Free Resources · Flagstaff, Arizona

Free Commercial Real Estate Checklists

Five complete, print-ready checklists from Mike Konefal, Broker Associate at Coldwell Banker Northland: leasing, buying, land due diligence, investment analysis, and owner valuation. Practical, decision-focused, and written out in full right here.

928-853-3810 · mike@flagstaffrealestate.com · License SA690466000

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Five Checklists That Make Every Commercial Decision Clearer

Commercial real estate is decided in the details: the rent math in a lease, the NOI in an income statement, the zoning on a parcel of land, and the comps behind a price. These checklists turn those details into a working document you can take from tour to closing.

Each checklist is fully written out on this page and built to be printed or saved as a PDF. Work through the lines in order, and when one raises a question, that is the moment to go deeper with a broker who negotiates these deals every week.

01 · For Tenants

Flagstaff Commercial Lease Checklist

Print-Ready

The lease is the most important document in your space search. This checklist takes a tenant from the asking rate to the signature line, covering the money, the term, and the responsibilities you are about to take on. Print it, bring it to every space you tour, and check every line before you commit.

Print this page, or save it as a PDF, and use it as your working document on every space you tour.

  • Rent math: confirm the asking rate, the $/SF/YR calculation, the annual rent, and the monthly base rent
  • Total occupancy cost: base rent plus estimated taxes, insurance, and common area maintenance (CAM)
  • Lease structure: gross, NNN, or modified gross, and exactly which expenses pass through to you
  • CAM and operating expenses: ask for a cap on annual growth, historical expense statements, and audit rights
  • Security deposit and letters of credit: amount, return timeline, and any conditions on getting it back
  • Lease term and renewal options: the length, when renewal options must be exercised, and the renewal rent
  • Rent increases and escalations: when they happen, how they are calculated, and the compounding effect
  • Free rent and tenant improvement allowance: the amount, the period, and what it actually covers
  • Repairs and maintenance: who pays for what, from HVAC and roof to routine maintenance and janitorial
  • Parking and signage: ratios for staff and customers, whether parking is included, and your sign rights
  • Use and exclusivity: your permitted use stated in writing, plus any exclusivity protecting your business
  • Zoning and permitted use: confirm the property is zoned for your actual use before you invest in buildout
  • Assignment and subletting: whether you can assign or sublease, and the landlord’s approval standard
  • Personal guarantee: what you are signing personally and what happens if the business cannot pay
  • Defaults and remedies: cure periods, late fees, landlord remedies, and the cost of breaking the lease early
  • Before signing: confirm buildout dates, possession date, and every landlord representation in writing

Go deeper with Mike on this checklist

Send the checklist, the documents, or just your questions, and get a direct answer from a local broker.

02 · For Buyers

Commercial Property Buyer Checklist

Print-Ready

Buying a commercial property is a different process than buying a home. This checklist takes a buyer from the business plan to the closing table, with the financing, underwriting, due diligence, and negotiation steps in order.

Print this page, or save it as a PDF, and keep it in the file for every property you underwrite.

  • Define the business plan and budget: use, size, location, timeline, and the price range you can support
  • Financing options: SBA 7(a) and 504 for owner-occupiers, conventional commercial loans, and seller financing
  • Pre-qualification: get lender terms, down payment expectations, and rate indications before you tour
  • Cap rate and NOI review: underwrite the income, expenses, and cap rate before you fall for the building
  • Lease and tenant quality: for income property, read every lease and evaluate tenant credit and term
  • Physical inspection: professional inspection of roof, structure, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and fire systems
  • Zoning and entitlements: confirm your intended use is permitted and no rezoning is needed
  • Environmental: order a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment and follow up if it flags a concern
  • Title and survey: review the title commitment and order an ALTA survey for boundaries and easements
  • Parking and access: confirm the ratio for your use, plus truck access and delivery logistics if relevant
  • Utilities: confirm water, sewer, power, gas, and internet actually serve the building
  • Market comps: verify the asking price against recent sales of comparable local properties
  • Due diligence timeline: build the inspection, financial, zoning, and financing steps into the contingency period
  • Offer and escrow: structure the offer, negotiate price and terms, and manage the contingency dates to closing

Go deeper with Mike on this checklist

Send the checklist, the documents, or just your questions, and get a direct answer from a local broker.

