Need A Change? We’ll Help You Relocate Your Office

Is your lease term about to expire? Need something smaller, larger, closer or more efficient? Whether you’ve just started your business and you’re looking for the right space, or your business is growing and you need to expand, it can be a daunting task to find exactly what you need.

Looking for commercial office space isn’t quite as easy as doing a Google search for locations, setting up a few tours and signing a lease. There are a lot of things you need to consider before signing your name on the dotted line, so how do you know which space will fit your business’s needs?

Our 4-Step Process for Tenant Relocation

For each client, we design a unique process to meet your needs. For best results, the earlier we start the relocation process, the better. See the “Time is Your Friend” blog post for more on this topic.

Below are the typical steps in our Relocation process:

Step 1: Create a Team

Each project is unique, so each needs the right team. At a minimum, your team needs the following members:

  • Wally & Co. as your tenant representative
  • Your firm’s legal counsel
  • An architectural/interior design firm that represents you
  • Appropriate members of your firm’s executive team (including CEO, CFO, HR, IT)

Step 2: Visioning & Planning

The process begins with comprehensively understanding what you want and need in the new facility. The deeper we understand your culture, history, strategic plans, workplace needs, space needs and the like, the better equipped we are to create and evaluate real estate solutions that work for you.

After we understand the vision, the next step is to work with you and your architectural/interior design firm to assist you in evaluating your space requirements. The space analysis will allow us to understand the definition of buildings that meet the functional space needs of your firm now and in the future.  The architect’s space analysis will also become a vital exhibit to our Request for Proposal (RFP) document that we will send to landlords and developers of qualified buildings.

Step 3: Evaluation

The RFP we use is designed to do much more than just get an economic proposal. In addition to economic components, our RFP is designed to pre-negotiate the other terms of the deal. These include:

  • All lease and legal provisions
  • Flexibility options (options for renewal, expansion, cancellation, contraction)

This approach adds value in the following ways:

  • Landlords/developers are never quite as aggressive as they are at the proposal stage
  • The depth of information we receive at the front end of the process allows us to accurately analyze the financial components of the proposals, and helps us avoid surprises later
  • The depth of information allows us to make more reliable financial analyses of the proposals
  • The pre-negotiated legal terms will save on legal fees and save time in documenting the deal

Simultaneous to the RFP preparation, we will lead the site selection process. While most commercial real estate firms in Kansas City, rely on third-party databases like Xceligent or CoStar, which are incomplete, out-of-date and incorrect, Wally & Co. maintains superior market knowledge due to our own proprietary database. We are committed to the weekly tracking of all existing and future office space opportunities in the metropolitan area.

There are 5 sources from which leasing options will be sourced:

  • Existing buildings with vacant space
  • Existing buildings with future space availability (often referred to as “hidden vacancy”)
  • Buildings that are under construction
  • Buildings/projects that are in the planning stages
  • Potential development sites, which have no current development planning underway

Once we know the specific scope of your needs, we will use our database to provide you with a detailed analysis of alternatives. We will then facilitate a series of meetings, “windshield tours” and tours with listing agents to familiarize you with the choices in order to compile a list of properties that warrant receiving a Request for Proposal.

The steps that follow are comprehensive analysis of each proposal, (both lease and legal provisions, and financial analysis) functional property analysis, (in concert with your architects) and economic development incentives analysis.

This comprehensive analysis will allow you to make an informed selection of “finalist” projects.

Step 4: Execution

This step involves the whole team – Wally & Co., your executive team, your legal counsel, your architecture/interior design/engineering team, – to draft contracts that accurately, and completely, document the transaction, construction drawings, final construction pricing, economic incentive commitments, etc.

Unlike many brokers, we will be energetically involved in the entire negotiation process. This is not something we ‘’leave to the attorneys.” This is the step where the final agreements are made and final negotiations take place.

Wally & Co. will be there for you from visioning through move-in and beyond. Start with our Pre-Search Evaluation Form to begin your search for the right space.