When your company is still in its infancy, renting office space makes a lot of sense, however, it's a natural part of your company's evolution to start to think about buying space rather than just renewing a lease.  There are benefits and downsides to both options; here are a few of the things you should consider before renewing your lease or purchasing some office space.

1. Up-Front Cost: You don't need a lot of cash in your pocket when you go looking for offices to rent. For most people, the up-front cost of rental is just the price of two month's rent.  When you buy your office space, you could be required to put down as much as 25% of the purchase price.  That's a lot of money for a small business. 
2. Flexibility: When you rent an office, you're tied down for the length of the lease.  When you buy an office, you're committing for longer.  Yes, if you want to move you can always sell the space on, but how long will it take to find a buyer?
3. Building Management: When you're shopping around for offices to rent, you probably hear a lot about site management, foyer services, security, and other benefits.  These are included in the cost of renting your office. If you buy an office building, you'll have to look after those things yourself.
4. Tax: Lease payments are tax deductible in most cases, but when you buy an office things get more complicated.  Yes, you can write off the cost of the purchase, but you will have to do that over a number of years. Speak to your accountant so that you can get a full understanding of how your tax will be affected.
5. Cash Flow: Are you going to be able to make the payments in the long term? Will your expenses increase when you're responsible for the management of an entire property?   If you come to sell the property in a few years’ time will you have made money or lost it?  Think about those questions carefully.
6. Location: Location is more important than you might think.  A prestigious sounding big city address, even if it's a local-authority owned fairly inexpensive to rent incubator makes a good impression on your clients.  If you move to an out of town industrial estate, you may lose that prestige factor.  In addition, consider how easy your new office is to get to both by car and public transport.  You may alienate some good employees if you add an hour to their daily commute.

If your company has outgrown its current office, don't write off the possibility of finding new offices to rent.  For a large company that is now fairly stable, buying an office outright can be a good option, but it's not always the only option.  Speak to your accountant before you make any commitments, and consider including your employees in the decision making process too.  Their input could be incredibly valuable.

This guest post was written on behalf of Foxhall Business Centres by Amy Fowler. Foxhall specialise in offices to rent Nottingham. Find out more at www.foxhallbc.co.uk or 'like' them on Facebook.