Renting or buying commercial space is quite different than doing the same with residential real estate. Typically, a residence is designed to be moved into immediately as usable. A commercial property is also presented for sale or lease as is, but it will not be ready for business.

Commercial buildings are presented as a shell (the building). If leasing, the landlords or lessor will only have the responsibility to make sure utilities are running up to the building. Commercial property owners who lease their properties are very hands off. Meaning, if anything goes wrong the responsibility to fix it will fall to the renter. This is very unlike residential rentals where the landlord is available to fix anything with just a phone call.

When a business leases or buys a commercial or retail space they will have to shape it into what they want. It is pretty rare that a property will be move-in ready for a business. The previous owner or tenant will have modified the space for their purposes; it leaves the new tenant to modify a property for their purposes. Who will do the modification or more importantly who will pick up the cost is dependent on the contract negotiations. The cost could be carried by the lessor or the seller if negotiated before signing any contracts. Otherwise, the expenses for remodeling will fall to the new business.

A remodel of an existing property will probably start with demolition. That could be part of or the entirety of the interior of a building (or space). However, as a cost savings most businesses will want to see if they can utilize the existing infrastructure of a property. Things like electrical panels, plumbing fixtures, heating and air, or telecommunication wiring may be more cost-effective to remodel around what is already there. Therefore, very often commercial remodels focus on moving walls, new lighting (which will often include new ceilings), and flooring.

In doing a commercial remodel the question becomes who does the business choose to do the work? It is best to choose a contractor who is very familiar with commercial or retail space remodels. A contractor who does residential remodels will not be familiar with the intricacies of a commercial property. The general contractor who does primarily new buildings will not be looking for areas of cost savings and to utilize existing infrastructure. However, a contractor who does commercial remodels will be able to find ways to save on costs, utilize what already exists, and very importantly finish quickly. A quick remodel is important because the business is paying out money for their new property. Without the business being open no money is coming in.

A final note about commercial space is to note it differs from office space too. Office spaces may have more perks and actually include more benefits like office cleaning. Also, depending on what one is looking for an office space can also be move-in ready. However, they too are often available to be remodel depending on the businesses needs. The question of who pays for the remodel will be dependent on the contract negotiations.