Pre-feasibility consulting

7 December 2018

In some cases, you can refuse to move

A person always strives for the best. The idea of moving is often born in response to problems in the current office. Is it possible to do without moving and in what cases it will be a justified decision?

The question of moving comes before the majority of tenants sooner or later

Move or stay?

As I have said many times, moving is a multi – level project, with its own tasks, goals and required resources. Whether it is necessary, whether it will be justified, whether the company has sufficient resources for repair, arrangement in new office, the Deposit and an advance payment? Are you ready to spend time and nerves searching for premises, negotiating, negotiating a contract, building and moving to a new office?

As my experience shows, some problems can be solved without falling into a new place. What conditions are necessary and sufficient to change your decision to move and stay in the current office?

The decision to move must be well calculated and weighed

Improving the legal environment

Each party to the agreement seeks to protect its interests as much as possible. And if the landlord is going to improve the legal conditions of the current contract, it can be a good reason to stay. For example, the inclusion in the contract of improving the conditions at the end of the contract. As a tenant you have a choice, your legal protection increases. This is a good reason to think about moving, especially if there are no such conditions in the draft contract with the new landlord.

Note to landlord. If the tenant is not legally protected, he feels uncomfortable, so sooner or later he will look for the option of moving.

Improvement of technical conditions

If the building has problems with air conditioning, electricity-it is bad for business. You must renounce such conditions. But the change in the technical conditions of the premises for the better is a very strong argument in favor of staying in the same place.

Improvement of technical conditions is a reason to delay the move

Ideal for the tenant, when the owner of the building undertakes to eliminate the shortcomings at his own expense. And if you are satisfied with the other parameters of the office, the move can be postpone with the improvement of technical conditions.

In most cases, operational and technical problems are global in nature and apply not to one office, but to the entire building. Problems with air, water, electricity, heating are caused by obsolescence of equipment and communications. And the main question here –whether it is possible to reach any consensus with the landlord, whether it is possible to make legal conditions of the contract. If mutual understanding is not achieved, you can safely see what offers are on the market, and prepare the ground for the move.

In my practice, there was only one case when we almost could not help the client. He ordered a technical expertise to the landlord to improve the adverse technical conditions. Unfortunately, the terms of the contract he had signed earlier left no room for manoeuvre. The landlord was, as they say,"in his right." The only thing that we managed to do – to solve the current problems to restore the minimum comfort in the office at the expense of the landlord. This case refers to the previous point: legal protection is the basis of the tenant's comfort, although it concerns the technical conditions.

We have in practice the reverse examples, when landlords go to make the necessary technical improvements in order not to lose the tenant.

Note to landlord. If the technical conditions deteriorate and you are not trying to find a compromise, the tenant will strive to find a more comfortable option as soon as possible.

Improving financial conditions

The issue of financial conditions always requires in-depth study, and it is not without reason that we make an economic examination of the proposal before agreeing to it. If you want to save on rent, then study offers in the market in depth. It is necessary to distinguish between the concept of "rental rate" and "rental costs".

Carefully study all financial components of any offer

If you find a new office that will cost you 1000 rubles per square meter cheaper than the current one, be sure to study the other financial components of the future contract. In particular, the size of the Deposit, utility bills, operating costs, Parking fees, pay attention to the order of calculations, the readiness of the room. Repairs and relocation are also investments that need to be taken into account in budgeting. And only after you make at least a rough economic examination of the project, you will be able to understand whether the new office will cost you less?

We do not advise our customers to take even in financially profitable projects, if they have problems with life support systems. Poor ventilation or water problems will nullify all potential financial gains.

Going to improve the functionality? Look for hidden reserves in the current office

Improved functionality

And what if the company develops, grows and has little space in the former office? If everything else suits you, talk to the landlord about the new areas. We'll have to be ready for different proposals. Do not rush to discard them, even if they do not quite coincide with the "ideal way" that you imagined. Perhaps the proposed option is quite good, if you look at it from different points of view.

Here is an example from the last project. The customer needed additional space. The owner offered a block in front of the main office. The customer initially refused because he presented the solution in a different way. But we saw the obvious advantages of the room. It was enough space and the input block, and on the client site, and at the negotiating. With our help, the customer appreciated these advantages . In the end, the question of moving was shot, this saved the customer significant resources.

Note to landlord. If the company has grown, it can hold only one thing-additional space convenient for the company's functionality.

So, if we see that improvements can be made in legal, technical and financial matters, the issue of relocation can be postponed. By the way, we conduct such an analysys, to understand how justified the idea of moving and whether it is possible to solve the problem by improving the conditions in the current room.

