Resources

Have questions about selling, buying or leasing commercial property? We have put together a list of useful real estate links to help answer many FAQs and help you to better define your needs and budget as well as understand more about other important factors to consider before moving your commercial real estate inquiry forward.

FAQs & Useful Real Estate Links

Leasing

How much office space do I need?
The general rule of thumb is to allow anywhere between 125 and 225 usable square feet of office space per person. This, of course, depends upon the type and style of the business and the workspace layout.

Read more about the Tenants’ Rules of Thumb by Use, the Standard Method for Measuring Office Space Floor Area, and try out the free Office Space Calculator that will give you both general and specific square footage estimates.

Lease vs Buy

Are you curious if it would be beneficial to purchase office space rather than continue to lease? Read more here about some of the pros and cons to purchasing compared to continuing to lease office space.

Buyers & Investors

Interested in buying commercial property? If you are new to the market, it can be helpful to first read more about how the buying process works. Then we recommend using the Mortgage Calculator to calculate monthly mortgage payments based on principal, interest, and term to make sure you have defined a realistic budget.

You can also access and download a copy of our Glossary of Commercial Real Estate Terms to become familiar with the terminology used during the buying process.

Useful Local, Regional & National Links

National

Consumer Price Index
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services. Indexes are available for the U.S. and various geographic areas.

1031 Exchange
A properly structured tax deferred exchange under Internal Revenue Code §1031 allows businesses and individuals to defer the recognition of capital gains and other taxes associated with the sale, as long as new assets are purchased to replace the relinquished assets.

Regional

Access Indiana
Access Indiana is a portal that allows citizens to access multiple services from the State of Indiana and makes doing business in Indiana easier.

Local Resources for Business in NW Indiana

Cities

Burns Harbor,  Chesterton,    Cedar Lake,    Crown Point,   DeMotte,   Dyer,   East Chicago,    Gary,    Griffith,   Hammond,    Hebron,  Highland,    Hobart,    Lake Station, LaPorte,   Lowell,  Merrillville, Michigan City, Munster, Portage,   Porter,  St. John, Schererville, Valparaiso,   Whiting,    Winfield

Counties

Lake,         LaPorte,        Porter 