Finding Your Perfect Work Space

Two websites offer opportunities to help you find your best bet for a new office.

TheSquareFoot

What is it?

The Square Foot is an online community that allows prospective tenants to better understand the commercial leasing process in New York City. The Square Foot acts as an online tenant broker, aiding tenants in finding the perfect commercial real estate space for their needs and improving the overall leasing process—all for free. Users can search by neighborhood, as well as for industrial or retail space, and several different office spaces: traditional, coworking, executive suites, and subleases.

How does it work?

You begin by picking a type of real estate and the amount of square feet you might need; if you don’t know, The Square Foot shows about how many people can fit into a given amount of space. After a size or size range is chosen, you can choose any monthly price you are willing to pay, up to $40,000 per month. Have a question? There is a “live chat” feature that pops up if you don’t understand something or need further assistance. The leasing process is explained fully through TheSquareFoot’s blog, which provides many links with a step-by-step leasing process FAQ, and through one-on-one discussions with tenants.

Loopnet

What is it?

LoopNet allows you to easily search real estate listings in the New York City area (as well as across the country), and has over 5 million registered members. The site also offers a database of over 25 million property records. You must be a member to enjoy what this site has to offer, either through a basic free membership or through a paid premium subscription, which starts at about $55 per month.

How does it work?

This site offers many property types for you to choose from for both sale and lease, as well as a database of property records. To search, enter a location of your choice, then pick the square footage and price ranges that best suit your business. A basic membership to the site is free and allows you to evaluate brokers by viewing their professional profiles to see if they are the right fit, and also allows you to search through properties. A Premium Searcher subscription starts at around $55 per month and allows customers to search for commercial real estate with no limits and have access to all listings. If you can’t inspect the property in person, close-up aerial photos and indoor shots of the property provide insight to your potential purchase.