Before you search
The best leases start with a clear picture of what the business needs, not with listings. Write down your use, the size range that works, the areas your customers and staff can reach, parking, power, signage, and the date you need to open. Then decide on a monthly budget for total occupancy cost, not only rent.
Ask early whether your use is allowed where you want to be. Zoning, the property's own rules, and other tenants' exclusive-use rights can rule a space out before price is even discussed.
The steps, in order
- Define the requirement. Use, size, location, budget, timing and must-haves, agreed with your advisor in a first conversation.
- Search on and off market. Listed space, plus space that is coming available or has not been advertised. Local relationships matter most here.
- Tour and compare. Compare options on total monthly cost, condition, build-out needed, and fit for your operations.
- Letter of intent. A short, usually non-binding sets out the main business terms so both sides know they have a deal worth papering.Letter of intent: a summary of the main business terms (rent, term, allowances, contingencies) agreed before the full lease is drafted.
- Lease negotiation and review. The landlord's lease draft is negotiated point by point. Have an attorney review it before you sign.
- Permits, build-out and licensing. Plans, permits, construction, inspections and your business license. This stage often takes the longest.
- Move in and open. Keys, utilities, signage, and the date your rent actually begins.
What you will actually pay
In Las Vegas, rent is usually quoted per square foot per month. On a lease you also pay your share of the property's taxes, insurance and .Triple net: the tenant pays base rent plus a share of the property's taxes, insurance and common area maintenance.Common area maintenance: parking lot, landscaping, lighting, shared repairs and management, split among tenants. Add annual rent increases, utilities and your own insurance, and you have the real number to budget against.
Concessions change the math too: months of free rent and a can matter as much as the rate.Tenant improvement allowance: money the landlord contributes toward building out your space, usually stated per square foot. Our occupancy cost calculator puts all of it into a year-by-year schedule.
Terms worth understanding before you sign
- Term and options
- How long the lease runs, and whether you can renew, at what rent, and with how much notice.
- Escalations
- How rent rises each year, as a fixed percentage or a fixed amount.
- Rent commencement
- The date rent starts, which may differ from the date you get the keys.
- Permitted use
- What the space may be used for. Make it broad enough for where your business is going.
- Exclusive use
- A promise that the landlord will not lease to a direct competitor in the same property.
- Personal guarantee
- Your personal promise to cover the lease if the business cannot. Its scope is often negotiable.
- Assignment and subletting
- Whether you can transfer the lease if you sell the business or need to move.
- Maintenance and repairs
- Who fixes what, especially roof, structure, and heating and cooling systems.
Where we fit
When we represent you as a tenant, our job is your side of the deal. We help define the requirement, find on and off-market options, compare the true costs, negotiate the letter of intent and the lease terms, and keep the process moving with the landlord's agent, your attorney and your contractors until you open.
Draft pending brokerage review. General information, not legal, tax or lending advice. Consult qualified advisors about your situation.