Need warehouse space for your business? Owning a warehouse can be expensive and whilst there are multiple paths to take, they all come with their costs. Here are just four ways to afford a warehouse.

Consider renting

Renting a warehouse is the most popular option because it has lower upfront costs. Whilst you’ll generally have to pay a deposit, this is nothing compared to that of buying a warehouse. Monthly costs can be more expensive when renting and there’s always a chance that the owner may raise the rent. One advantage of renting is that there are lots of properties out there for rent, giving you lots of opportunities and helping you to find the right location and right size.

Consider buying

Buying a warehouse is a lot more expensive upfront. Few people are wealthy enough to buy a warehouse outright – a commercial mortgage is often needed, which is something you should spend some time shopping around for in order to get the best deal. Like buying a home, you’ll need to pay a down payment, conveyancer fees and possible surveyor and mortgage valuation fees too. Monthly costs can be lower than renting and you have more flexibility to remodel the warehouse given that you own it. You also have the option to sell the property for a profit in the future. Just be wary of the fact that all maintenance will be your responsibility.

Build your own warehouse

You may even want to consider building your own warehouse. If you’ve got land to build on, it’s possible you may be able to build a warehouse to your specs. This doesn’t have to cost a fortune and there are companies that offer prefab metal building kits which could be all that is needed for some businesses. A more elaborate warehouse may require taking out a self-build mortgage, which is much like a normal mortgage. Of all the costs, buying the land is likely to be the most expensive part and you’ll need to search hard to find a suitable plot of land. Building your own warehouse does give you complete freedom to design the space you want, so consider whether this is important.

Share a warehouse

For those on a tight budget, there’s also the option of sharing warehouse space with another company. You may be able to rent out a portion of a warehouse – this could be alongside many other companies. Another option meanwhile could be to joint-buy a warehouse with another company. In both cases you’ll save costs by sharing fees whether it’s energy bills or maintenance costs. Sharing does have it’s downsides of course – you may have to abide by someone else’s warehouse system and you could find yourself in conflict with the other companies sharing the premises. All in all, sharing is best suited to smaller companies.