Where to start – with a brief or with listings?

A lot of time is wasted looking for a “good office” without clarifying what that actually means. Before opening the first portal, describe the basic assumptions. This working document does not need to be several pages long – a set of parameters is enough to immediately reject random proposals.

Before starting the search, it is worth establishing:

  • location: city centre, business district, the area around the ring road or a specific district;

  • floor area: current needs plus a buffer for team growth over the next 12–24 months;

  • budget: not only the rent itself, but also service charges, parking spaces and anticipated fit-out costs;

  • work model: a layout with assigned desks, a hybrid model, offices, meeting rooms or quiet-work zones;

  • moving date: availability immediately, after adapting the space or after the current lease expires.

Tenants are increasingly less likely to focus solely on the basic rate. Contract flexibility, building standard, access by public transport and the ease of adapting the space to hybrid work can also be important. Paying attention to these elements from the outset helps maintain a good pace throughout the process.

What tools make it easier to filter offers?

Manually browsing dozens of pages can take many hours and lead to chaos. Instead, it is much more convenient to use a service with detailed parameters. A useful solution is the office rental search engine, which makes it easy to select premises by city, specific district, floor area or building standard.

This means you do not have to check everything – you can immediately work with a shortlist of suitable proposals. An effective search engine can significantly shorten the initial selection by filtering out listings that do not match your assumptions.

Using flexible filters also makes it easier to:

  • compare several locations simultaneously;

  • find spaces available immediately;

  • match the building to the company’s technical requirements;

  • limit the number of calls and messages at the initial stage.

Why is it worth looking at the total cost, rather than just the rent?

A low rate in a listing can be misleading. In practice, the total expenses associated with maintaining an office matter. Overlooking this element often causes companies to return to square one when they discover hidden fees later on.

Before making a decision, it is worth analysing:

  • service charges: their actual amount and the scope of services included;

  • common-area factor: a factor affecting the final chargeable floor area;

  • fit-out costs: how interior adaptation expenses are divided between the tenant and the landlord;

  • terms and incentives: lease-term flexibility, rent-free periods or a finishing budget;

  • supporting infrastructure: the number of parking spaces, the availability of a bicycle room, changing rooms or charging stations.

A TCO (total cost of occupancy) comparison makes it possible to compare offers transparently and avoid budget surprises.

How can you limit viewings to those that are truly necessary?

Viewing a dozen locations rarely makes the choice easier. It often causes fatigue and makes a reliable assessment more difficult. It is more sensible to select the three to five most interesting options and schedule site visits only for them.

A proven course of action:

  1. Create a shortlist based on filters and the planned budget;

  2. Compile the key parameters in a simple spreadsheet;

  3. Analyse potential technical and financial risks;

  4. Arrange meetings only where the space meets most of the requirements;

  5. Take notes immediately after completing each viewing.

Writing down impressions quickly prevents the differences between buildings from becoming blurred.

How can the company make a decision efficiently?

Even the most interesting offer will not speed up the process if there is no established decision-making path. It is worth appointing in advance the people responsible for approving the location, budget and formal and legal matters.

It is also useful to answer these questions in advance:

  • Does the company anticipate the possibility of subletting part of the space?

  • Will the right to potential expansion be required?

  • What level of contractual flexibility is optimal?

Thinking through these issues makes it easier to reject offers that look attractive but impose overly rigid commitments. Finding a workspace efficiently is largely a matter of good organisation and the right tools. When you combine a well-considered brief, work based on hard data and a complete cost analysis, the process becomes much calmer and more predictable.