When it comes to cheap office space, most people tend to look for either reputable office space companies to help them, or contact their local business park or enterprise centre to try and find somewhere suitable to work. Most offices will be based in either a large building solely designated for office space, or will be part of a shared office set-up where you can rent anything from a single desk space to an entire office.

Recently there has been a new addition to the cheap office space market, and this comes with a bit of a twist. Shipping Containers are being transformed into offices, offering unusual and cheap office space to those looking for something a little different. While this may conjour up images of sitting in a dark, dingy metal tin can to most, this in fact couldn’t be further from the reality. One end of the containers are turned into a glass wall with doors that allows huge amounts of natural light to spill in, making them feel light and airy and air conditioning ensures they stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

All the basic needs of a modern office can be installed, so power sockets, broadband and phone lines are part and parcel of a shipping container office. Of course you can decorate the interior as you wish, and add any furniture that you need. These kinds of offices were initially very popular with companies working in areas such as film, media and the arts as their line of business requires very basic office space which specialist equipment can then be brought into to make the office set up perfectly customised for the businesses requirements. Because of the low rent offered, this kind of office space is incredibly popular with start-up businesses as it gives them the chance to have some proper office space without having huge overheads which is something all business start-ups need to avoid where possible.

A great example of this kind of office set up is the Sharp Project which is currently being developed in Manchester. A former warehouse is being used to house 20ft x 8ft shipping containers that are kitted out as offices. With the option to rent either single or double units, or larger should you require, the project is proving very popular so far with low-budget, easily accessible office space being snapped up. If you are looking for cheap office space, then don’t limit your options to traditional office space providers, shopping round might well bring up some excellent alternatives that you may not have previously considered.

Fees

Very often these days you’ll find a lot of add on fees that seem add up, so that monthly fee you had budgeted for your workspace isn’t going to give you the corporate look you had hoped for.  The good news is a lot of these fees can be negotiated down or even negated completely provided your not afraid to make a few demands.

Office Service Fees To Look Out For

With serviced offices cleaning fees are generally included in the rent but did you know that many office hire companies such as Regus charge a cleaning fee after you vacate the office you were renting from them. This fee may be justified by repainting the office for the new tenant but if you have rented for a a short time  maybe three months it may not be necessary and therefore you shouldn’t have to pay for work done. Try discussing this with the agent to see if they will reduce this fee perhaps by agreeing to inspect the office after you have vacated and to see if repainting is necessary.

Another fee that can be negotiated are connection fees.  Telephone connection and broadband connection are both chargeable one off fees that you can get reduced or wiped with some careful negotiation: ‘Everyone has phones in their workplace, that’s a given and I will pay rental fees and call charges every month, so why should I pay for the connection’. Broadband connection fees in serviced office are also open to discussion:”You press a couple of buttons to connect my computer to your network and I have to pay how much?!”.

Go Direct

Going directly to a serviced office company often will cut out the middle man – agents and affiliates, that is, that get a cut of your rent or a one off payment. If you can factor that cost reduction into your bargaining you can save yourself some money.

These tips will hopefully help you on your endeavour to find low cost office space and secure a perfect functioning working environment no matter what size office you are hiring, so good luck and go get ‘em!

Obviously, there is a wide range of choices here and the right tools can certainly help make things less complicated. Not only can you browse your local paper to find places for let, you can also peruse the wide number of websites catering for businesspeople trying to find a place to set up shop within this fine city. Finding the perfect office space to rent London is not very difficult through the wide range of online adverts at your fingertips. While looking through these postings, keep in mind your requirements for any future commercial establishments you wish to set up. How large does it have to be? Do you want to rent a place near the Tube? What about the number of rooms and floors? Using your business plan, you should have a good idea of what a potential office space to rent will look like and can choose one accordingly.

Aside from the layout and general features of your future premises, you should also take notice of the conditions of the contract. Make sure you note down aspects such as the length of the lease, what activities are forbidden inside the building and what types of renovations you are allowed to undertake. An honest rental advertisement will display all of these things so that you know what you will be getting into. On the other hand, if you do have any questions, there should be a contact number of the landlord or real estate agent on each notice. In this way, you can find a great UK office space to let which suits all of your needs and which does not have any hidden snags. Get the perfect start to your business by making sure that the location is more than suitable and that the building has everything that you need it to have.

Office rental prices are not expected to bounce back until sometime in 2012, allowing businesses to cost cut their rental overheads. Due to a large oversupply in the areas around the M25 and the M4 corridor, competition amongst landlords is higher than ever, much to the potential tenant’s advantage. We are seeing rent free periods extending over the longest periods ever, as landlords compete to grab tenants.With prices between £19 and £25 around the M25  and £29 in parts of  London such as  Hammersmith there are great deals out there. As such many landlords are discounting the rent of their current tenants in order to entice them to stay and avoid their real estate lying empty.

With the large amount of redundancies being made at the moment, many companies who are seeing their office space go to waste are now advertising to share  there now empty cubicles to help cover building costs.  A good place to look for these available office shares is to start by searching on the internet. Many companies will self advertise in directories such as  thegumtree.com, which carries many adverts in this area. Otherwise contact some office rental agents and tell them you’re interested in any sub-letting opportunities to get an idea of what’s out there. Alternatively, it may be wise to use the services of an office aquisition agent, as they will have current knowledge of prime locations and current price levels. An office aquisition agent should be well informed of the locations you are interested in an be able to negotiate on your behalf.