If you’re thinking about a new warehouse to lease in Perth, or anywhere, it can be an overwhelming task and unless you’re a commercial property expert, it’s easy to feel that you’re under-informed. All of this can lead you to make a poor decision on the warehouse you rent and it having a significant impact on how your business runs for the length of the lease.
Fear not! We’ve gathered some Perth commercial property experts to put together a list of easy to understand tips that will help you be better informed when looking at Perth warehouses to lease and put you in a better position to negotiate the price of your rent.
Looking for a warehouse to rent just before you need one puts you under pressure to find one to lease and it puts you in a weaker negotiating position. The longer lead-in time you give yourself before you need to lease a warehouse, the better your negotiating position will be. You’ll be more informed of what properties are available and how the warehouses you’re considering compare to others that have been in the market.
Planning at least 6 months in advance will also give you enough time to better understand the requirements you have for your next warehouse rental. In this time, you’ll be able to speak to your managers to learn what they think the features of your next warehouse should be. For example, you may need extra loading bays, larger office space or more advanced safety requirements.
By monitoring the commercial real estate market in Perth, in particular warehouses to lease, you’ll give yourself the opportunity to jump on a deal if the market dips. This could end up saving you thousands of dollars in rent each year.
If you’re watching the warehouse lease listings of local commercial real estate agents, you’ll also be able to see which have been sitting on the market for the longest time. This could mean that the owners are eager to get the warehouse leased, giving you an opportunity to negotiate better terms.
Commercial Property Expert Tip #1:
The latest warehouses on the lease market will usually sit at the top of the major commercial real estate websites, but sometimes old listings will be advertised at the top of the list. To get the best understanding of which warehouses have been on the market the longest, head to the website of the commercial real estate agent to find their list of warehouses and head right to the back of the list.
Commercial Property Expert Tip #2:
Subscribe to the email mailing lists of the commercial real estate agents that lease warehouses in Perth. Commercial property agents will regularly send out emails and you’ll be the first to know when a new warehouse appears on the leasing market, and you can be the first to view it. Potentially meaning you won’t have any competition to lease the warehouse, and you will be able to negotiate better lease terms.
Before you even consider looking for a new warehouse to lease, you need to have a comprehensive understanding of what rent you can afford to pay. Once we see something we like, we all tend to push beyond our budget to get it. By setting a strict budget for what you can afford, you’ll reduce the risk of putting yourself in a risky financial position by overcommitting.
Now that you’ve done your research and are prepared to start looking at warehouses to lease in Perth, here are a few tips from commercial property experts on what to look for.
When looking at a warehouse to lease, you not only need to think about square metres, you need to think about cubic metres. The cubic meterage of the warehouse will allow you to calculate how much storage space you have.
When considering a warehouse to rent, it’s important to look at the height of the building and whether your storage racks, equipment and machinery will fit. Make sure to measure the height of the access doors as well when looking at the height of the warehouse, you need to be able to get your equipment inside the warehouse.
If you’re not storing stock in the warehouse or have tall equipment, you may not need to lease a warehouse with a high ceiling and can focus on finding a renting a warehouse with lower ceilings.
Commercial Property Expert Tip #3:
If you know which warehouse features are, and aren’t, valuable to your business before you start negotiations, you may be able to lease the warehouse for a lower rent. For example, some businesses will need a warehouse with a high ceiling and will end up paying more for this feature, but if high ceilings aren’t as valuable to your business, you can negotiate down the premium placed on this feature.
Commercial Property Expert Tip #4:
When it comes to warehouse space, it’s better to overestimate what you need, rather than underestimate. You don’t want to be looking to lease a new warehouse in a years’ time because you’ve expanded beyond the space.
Most warehouses for lease come with a small office for a manager to oversee the staff, but if you’re looking to run your entire business from one location, you’ll need an office warehouse to rent. Once you decide you need extra office space in your next warehouse, there are a number of additional factors to consider.
You can roughly calculate the square metres you’ll need for your office, by adding up the number of employees you’ll have in the office as either a:
You can download the exact calculations in our guide How to Choose an Office Space to Lease in Perth.
Here is a couple to consider:
You should know a warehouse, inside and out, before you even start negotiations. There are a number of things that you could assume are up to scratch only to find out later that it’s not! Here are a few warehouse features you should ask about with every property you view.
Commercial Property Expert Tip #5:
If you’re going to be running machinery in your warehouse, potentially all day, you want to know that the warehouse’s wiring has the electrical capacity to handle the workload.
The distribution of your products and intake of supplies is a major aspect of your business and you need to know that the warehouse you lease will be able to streamline your receiving and distribution as much as possible. Here’s what our expert suggest you keep in mind when looking for a new warehouse to rent:
Commercial Property Expert Tip #6:
Be aware of the council restrictions on heavy vehicles around the warehouse. Certain residential zones prohibit trucks and industrial vehicles from travelling through them, meaning you and your suppliers may have to go around the entire area.
If after reading this article, you’re still not sure of what your warehouse requirements are or where to find the perfect warehouse to lease, speak to the local commercial real estate experts at Ross Scarfone Real Estate. We specialise in commercial and industrial buildings for lease in Perth’s south-east corridor of Belmont, Welshpool, Kewdale and surrounds. You can view our entire list of warehouses and office warehouses to lease and request a tour of the available warehouse properties in the area.
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