Risk Management Blog

You’re going to do it! You’re buying that business, or you’re starting a new one, and you need a location. You do your research, you measure the pros and cons and apply it to your situation, and determine (let’s say) that leasing a space for your business is the way to go.

We’ve all heard horrible stories of tenants signing leases they have regretted, perhaps rushing in to something before fully vetting the opportunity.

So what are some things to consider before signing that lease?

There’s lots of information out there. How much space do you need? For how long? Can I negotiate the security deposit or gain other concessions? The list goes on.

Be sure you do this one thing:  investigate your landlord.

With the market events of 2007-08 fueling change, this became an important piece of the due diligence process that continues today. From this 2009 link from bankrate.com:

“The creditworthiness of a building owner is very important,” Cushman says. “Are they restructuring a loan they can’t repay? Are they in some kind of trouble? It used to be that you’d just look at the tenant. Now you have to look at both sides of the table.”

To investigate your prospective new landlord, one tool is to order a title report on the property you are about to rent/lease. You want to know if any back taxes are owed on the property, or to the IRS or State. Or if the landlord is obligated on a mortgage loan that is in default. Or if the owner/landlord is even the actual title holder of the property! The info contained in the title report will inform your decision and could possibly save you from signing into a situation that is financially unstable or worse.

Are you leasing a business space? Do you need title searches? Contact us today! First Corporate Solutions works with our customers to first understand their needs, then creates a customized report that satisfies them.