The BIGGEST Mistake Occupants Make

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The biggest mistake occupants make? Believe me, I've seen some doozies!

But, in my opinion, the biggest mistake I see occupants of commercial real estate make is - not considering their existing location when contemplating a move.

After all, why would they consider their existing location - they are moving!

Well, in no particular order here are the reasons why an existing location should be considered, re-considered, and re-re-considered before incurring the expense and disruption from a move.

Moving sucks. Moving is expensive, disruptive, and rarely achieves the kind of efficiency an occupant seeks.

The market is tight. As I have written about ad nauseum, we are steeped in an owner's market. Although your belief may be, there are greener pastures - the reality is those green pastures are akin to drought tolerant lawns - tinged with brown these days. With 98 of every 100 buildings occupied, there are very few viable alternatives available for your consideration. Said another way - there might not be a better building in the market for you.

There are at least ten ways to stay in an existing location without incurring the cost of a move. You can possibly add office space, expand the building, install a production mezzanine, store product out doors, use the cube height in your warehouse, purchase a Kardex Remstar machine which can manage 10,000 sf of floor storage in 1000 square feet of floor storage space, outsource a function, use a third party logistics company to warehouse for you, stay put and lease space close by, add a second or third shift. All of these should be considered before you spend a dime moving.

Strategic value. Even if you absolutely, positively cannot stay in your current location, you can still use the location strategically to make a better deal in the market or motivate your existing landlord to sweeten the deal if you stay.