Local to Ventura & Santa Barbara County
We work for you, not the property owner
No cost to you in most deals
We check the building and the lease for anything that could slow your operation down, before you sign.
Many industrial leases hand the tenant full replacement of building systems. On a thirty year old building that is a serious number. Cap your obligation and push capital replacement back to the landlord.
Racking, mezzanines, offices, and dock equipment can all have to come out at your cost. Agree in writing on day one what stays and what goes.
Truck court and yard space shown on a tour is not the same as exclusive use granted in the lease. Get a site plan attached with your area marked.
Zoning and the permitted use clause both have to say yes. Manufacturing, food production, hazardous materials, and auto work each carry their own city and landlord restrictions.
A business was looking for an industrial building that seemed to check the obvious boxes: enough square footage, a good location, and room to operate and grow.
But industrial space is rarely about square footage alone.
Before the tenant committed, we looked at the details that could determine whether the building would actually work: clear height, electrical service, loading, yard access, permitted use, and the responsibilities buried in the lease.
One of those details changed the conversation.
The space could work, but only if the deal accounted for what the tenant would need from the building and what the lease would make the tenant responsible for. Those terms were easier to negotiate before the tenant had committed than they would have been after signing.
That is the part of an industrial search that is easy to miss. The right building is not simply the one with enough room. It is the one where the building, the use, and the deal all work together.
How many industrial buildings would you have toured before somebody thought to ask whether the building could actually do the job?
| Line item | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Base rent | Quoted per square foot per month. Office and warehouse portions may be valued differently. |
| NNN (triple net) charges | Taxes, insurance, and common area maintenance, billed on top of base rent. |
| Building systems | Roof, HVAC, and dock equipment maintenance or replacement, depending on how the lease reads. |
| Power upgrades | If your equipment needs more service than the building has, the upgrade is usually on you. |
| Restoration at exit | Removal of racking, mezzanines, and improvements at the end of the term. |
You Tell Us What You Need
We Find Your Space and Negotiate Your Deal
You’re Open for Business
The property owner pays our fee in most commercial lease deals. You pay nothing out of your pocket in most cases
Clear height, power, and loading. Clear height determines how much you can actually store, the electrical service determines what you can run, and the number and type of loading doors determine how fast you can move product. Rent per square foot means very little until those three line up with how your business actually operates.
In a lot of industrial leases, all of it lands on the tenant, including full replacement. That is a serious exposure on an older building. Caps on your responsibility, a landlord obligation for capital items, and a documented condition report at move in are the standard protections.
Zoning and the permitted use clause both have to say yes, and they do not always agree. Manufacturing, food production, cannabis adjacent uses, auto work, and anything storing hazardous materials each carry their own city restrictions. Confirm the use is permitted before the lease binds you to the space, not after.
Shared yards get crowded fast, and a truck court that works on a tour at 10am may be unusable at 3pm. Exclusive use of specific parking, trailer, and yard areas should be spelled out in the lease with a site plan attached. Verbal assurances about parking do not survive a change in ownership.
Then stay with them. Once you are represented, or another agent has introduced you to a space, that is their deal. Come to us at the start of your next search, or when your renewal comes up.
Or call (805) 203-6365 · 472 E Santa Clara Street, Ventura
