Expanding business. Need a space. Lease or Buy? What should I know?
I'm a licensed massage therapist. I've run my own practice from a rented room for a couple years now. I'm quickly approaching the threshold where hiring other therapists and moving into my space becomes feasible. 

What should I be learning in order to shop smartly for commercial space? I'm not sure if buying or leasing is the best option or how to evaluate that decision. 

Any help is appreciated. Thank you in advance. 

I tried to locate the most relevant subreddit. If I'm in the wrong place, please kindly direct me elsewhere and I'll happily move along. 
[{"id": "dtjivhg", "text": "Lease vs Buy:\n\nLeasing:\n\n-No down payment\n\n-There are two major types of leases Gross and NNN (triple net)\n\n-In a Gross lease, the landlord pays the property taxes, insurance, and maintenance (some maintenance will still be your responsibility)\n\n-In a NNN lease, the landlord does not pay for any of the above, you do. There will be an additional fee on top of your base rent to pay for those items. You will be responsible for all maintenance.\n\n-If you want to move into a high quality shopping center, you will likely run into NNN leases.\n\nBuying:\n\n-Down payment required. If you can qualify for financing, you will likely qualify for an SBA loan (where the Small Business Administration provides a portion of the loan), which allows for a 10% down payment. If the SBA is not an option, a conventional loan requires 20% down.\n\n-You pay the property taxes. I don't know what state you are in, but its probably around 1% of the purchase price.\n\n-You perform all your own maintenance\n\nI don't know what state or market you are in, so I don't know the rates of buying vs leasing. But you should look at Loopnet.com to see if you can figure out what the average asking lease rate is. Then figure out what the average asking sale price is. You can use a mortgage calculator online to figure out your monthly payments on a purchase, then add property taxes, insurance, and maintenace expense estimates to that. Compare that number to a monthly lease payment.\n\nAlso consider future expansion. You've been doing this for two years and need to upgrade, what about in the next five or 10 years?\n", "replies": [{"id": "dtjj2ge", "text": "Thanks for all of the information. I'm in Cary, North Carolina which is adjacent to Raleigh. If you that allows you to share any further insights then I'm happy to hear them.\n\nThanks for being so helpful. \n\nAs far as the future. I'm trying to find a place that will allow the most treatment rooms for the money to make sure that there's plenty of room for growth. \n", "replies": [{"id": "dtjjmis", "text": "I'm in CA, but I know a guy in Raleigh that is a broker. I'll DM you.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "dtjv6vj", "text": "Don\u2019t buy real estate to run such a risky business unless you want to be in the real estate business and not the massage business. \n\nThis is the best most honest advice anyone has every given you. ", "replies": [{"id": "dtjvfrn", "text": "I realize that buying is a far fetched possibility. \n", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "dtl1416", "text": "A few thoughts for you...\n\nBased on a quick look, your space in Cary will be about $30,000 to $40,000 per year depending on what you lease (location/size/etc...) and you will likely be looking at a 3 - 5 year lease term. So I would plan for that if you are looking to lease.\n\nAs to searching for space, Loopnet is probably your best friend at this point (I hate saying that).  For retail, I don't see many agents working with tenant's in your size range to scout space, but your luck may be different.\n\nBe prepared to have a tenant improvement (TI) plan on how you want to build out the space.  Understand your city's requirements for massage parlors (these are heavily regulated out here due to prostitution).  Have a budget for this, you may get the landlord to chip in, you may not but with out a budget you 100% won't. Side note: This will also help you understand your actual space needs in terms of size of unit.\n\nHave 2 years of tax returns ready that show that you can pay for the space.  A business plan is nice too.\n\nStudy up on key drivers for your business, do you need a heavy car count so that people see your location, will people seek you out because of specialized services (sports massage contract or the like) so you can take a back unit at a lower rate?\n\nAs to purchasing, true retail units are rarely for sale, but you may be able to find something and re-purpose it.  That said, the number to do that will be very very high and you cannot get an SBA loan without 2 years of operating history, which means you will be putting 30% down or more.\n\nGood luck!\n", "replies": [{"id": "dtlo1fm", "text": "I really appreciate you taking the time to respond so thoroughly. Thank You!\n\nBy the time I'm ready to apply for an SBA loan I'll have 2 years of returns but part of that was during the initial ramp up period which was much slower than I currently am. Hopefully they'll weight the growth when making decisions. ", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "dwikobv", "text": "Have you decided what to do?\n\nHave you looked at Salon Studio franchises such as Sola?\n\nLow cost of entry, all bills paid, high end finishes with private locking studio door.", "replies": [{"id": "dwjagay", "text": "I'm still exploring options to lease and want to have my own space where I can hire on other therapists. \n\nUnless a really great option to buy falls in my lap that seems out of reach for the moment.\n\nI do not want to be in a room rental situation longer than I need to be and I'm comfortable in the current room I have. So I would not make that sort of lateral move unless circumstances change. \n", "replies": [{"id": "dwkpsak", "text": "what market are you in? what are rental prices for CRE in that market?\n\nDo you have any specific requirements for the space? parking, downtown, strip center, high traffic counts, etc? How many SF do you need?\n\nLots of pros and cons to each option. I have done both depending on situation.", "replies": [{"id": "dwkuh3w", "text": "Thanks for the reply :)\n\nCary, NC is my market. I'm seeing anywhere from $1.50 to $2.50 per sf/mo with some as high as $4/sf/mo but there seems to be high variance. \n\nAs far as SF needed. I want hire on additional therapists and I think 1000 sf to 1500 sf would allow me to do that and still have room for reception, storage, lavatory, etc. \n\nUltimately I would love to buy and be my own landlord but then risks are higher, blah, blah, blah. So I'm just trying to get out in front of that decision and really nail down what's possible. \n", "replies": [{"id": "dwnke6n", "text": "Cary has a lot of variability in space grades. A/B/C grade spaces seem to vary greatly in price, but it looks like a quick Loopnet search yields some desirable A spaces in the $18/sf/yr ($1.50/mo) with only a few dollars/sf in NNN charges. Depending on the term of your lease, you may be able to get the landlord to pay for some of your tenant improvements (TI) to help you finish out your space. Everything is negotiable... I always ask for free months/years of rent, and $ to help with buildout in exchange for a 10 year lease.\n\nBest of luck!\n\nReach out if I can help.", "replies": [{"id": "dwoct9x", "text": "Thank you for the excellent information and taking the time to compile it. I really appreciate it. I'll definitely reach out if needed. \n", "replies": [], "depth": 6}], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]