Once you know what you want, you have a great chance of finding what you want. But you’ll need to think about how you are going to do it and be ready to make objective decisions about which property best meets your needs. |
Make sure you involve key people who are likely to be affected. Think about what professional advice you need. Taking advice sooner rather than later can save time and costs.
Consider business user requirements - facilities management, finance, IT and make the most of CPAT’s experience of how the City and its property market works. It may be relevant to form an in-house property project team to represent these functions.
Before looking at opportunities, be sure to prioritise the selection criteria you have articulated in your brief. You will need to make compromises; so deciding which criteria take priority will help provide a framework for scoring how each option performs. Debate these with your team collaboratively so you can take an agreed and objective approach to your property search. That way you’ll know a good opportunity when you see one, but you’ll also be able to say when something isn’t right.
Use whichever way suits you best, but do make a note of your key criteria and take them with you when you are looking at potential solutions.
A property search could turn up dozens of available properties in your selected area, or just one that stands out from the page. Either way, it can be a daunting prospect.
If you employ an agent, get them to prepare a shorter list for inspection and evaluation. Be sure to set cost and quality thresholds to simplify this process and make sure you have spent enough time with your agent to ensure they really understand enough about your needs. Make sure they provide you with rates and service charge budgets for each property on the list – they could vary more than the rent.
Site visits are an essential part of this process, but be open-minded about the potential that space offers. Try not to be distracted by the existing occupiers’ fit-out, the condition or the colour of the walls.
Apply your selection criteria carefully to the short list and take stock of what that means. If time permits continue the search. You need a preferred option that you are comfortable with and at least one fall-back option, in case you can’t get what you want.
Remember that there are other occupiers out there like you. You need to put yourself in the best position by knowing what you want and being able to act quickly, if necessary. |
