Looking at potential office locations, got any advice?

I don't know if they have here in AZ professional storage unit witch would let you store and you can film in them ask LGR about it...

Hello you need to watch out for the Insurance in some cases the insurance can cost as much as your rent...good luck

Watch out for hidden costs. Most commercial leases are triple net, so you might be responsible for paying for maintenance to the space and such - https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/triple-net-lease-nnn.asp

Action Retro

The house I'm in now is actually pretty loud and I don't think I've ever been in an office as loud as this(there are a lot of motorcycle and modified exhaust cars driving around here). But I'll make sure there isn't a doctors waiting room with a TV blaring on the other walls or something. The light I could probably fix with curtains but I may also be interested in setting up a natural light mini set if there is a wall window. Sky lights will be a total no-go most likely though. There will definitely be a security system in there, it's going to take a lot for me to emotionally accept all of that will be so far away from me at night at the very least.

Tech Tangents

Those are definitely good things to look into. I plan on signing a 1yr lease and am currently kind of assuming I'll be moving when it is up because I'll learn what did and didn't work about that building while there and may want to look for something else. But I'll be sure to read the fine print about that when I get serious in case I do want to stay.

Tech Tangents

I was just gonna say this! Patreon support is not the best source for financing a monthly rent...but let's hope donations stay high <3

Perhaps being overly cautious but I'm not sure whether it's a good plan to immediately commit to a lease based on increased patreon subs when they were a reaction to a video. I would assume there's a risk that some of the support there may not be 'long term' and would personally want to wait a few months to ensure things didn't drop off. Not meaning to be rude - just don't want you to end up in a pickle finacially!

zephyrmo

Well for filming you want to make sure you’re getting a place that’s relatively quiet and with as little outside light as possible. Other than that, ask about security and access. Most places are geared towards the 9-5 crowd. And if you have a bunch of vintage computers make sure you can put an alarm and cameras in.

Addison Chernow

I would also talk to other businesses that lease from the same landlord. My experience in commercial leases was that a good, reasonable landlord was the most important factor. I would also look at escalation clauses. They often auto increase rents annually based on indexes unrelated to rental market rates so you end up above it.

RavenWolf Retro Tech

I definitely want to know what the utility situation will be. I bet I won't have water though at only 600ft. They'll all have A/C here, it's just a required thing in A/C and there aren't any buildings without it. I definitely haven't found any places for that cheap, I'm not sure where all to look though so I'm just searching online kind of randomly.

Tech Tangents

Just in general, I would ask the potential landlord about power, water, and internet services *if the mention it being included in the rent. I would think that if they don't mention it, then the utilities are all you. For example, I asked about some office space here in my town and there were 2 spaces available next to each other owned by the same person. one had central air and the other did not. To compensate the deal for the one without central air, the owner was paying for the utilities on it while the one that did have the A/C the tenant was to pay the utilities. Just throwing it out there, but both were larger than 600 sq ft and going for $350 per month.

Jeramy Breckles

I've already been thinking about this a bit. I will want to change the wall colors if I can. But I'll probably do it by hanging fabric rather than painting and I'll want to clear all that with them.

Tech Tangents

I will definitely be upfront about it. The storage, filming, and some soldering. I definitely don't want to have any problems after moving thousands of pounds of equipment into the space. One of the places I am looking at has a laptop repair shop in it so I think I wouldn't be any more of a risk than that.

Tech Tangents

I've had to inquire along similar lines, and I found its best to be completely upfront about what you need the office space for: storing vintage computer equipment, and setting up a tiny video studio. If the landlord is going to have any problem with it, best to get it out of the way first. The last thing you want is for a landlord to be surprised by what you are doing, and telling you to leave, or raising the rent, or entering the space when you're not there, etc.

Jim Leonard

I don't have personal experience but I know some other YouTube people who have mentioned that they had to make some modifications to office space for blackout curtains and light rigging and such to accommodate filming and they had to ensure that they were allowed to do that in the terms of the lease.

John Bailey