03 · For Land Buyers

Commercial Land Due Diligence Checklist

Print-Ready

Land is priced on what can legally and physically be built, not on acreage alone. This checklist screens a parcel for zoning, utilities, access, floodplain, and the approval path before you spend money on engineering or entitlements.

Print this page, or save it as a PDF, and run it on every parcel before you recommend it to a partner or commit your own capital.

  • Zoning and allowed uses: confirm the current zone and whether your intended use is permitted by right
  • Current and proposed zoning: check both the existing designation and any proposed or pending changes
  • Entitlement risk: identify the approvals needed, how long they take, and how likely they are to be granted
  • Utilities: verify sewer, water, power, and gas availability and the cost to connect to the property line
  • Access and easements: legal access, road frontage, and any cross-easements or shared maintenance agreements
  • Highway frontage and visibility: for retail or service uses, frontage and sight lines drive value
  • Traffic count: for retail and commercial uses, understand the traffic that passes the site
  • Floodplain and drainage: whether the parcel sits in a floodplain or drainage path and what it costs to mitigate
  • Topography and soils: slope, rock, and soil conditions that shape buildable area and site-work cost
  • Environmental: Phase I review and any history of past uses that could carry cleanup responsibility
  • CC&Rs and HOA: covenants, conditions, and restrictions that could limit your planned use
  • Development feasibility: cost of the finished project, construction feasibility, and the timeline
  • Highest and best use: the legally permissible, physically possible, financially feasible use with the highest value
  • Timeline and budget for entitlement: lay out the approval path, the fees, and the carrying cost before you commit

Go deeper with Mike on this checklist

Send the checklist, the documents, or just your questions, and get a direct answer from a local broker.

04 · For Investors

Commercial Investment Property Analysis Sheet

Print-Ready

The analysis sheet turns a building into a decision. Work left to right from price and income to the 5-year projection, and let the analyzer do the math for you. The link below puts the full model in your hands.

Print this page, or save it as a PDF, and use it as the cover sheet for every deal you underwrite.

  • Purchase price and basis: the agreed price plus closing costs to establish your true cost basis
  • NOI build-up: gross potential rent, less vacancy, less operating expenses, to reach net operating income
  • Cap rate: net operating income divided by purchase price, compared to recent comparable sales
  • Cash-on-cash return: annual cash flow after debt service divided by your cash invested
  • DSCR: net operating income divided by annual debt service, and what the lender will require
  • Loan terms and down payment: interest rate, amortization, term, and the equity you are putting in
  • Monthly debt service: the loan payment and how it fits inside the NOI
  • Annual cash flow: NOI less annual debt service, and what you actually keep each year
  • Appreciation and rent growth assumptions: the rents and values you are assuming, stated in writing
  • Vacancy: the vacancy assumption and how it changes the cash flow in a soft market
  • Exit cap rate: the cap rate a future buyer would pay, which sets your resale value
  • IRR and equity multiple: the total return over the hold, including cash flow and the sale
  • 5-year projection: year-by-year income, expenses, debt service, and the projected sale
Run the Investment Property Analyzer

Go deeper with Mike on this checklist

Send the checklist, the documents, or just your questions, and get a direct answer from a local broker.

05 · For Owners

What Is My Commercial Property Worth?

Print-Ready

Owners deserve an evidence-based answer, not a guess. This checklist walks you through what a broker actually looks at when preparing an owner-focused valuation review, and ends with the option to have Mike run one for your property.

Print this page, or save it as a PDF, and gather these items before your valuation conversation.

