Commercial real estate rewards preparation. The contracts are more negotiable, the numbers matter more, and the details can make or break a deal. Houston adds its own considerations: a large, spread-out market, flood and drainage conditions that vary by site, and many different submarkets with different tenants and needs.
This checklist gives you a working structure for the whole process: how to define your goal and property type, the questions to ask before you sign a lease, a due diligence list for buyers, a preparation list for owners and a worksheet for tracking your key dates.
Who it is for: business owners looking for space, investors evaluating a purchase, property owners thinking about selling or leasing, and anyone preparing for a first conversation with a commercial agent.
Further reading: Browse current listings by property type with HAR’s commercial property search, and see our article on working with a commercial real estate division.
What is inside
- How to define your goal and match it to a property type: retail, office, industrial, land, farm and ranch, hospitality, specialty or multi-family
- Plain-English explanations of full-service, modified gross and triple net leases
- Nine questions to ask before you sign a lease, from rent increases to renewal options
- A due diligence checklist for buyers: title, survey, zoning, environmental, flood, condition and financing
- Documents income-property buyers typically review, including rent rolls, leases and estoppel certificates
- A preparation list for owners who want to sell or lease
- A timeline worksheet to track deadlines
Questions this guide answers
- Should I lease or buy?
- What kind of lease am I being offered, and what does it cost me beyond base rent?
- What should I review before I buy a commercial property?
- How do I check zoning and permitted use?
- What should I know about flood and drainage risk for a site?
- What documents will buyers or tenants ask me for if I own the property?
- Who should be on my team besides my agent?
