggle and need to find a smaller space, you will want to leave yourself the option to get out of that space quickly, and remember that breaking a lease can be costly.
Condition of the Property. Be clear as to whether you want the space as is, or if you need the landlord to repair or improve it first. If you are planning on doing renovations yourself, include this in a lease, because sometimes the landlord will give you an incentive or allowance for improving the property. If you aren’t sure if this particular landlord will do this, keep things open and offer to submit more details about your plans at a later time, after you hear more about considerations a landlord might offer for renovations.
Occupancy Date. Tell the landlord when you want to take physical possession of the property, which could sometimes be a different date than the date you begin paying rent. You might even be able to negotiate a month of free rent by having your move-in date be a month before the date the lease actually begins.

Be sure that you know what you are getting yourself into with each of these terms so that you know how to address them in a counter offer!

If you are looking at commercial realty in Kansas City, give a DDI Commercial real estate broker in Kansas City a call at 913-685-4100 to learn about our available properties!

Information to Include in a Counter Offer for Office Space in Kansas: Part II

A counter offer is a chance to make a sales pitch to a landlord, both asking them to select you as a tenant over other interested parties and to concede to your terms. Here are a few more tips on what to include in a successful counter offer letters:

The Nature of Your Business. Tell the landlord what you do, and be concise and to the point. Landlords need this information in case the nature of your business requires special considerations. For instance, they need to know if you use hazardous materials, store extremely valuable items, or have walk-in patients as a healthcare facility, in case of property use restrictions. Be honest, because what you do as a tenant can affect the property value and insurance rates of a landlord.

Contact Information. This includes a phone number where you can be reached and an email address. Let them know if you can only be reached on specific days or during certain hours.

Your Counter Offer. Most importantly, you will want to include your proposed terms, and be as clear and thorough as possible.

Check back to later posts to find out more about what to include specifically in your proposed counter offer terms, but remember it is equally important to include all of these other details to best represent your business to a landlord and to facilitate the negotiation process as smoothly as possible.

If you are looking for commercial space for lease in Kansas City, give us a call at 913-685-4100 to learn more about our affordable office space in Kansas City!

Information to Include in a Counter Offer for Office Space in Kansas

A counter offer letter is both a chance to ask for different terms that are better for your business and for you to show the landlord that your business is the best choice over other potential tenants. Here is some information that you should typically include in a counter offer letter:

Your Business’s Name. Both the name that you are legally established under and any other names you might be doing business under.

The Structure of Your Business. Let a landlord know where you are incorporated, if you are incorporated, or tell them if you are a tax-exempt organization. Landlords rarely offer nonprofit organizations freebies or perks just for a tax write-off, but they may be inclined to negotiate or lease with an organization with a noble cause over other potential tenants.

The Age of Your Business. If you have only been in business less than two years, you might want to give the landlord some information about your success so far, or your projections for future growth. A landlord might be unlikely to rent to your business without a personal guarantee if you cannot provide some evidence that your business has been doing well.

Check back to a later post for some more important pieces of a good counter offer!

If you are looking at office suites for rent in Kansas City, give a commercial real estate broker in Kansas City a call at 913-685-4100 to talk to us about what kind of space your business needs and how we can match you up with the best available space for your business!

How to Counter Offer for an Office Space Lease in Overland Park

Here are some suggested steps to take when preparing a counter offer for a commercial lease.

Try to counter offer more than one space at a time. This might require more work for you, but it ensures that you have options and might give you an upper hand in negotiations if the landlord knows you are considering multiple spaces.
Measure the space yourself. If the listed square footage is not accurate, you can potentially lower the cost in the counter offer by using the actual size.
Reduce the length of the lease term to as short as possible. Unless you are being offered a really good deal on long term rent rates, a shorter lease is better in case you need a larger space or your company starts to struggle at some point, because breaking a lease is expensive.
Try to cap the year-to-year rent increases that are included in most commercial real estate leases, because they might not be accurate since they are based on possible vacancies or projected increased operating costs.
Ask for a clause prohibiting spaces in the same building from being leased to businesses that compete with yours.
Try to include wording that lets you sublet the space just in case you have to move out before your term is over. This could be helpful in the event that your landlord insists on a long-term lease.
Try to avoid a personal guarantee. Ideally, you want to get your business name as the only one on the lease, but recognize that many landlords will insist on a personal guarantee, so you might have to concede this point.

Keep these suggestions in mind as you think about what you want to include in your counter offer!

If you want to find out more about available Kansas City office space, give a commercial real estate broker in Kansas City a call at 913-685-4100!