In many cases, a properly made request solves everything, so we always support an open and constructive dialogue between all interested parties. Solving current problems and improving conditions are a good reason to refuse to move.

7 December 2018

How to save on construction?

Have you tried eating soup with a fork? Probably not-it's very inconvenient.Building on their own can bring more problems and costs than real savings without the necessary information and skills .

Although, at first glance, why not try to do everything yourself:

• identify the right materials;
• hold a tender and evaluate the proposals of participants for the supply of building materials, choosing the best in terms of price and quality;
• monitor compliance with technology, timing and budget at each stage of the preparatory and basic construction, installation and engineering works.

For example, what is difficult to choose carpet for the future office? On the Internet you will find a formula for calculating the amount of coverage on the websites of manufacturers learn the characteristics. Then delve into the issues of pricing – why carpet costs 500 rubles per square meter, and 750, and 900 with the same characteristics are different . From different suppliers you will learn a lot of subtleties of fastening and laying, comprehend a difference between fixing and glue. You will understand how to roll out, in which direction to lay, how to trim the carpet.

Having collected all this information, you will be able to estimate the estimate, to choose the reliable supplier, to check a course of works on laying. It is a pity that one carpet construction is not limited, and the rental holidays are very fast.

Information and knowledge are the key to saving.

The involvement of experts in the project saves at least 10% of the total cost of the project, and in some cases more.

If you are determined to do on their own and you are not afraid of the development of new horizons, I will give some recommendations on how to avoid excessive spending of resources on construction.

Building on their own? Nothing is impossible for a person with intelligence!

Budget optimization

The first advice for those who are planning construction – look closely at the estimates. You should be wary of a very expensive and very cheap offer. Too low cost estimates compared to the average market may mean that it laid the cheapest materials. But " cheap "doesn't mean"good." Low-quality paint will quickly come down from the walls, the carpet will be wiped from the daily load, and from the sharp light of cheap lamps will hurt your eyes. There is a good saying: "We are not rich enough to buy cheap things." To paraphrase, we can say that investing in cheap and low-quality materials means throwing money away. Such "savings" will only result in additional costs in the very near future.

You need to think three times over too expensive proposal, because " expensive "also does not mean"good".

A reasonable estimate without loss of quality should be a middle ground for the price.

Carefully study the estimate: it should not be too cheap or expensive

Three options for saving on construction works

To carry out construction at a lower cost, there are three main ways.

• Savings on the quality of materials.
• Saving on the amount of materials.
• Economy on technologies.

Saving on the quality of materials

The savings are not in mechanically replacing all expensive materials with cheap ones. Knowledge of what material can be replaced with a cheaper analogue without loss of quality will help to save. Refer to the example of medication when honey "Mezim" replace a cheaper, but less effective "Pancreatin". So and instead the most expensive paint can be take more modest on price and brand, but decent quality.

To do this, you will have to gather information about the materials, read expert articles, opinions of users and professional builders on specialized forums. In short, to be in the subject.

It is not necessary to buy the most expensive materials to achieve the desired quality

Saving on the amount of materials

The amount of materials for construction is another opportunity for savings. Reducing to a reasonable minimum the amount of necessary materials, you reduce the total cost. Ask the supplier to justify the quantity of all materials. Ask for an explanation of the formulas he used to calculate and the considerations he used. For example, is it necessary to sheathe all the walls with expensive plywood? Might be wise to strengthen those areas which will have a real load?

Here you will also have to delve into the essence. For example, how much paint will it take to paint a wall? You will have to personally look at the paint and assess the quality of the coating that you are offered: how well the paint covers the surface, how it reacts to abrasion. And then you can approximately imagine how much specific paint will go to this work and whether it is possible to optimize its quantity.

To save on construction, will have to learn a lot

Saving on technologies

This is the most difficult type of economy. You need to be a specialist yourself to make it real . And even if you understand the basic algorithms of construction, there are technologies that are difficult to track. For example, rough work, here the materials are measured in kilograms and bags, and putty, plaster, plasterboard layer, profile are under a layer of paint on the wall. You can not say for sure, the wall is covered with two or three layers of putty, how much cement is left on the floor and what type of primer was used for paint. And in the end you'll prefer to accept that under the cover lies five layers of plaster, just in order not to delay time. Because vacation rentals have come to an end.

So for the implementation of this type of savings you can not do without a solid or preliminary training, or without expert assistance . Self-employment can be very destructive and lead to unexpected costs.

Example. On one of the projects the customer decided to take on part of the work – to stick the sticker on the glass. It seems to be a simple job. But the customer is not limited to glass and decided to make a sticker wall behind the reception Desk. However, the wall was not prepared for this type of coating. The film went bubbles, and when you try to dismantle it began to go plaster. In the end, had to redo the wall.

