Whether business owners lease or own their office property, the cost is usually the second- or third-largest expense they incur each month, behind payroll and inventory. What's more, the quality and location of the building influences how employees and clients feel about the company.

As a result, it is critical that business owners select an office property carefully. The best way they can ensure that they find a property that satisfies their economic goals and projects the proper image is to engage a professional real estate broker.

An experienced broker will guide a company through the complicated and time-intensive process of evaluating all of the options available. With vacancies in today's Kansas City metro market running on the high side--about 20%--tenants have 10 million square feet from which to choose. That's up from 6 million square feet just 18 months ago.

Before touring office properties, consider:

Those guidelines might seem obvious, but you'd be surprised how many companies don't consider them before looking at office properties. There are many other factors they should think through before looking at office properties to avoid wasting time and making a poor decision. It's the broker's responsibility to qualify properties that will meet their clients' needs.

Begin evaluating properties nine months to a year before your lease expires. And have several options so you have the ability to say "no."

After preparing a list of potential properties, the broker's job has just begun. A good broker will help them avoid the pitfalls of lease or purchase negotiations. Unlike tenants, who negotiate lease transactions every three to five years, owners and landlords do such transactions every day, so they're in a much better position to negotiate a lease that's more favorable for themselves. A commercial real estate broker will put their client on equal footing with the owner/landlord and will provide protection for their clients in areas such as unfair expense pass-throughs and inadequate tenant finish allowances.

Regardless if business owners hire a real estate broker or decide to represent themselves, there are two things they should do to make their relocation or renewal negotiation more successful:

1. Depending on the size of their company, they should begin evaluating properties anywhere from nine months to a year before their lease expires. Lease and contract negotiations can take several months, especially if there is a significant amount of tenant finish needed. If they start the search late, a business owner can find themselves forced to make a decision based on a deadline rather than the property that works best for them.

2. Having several options is another critical factor. The best leverage in any negotiation is the ability to say "no." If a company falls in love with a specific property and neglects looking at other options, it's inevitable they'll pay a higher rent with less desirable lease terms.

Engaging an experienced real estate broker to represent your interests, starting your search early and having several options will help your company control the outcome of where you office and how much you pay.

Chuck Connealy, SIOR, CCIM, is a commercial real estate broker with MC Real Estate Services Inc. specializing in office properties in the Kansas City area. He can be reached at cjconnealy@mcrealestate.com.