Background information that landlords look for prior to renting?
What documents &amp; information do landlords require from prospective tenants before signing a lease - like tax return transcripts, bank statements etc? 
We are planning to move from a home 'office' to a commercial space (in Texas), and are new to commercial leasing.
Edit: Currently looking for a small office space (&lt;2000sf), for a 3 year lease, if possible.
[{"id": "ia9zt8w", "text": "How big of a lease? What type of building? Usually we will look at the past 3-5 years of tax returns, make sure you are properly liscensed, if the credit is bad we can require a personal guarantee or a recourse loan, or something like a 500k letter of credit from your bank. \n\nOtherwise if it like a we work, it is less hassle since the lease term is lower and you don\u2019t have to negotiate build outs.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iab01ww", "text": "Get a leasing agent involved. They will get their commission from the landlord and help you negotiate a better deal, especially if your business is well established with good credit.\n\nThe credit and background can vary based on the area and how low vacancy is. They will typically want to see tax returns to know you have been a viable and profitable business and have good credit.\n\nYour 3 years is a long time, but might still fall into an area where you could sublease some space from other businesses for cheap and less strict credit checks.", "replies": [{"id": "iab9i51", "text": "Thank you, this is very helpful! \nSub-leasing may be a more viable option for us. How to know which spaces are available for sub-lease? \nAre leasing agents aware of such commercial spaces too, and/or are they listed on specific websites (like Loopnet)?", "replies": [{"id": "iabjm5l", "text": "Loopnet and costar are the two main sites to search. You could always go old school and drive around office buildings and call propert managers yourself but you will be at an information disadvantage not knowing market rent for different office spaces.  A broker would filter by asking rent and look at notes on subleasing \nAnother thought is that a sublease in a class A building probably is more expensive that a direct lease with minimal required changes in a class C building. Also a general rule is downtown tends to be more expensive than suburbs, but Covid has mixed that type a litte and each market is unique. You can search on CBRE and other real estate websites for general info on market rents.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iapotxl", "text": "Credit scrutiny will have a lot to do with how much the Landlord has to spend to make the deal. Including Tenant Improvements (TI), down time until the commencement date, free rent, brokerage fees, ect. Usually we look at past two years P&amp;L\u2019s and a current balance sheet. If those are weak, we will do a mix of the following, Personal Guarantee, increased security deposit, reduce or spread out the free rent, reduce the TI. \n\nLoopNet is good but you won\u2019t grab all available options. I recommend hiring a broker that has access to Costar.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]