Lease it, or buy it?
One of the biggest calls a business makes. This compares the full cost of leasing your space against buying it — factoring financing, appreciation, owner costs, equity built, and the opportunity cost of your down payment — over the years you plan to hold.
Should you own the building instead?
Owning changes your tax position, your flexibility and what your business is worth on exit. Send me your requirement and I'll run both paths on real buildings that are actually available.
Estimates are for planning only and use simplified assumptions — not tax, legal, or investment advice. Verify with your lender, CPA, and a full broker analysis before acting.
Owning changes more than your monthly cost
The monthly comparison is the easy part and rarely the deciding one. Buying converts a flexible operating cost into a fixed asset with its own risks, its own maintenance obligations and its own exit.
What tips the decision is usually one of three things. How long you will genuinely be in the space — below roughly five to seven years the transaction costs on both ends tend to swamp the equity you build. Whether your capital earns more inside the business than in a building. And whether the specific building suits you well enough to be worth being tied to.
What ownership adds that rent does not
Control is the honest benefit: you decide on alterations, you cannot be refused a renewal, and you set your own occupancy cost. Against that, you now own a roof, a parking lot and an insurance renewal, and Florida insurance has moved enough recently to matter.
There is also an exit worth understanding before you buy. Per-foot pricing falls steadily with size across recorded tri-county sales — a median of about $428 per square foot under 2,500 square feet against $221 above 25,000 — so the building you buy for your business is also an asset you will eventually sell into a specific and sometimes narrow buyer pool. If the plan is to own, it is worth knowing who buys that size and type when you are done.
Common questions
Is it cheaper to buy or lease commercial space?
Over a short horizon leasing usually wins because transaction costs on both ends of a purchase are significant. Over a long one ownership tends to win on total cost and on equity, provided the building still suits the business. Five to seven years is a reasonable dividing line.
What are the hidden costs of owning?
Roof and mechanical replacement, property insurance, property tax, maintenance and management, plus the capital tied up in equity that could be working in the business. Owners also carry vacancy risk if they later leave and lease the building out.
Does owning my building help when I sell my business?
It can, but only if it is valued separately. The rent your company pays itself is normalized to market by a buyer, and the value moves into the real estate, so the two assets should be priced independently rather than folded together.
Is it better to lease or buy commercial property?
It depends on your hold period, financing, and how the property appreciates. Buying builds equity and can be cheaper long-term, but ties up a down payment and reduces flexibility. Leasing preserves capital and flexibility but builds no equity. This calculator quantifies both over your specific hold so you can compare apples-to-apples.
What costs are included in owning?
Down payment, loan payments over the hold period, owner costs (property tax, insurance, maintenance), and the opportunity cost of the cash you put down — offset by the equity you recover at sale (sale price minus remaining loan balance and ~6% selling costs). The result is the true net cost of owning.
What if I only plan to stay a few years?
Short holds usually favor leasing, because transaction costs (down payment friction, ~6% to sell) get spread over fewer years and there's less time to build equity or ride appreciation. Try lowering the hold period and watch the advantage shift.
Tools: deal analyzer · DSCR · IRR · all calculators · Justin Crow, South Florida commercial broker