Knowledge of building materials and technologies will help you to save on construction, and it is most effective to resort to the help of independent experts. They will optimize the budget, monitor the target expenditure of the budget, ensure compliance of the construction works with technical standards, project documentation and obligations of contractors. Such participation provides the desired result and saves money, time, nerves.

Николай Елагин

30 October 2018

Why do we need economic expertise?

Ideas need to be evaluated and weighed. The idea, which has been tested for common sense and resource costs, is ready for implementation. How can the practical and financial components of a good design be assessed? For this and there is economic s expertise. What is it and how is the expertise carried out in the Office Times company?

Harmony is checked by algebra, and the idea-by economic expertise

Estimate or budget?

Economic examination – is the determination of the cost of the idea you plan to implement. Simply put, the preliminary budget of the project is presented in the examination. Please note: the project budget and estimates are different things. Estimates are calculated only for one stage of the project, namely for construction. The budget covers all stages of the future project, it reflects the complex costs of the project: rent, design, construction.

The approximate distribution of costs by project phases

What is included in the economic evaluation of the project?

Economic expertise gives us a complete financial picture, shows the price you will need to pay for the project. In the process, we analyze the upcoming costs and calculate the cost of each stage and each task of the project. What are the points of the structure of economic expertise?

Cost of rent Словарьсообщить об ошибке

We make an assessment of objects both on the current, and on new rent, including a rent for the room, annual indexation, payment of the Parking, utilities, deposits. That is, we consider all the financial costs that are spelled out in the contract.

If it is assumed that the construction will not be completed at the new location during the rental holidays, then the doubling of the lease is laid, that is, the payment of both the old office and the new one. Such cases happen if the office is made in the design of the Executive class and construction involves the use of specific finishing materials. Terms of their delivery increase the total period of the construction phase.

We bring standard office solutions to the customer's requirements

Design and development costs

Analyzing the current project of the new office, we understand whether there will be construction costs or not.

At the stage of selection of the room, I sometimes hear that it is being renovated, completely ready, so the need for a design project and construction work disappears. In such cases, we show the customer how the office will look like, where the departments are located, where there are tables and office equipment, where there are support services and facilities. So the customer can see and evaluate the complete picture of the workspace organization.

After showing a complete picture of the future office, almost always there are additional questions. For example: "Where is the office of the head of the Department?"or" why are lawyers in the common room?". And that's perfectly normal. Over 17 years of practice, I have never met a perfect match between the customer's requirements and rental offers. Each tenant has their own requirements for the premises, ideas about how the office should look and function.

Standard office solutions require further development to meet these individual requirements. It is necessary to build. Therefore the need for the design with subsequent implementation occurs in almost every customer. And the cost of these works is taken into account in the economic assessment.

The cost of construction

Based on the preliminary design plan, the construction budget is calculated. Our economic assessment of this process is as close as possible to reality – we do not take hypothetical figures, but real ones

Unexpected expenses

I have economic expertise count for unforeseen expenses.

Some aspects of construction remain hidden, you will not see them until you start working on the object. After all, reality is always different from the ideal plan.

For example, in the process of construction it turns out that the wall has developed its resource. It needs to be either repaired or changed. The cost of replacement is conditionally 10 thousand rubles. Check with the article of unforeseen expenses and see that it laid 50 thousand, so that the margin of safety is available. We are quietly doing the repair of the wall, while remaining within the budget.

In addition, in the course of work on the project, there are often situations when the customer wants to add something: change the finishing materials, buy furniture, make the workspace more functional. That's the difference between the plan and the reality I'm putting resources into.

Management costs

All costs incurred by the customer by contacting us, we reflect in the management costs.

Other items of expenditure

In the document with economic expertise there are sections that allow variability of filling. This is the cost of equipment for the new office, moving and related activities: the purchase of new furniture, network equipment, surveillance and security systems, office equipment, consumables, the cost of changing the legal entity and courier delivery, to change the postal address and tax details.

The customer can fill in these parts by himself or provide the necessary information to us. If the customer reports that he plans to buy, for example, furniture with our help, we ask the suppliers for commercial offers and make the cost in the examination.

Properly built economic expertise gives a complete picture of the budget

In the conclusion

The result of our work is the budget of the project, taking into account the key factors of influence on it, with the calculation of current prices and real costs for all positions.

Economic expertise usually precedes pre-project consulting. This complex is enough to decide on the feasibility of the project, its viability and prospects.

The idea, proven by economic expertise, becomes a real plan of action.

The project budget is an economic assessment of the idea and the reality of its implementation

Ekaterina Maksimova