How would I approach a landlord about a commercial space?

Hi all,

I'm currently searching a commercial space to start up a small cafe. I saw some potential sites that I would like to rent from, but I'm intimidated to pick up the phone to contact the landlord/realtor (since I've never done this before).

So...
1. What would potential tenants normally ask when inquiring about a new commercial space?
2. Are there any other questions I should ask aside from: availability and monthly rent?

Any response and additional suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks!!

Be ready for THEIR questions - a commercial landlord (or his broker) is likely to say no if you don't pass the initial screening.

He's likely to ask:
1. What experience do you have?
2. How many years of experience?
3. How many locations do you operate? (I know you're a startup)
4. Can you provide a personal guarentee for the lease?

Also, before you call - have your business plan and financial statements ready to be submitted - because they will definitely ask for it.

When you call and say "I haven't prepared it yet," they probably won't take you seriously - as that's a good indicator from their prospective that you haven't done all your homework.

Also - I'm not sure where godged is getting this - but no retail landlord I know will take a 1 year lease - unless it's a really bad shopping center - and then you probably would not want to be there anyway. In my market, landlord's are looking for 10 year leases - but you can often negotiate down to five - be prepared to pay more in rent for a shorter term.

Sometimes you have to sign up for a long period of time so check that.

Liability insurance on the property
Utilities
Security
Renovations that may be made and will they make them to accomodate you or do you make them
Then you can always ask for a copy of the lease and take it to an Atty.

But with all due respect get some backbone when needing to talk to folks or you will not go very far.

Good luck sounds fun.

This is what I'd want to know for a new business:

- How long is your lease?

- Who takes care of maintenance?

- What tenants have been in this space? How did they do?

- Who pays insurance?

- How are utilities handled?

Questions to ask yourself:

- Is parking sufficient? I recently went to a business in a small strip mall at lunch time that shares space with a restaurant, and there was NO place to park. I lapped the parking lot 3 times before I went down the road. Not pretty.

- Do I want to enter a long term lease? A year should be sufficient, some landlords expect a five year minimum.

Get a look at the terms before you commit, review them carefully, if there is language you don't understand fully, ask a RE attorney.

Best of luck to you.