Places like Laguna Niguel and San Juan Capistrano offer some of the best places to open a business;Orange County is a great location because there is such a wide diversity of people in the area. There are people from every culture, ethnicity, and age range in the area making it a great place to start a business.
Before you sign a lease for a commercial Orange County property, however, you need to determine what your responsibilities when it comes to the building.
The following guide walks you through a few things you need to discuss and put into writing before you sign a lease agreement because if you don’t have space, you can’t have a business.Besides, getting the contract in writing ensures that both you and the landlord are contractually obligated to do what is written in the lease.
Determine the Length of the Lease
Many people assume that they’re leasing a property for a year at a time, but that often isn’t the case with commercial properties. A commercial property lease can last anywhere from a year to ten years. You need to be sure that you know exactly how long you’re agreeing to lease the space for so that you aren’t locked into the location for longer than you want to be.
If you’re not sure that your business will thrive at the exact location of the space you plan to lease, it may be best to start off with a one or two-year lease. This allows you to see if the area is right for your business and provides you with the opportunity to move it if it is not as profitable as you would like it to be.
Signing a one to two-year lease also provides you with the opportunity to shut down the business altogether if it isn’t a success. This allows you to possibly avoid having to claim bankruptcy later on down the road.
Responsibility for the Utility Payments
There are some landlords who are afraid to allow tenants to put the utilities in their name because they’re fearful the bills won’t get paid on time and they won’t know anything about it. If the water or power get cut off in a building in Orange County, there are penalties that have to be paid in order for them to be turned back on.
If the landlord chooses to put the utilities in their name, you can either pay a flat rate each month to the landlord or deal with the hassle of trying to find out what the exact amount is each month and then getting the money to them to pay for the bill. Many people choose to pay a flat rate for because it all ends up evening out in the end as the utilities will be higher on some months and lower in other months.
Repairs You’re in Charge of
When you lease a business, you need to know what repairs you have to pay for along the way. There are many landlords who are responsiblefor major issues that need to be addressed within a business but require you to take care of all minor issues that arise. This includes paying to have a plumber come out to the property if a toilet is clogged. If the air conditioning goes on the fritz, the landlord would pay to have it repaired, as long as it wasn’t damaged by you or someone who works for your business.
Who Is Responsible for Security Costs?
When you own a business in Orange County, having a security system is essential. You want to be sure that you have a high-qualitysecuritysystemon the property so that you can know what is happening in the business at all times. You can use the videos as evidence if a crime is committed and to simply check up on your employees to ensure that they are doing the right thing even when you aren’t around.
There are some landlords who require businesses that lease form them to have security systems in the business at all times. Other landlords may view security systems as optional and won’t require you to pay for the service you feel that you don’t need. Talking to your landlord about what their expectations are can save you a lot of issues in the future when it comes to the security of the building.
Determine What Kind of Signage Is Allowed
When you lease a property, you want to be sure that it’s easy for everyone to find. A great way to do that is to have great signage on the exterior of the building that allows everyone to easily find your business.
Before you have a sign created, you need to find out what your landlord allows when it comes to the signage on their business. There are many landlords who really don’t care what the sign you put on your building looks like and others who will tell you the exact dimensions that you can have created for the sign, what images are allowed on it, and information regarding if the signage can be lit or not.
Before leasing a space in Orange County, you also need to find out if the landlord has restrictions as to what time the business can be open. There are some landlords who require all businesses that they own to close before midnight to reduce the chances of people breaking into surrounding businesses that may close at an earlier time.
If you plan on opening a bar or restaurant that will be open late into the night, you need to let the landlord know before you lease the property to ensure that he or she is okay with the remodeling that will need to be done to the property and that the business will be open quite late into the evening.
Starting your own business may seem daunting at times, what with all of the requirements, especially in Orange County, but if you stay on top of everything, then you’ll have a business all on your own, and that’s worth something.