The questions that come up every time

Under triple net (NNN) the quoted rate is base rent only, and you also pay your proportionate share of real estate taxes, building insurance and common area maintenance on top. Modified gross usually means taxes and insurance sit inside the base rent while you pay your own utilities, janitorial and interior maintenance. Full service gross means the quoted rate covers taxes, insurance, common area maintenance, janitorial and building utilities up to a base year, with only increases above that year passed through.

Rentable square feet equals usable square feet multiplied by the load factor, which distributes the building's common areas (lobby, corridors, restrooms, mechanical rooms) across the tenants. A 10,000 usable square foot suite in a building with a 1.16 load factor is 11,600 rentable square feet, and you pay rent on all 11,600. Load factors in Twin Cities towers run 1.15 to 1.20 and in converted single stair buildings as low as 1.09.

The average annual rent over the term after deducting free rent and the improvement allowance, adjusted for annual escalations, expressed per rentable square foot. It is the only sound way to compare a proposal with a big allowance and a high rate against one with no allowance and a low rate.

For a straightforward office requirement under 15,000 square feet, seven to nine months from starting the search to moving in, with build-out being the longest single phase. Industrial with a build-out runs nine to fourteen months. A build to suit runs eighteen to thirty months from site control.

In a full service gross lease, the base year sets the expense level included in your rent; you pay your share of increases above it in later years. It catches people out when the base year is a year in which the building was half empty, because the grossed-up expenses look artificially low and every subsequent year produces a pass-through.

Count your pallet positions and your racking configuration rather than your square footage. Four high selective racking of standard 48 inch pallets needs about 24 to 28 feet clear. Five high needs 32 feet. Very narrow aisle systems above five high need 36 feet or more. Sprinkler head clearance and the lowest structural obstruction, not the ridge, set the real number.

The common rule of thumb is one dock door per 10,000 square feet for general distribution, tightening to one per 5,000 for high throughput parcel or food operations. Also check the truck court depth: 120 feet is workable, 135 feet lets a 53 foot trailer manoeuvre without a spotter, and anything under 110 feet will cost you time on every turn.

Early Suppression Fast Response sprinklers are a high volume ceiling-only system that in most cases removes the need for in-rack sprinklers. If a building has ESFR you can usually rack to the sprinkler clearance without additional fire protection work. If it has a standard system you may need in-rack heads, which is expensive and eats storage volume.

Ask for the slab thickness, the design load in pounds per square foot, and the floor flatness specification. Modern distribution slabs are six to eight inches at 400 to 600 pounds per square foot. Older manufacturing slabs vary wildly. For narrow aisle racking, flatness matters as much as load: a turret truck at 35 feet of lift will not work on a slab poured to a 1980s tolerance.

Ask for the amperage, the voltage and the phase, and check whether the service is dedicated or shared. Distribution operations usually run comfortably on 800 to 1,200 amps at 480 volt three phase. Manufacturing can need 2,000 to 3,000 amps or more. If an upgrade is required, confirm the lead time with the utility rather than with the landlord: six to eighteen months is normal.

By the landlord, from a commission budgeted into the deal whether or not you bring an advisor. If you do not bring one, the listing broker typically keeps both halves. Our share is a percentage fixed in the listing agreement before we appear, so it does not rise with the rent we negotiate.

Not in the same submarket at the same time. Dual agency is permitted in Minnesota with written informed consent, but we would rather decline one side than manage the conflict. Where a conflict emerges mid-assignment, we disclose it in writing and step back from one side.

Yes, for requirements from around 2,000 square feet. Below that the economics get thin for everyone and we will usually tell you honestly that a direct conversation with two or three landlords will serve you better than a formal assignment.

No. This is a demonstration website. The company, the advisors, the buildings, the availabilities, the rates and the market statistics on it are illustrative samples created to show a design and content system. Nothing here is an offer to lease or sell, and no figure should be relied on for a real decision.

The rate, almost always. A building that has toured well and not leased is priced above what the submarket pays for its specification. After that: speculative suites so tenants can see finished space, a spec sheet that leads with clear height or load factor and parking, and a direct canvass of every tenant in the size range with an expiry inside 24 months.

It restates variable operating expenses as if the building were 95 percent occupied, so that an occupied tenant pays a true proportionate share rather than benefiting from a neighbour's vacancy. It is standard, it is legitimate, and it should be shown in the reconciliation rather than buried in it.

Compare the value created per leased square foot at your likely cap rate against the leasing cost plus the carry over the lease-up period. On a small multi tenant asset the arithmetic often favours selling with the vacancy and letting the buyer underwrite the upside. On a single tenant asset it almost never does.

Seven to ten weeks of underwriting and preparation before the asset is marketed, three to four weeks of confidential campaign to a dated call for offers, two to three weeks to a signed purchase agreement, then thirty to sixty days to close depending on financing.