  • Prepare an owner valuation review: gather the address, rent roll, operating expenses, and any recent appraisals
  • Income approach and NOI: know the property’s net operating income and how it compares to market rent
  • Cap rate context: understand the cap rate the market is paying for comparable properties with comparable risk
  • Sales comps: collect recent sales of similar local properties and the story behind each price
  • Condition and deferred maintenance: estimate roof, HVAC, parking, and systems capital a buyer will assume
  • Lease quality: term, tenant credit, escalations, renewal options, and expense responsibility
  • Highest and best use: whether the current use is the one that produces the highest value
  • What a broker opinion of value includes: the approaches, the comps, and the reasoning behind the number

Go deeper with Mike on this checklist

Send the checklist, the documents, or just your questions, and get a direct answer from a local broker.

Four Ways to Work With Mike

Find, Buy, Sell, or Invest in Northern Arizona Commercial Property

Whatever your commercial goal, start with the door that fits. Each path links to the detailed guides for that part of the market.

Sell or Lease Your Property

Price it right, market it well, and manage the process through closing.

Explore Sell or Lease Your Property

Invest in Northern Arizona

Analyze income property, cap rates, and long-term hold strategies.

Explore Invest in Northern Arizona

Have a commercial real estate question?

Buying, leasing, land and development, investing, or selling: read the direct answers first in the Flagstaff commercial FAQ, then ask Mike about your specific situation.

Browse the Commercial FAQ

Checklist FAQ

How to Use These Checklists, Answered

The questions that come up most when tenants, buyers, investors, and owners work through these checklists.

What is a $/SF/YR rate on a commercial lease?

Asking rates on commercial leases are quoted per square foot per year, written like $24.00/SF/YR. Multiply the rate by the rentable square footage to get the base annual rent, then divide by 12 for monthly base rent. The printed rate is only the starting point: total occupancy cost includes your share of taxes, insurance, and common area maintenance depending on the lease structure.

What is the difference between gross, NNN, and modified gross leases?

In a full-service gross lease, rent covers the landlord's base costs and the tenant pays one flat amount. In a triple net (NNN) lease, the tenant pays its share of taxes, insurance, and common area maintenance on top of base rent. Modified gross sits in between, with some expenses included and others passed through, often with a cap on growth. The structure changes what your rent really costs, which is why the Flagstaff Commercial Lease Checklist starts there.

What is a cap rate and how do I calculate it?

A cap rate is net operating income divided by the purchase price, expressed as a percentage. A property priced at $1,000,000 with $70,000 of annual net operating income trades at a 7 percent cap rate. It is the fastest way to compare income properties, and it is one of the first lines on the Commercial Investment Property Analysis Sheet.

What is a broker opinion of value (BOV)?

A broker opinion of value is a professional estimate of a property's likely market value, prepared from comparable sales, income analysis, and local market knowledge. It is faster and less formal than an appraiser's report and is commonly used to price a listing or evaluate an offer. The What Is My Commercial Property Worth? checklist covers what goes into one.

How do I use these checklists?

Each checklist is written out in full on this page and designed to be printed or saved as a PDF, then worked through in order. Bring them to tours, underwriting meetings, and closing. When a line raises a question, that is the moment to call Mike Konefal at 928-853-3810 and get the answer before you commit.

Bring the Checklist, Skip the Mistakes

Work a Checklist With Mike on Any Flagstaff Deal

Whether you are negotiating a lease, underwriting a purchase, screening land, analyzing an investment, or pricing a building you own, Mike will walk the checklist with you, answer the hard lines, and turn it into a plan. No obligation, just the numbers and the next step.

Phone 928-853-3810 Email mike@flagstaffrealestate.com
Coldwell Banker Northland Realty
123 W Birch Ste 105, Flagstaff, AZ 86001

What happens next

  • A direct conversation

    Mike replies quickly with straight answers, not scripts.

  • Real market analysis

    Comps, income analysis, cap rates, and deal structure shaped to your goals.

  • Confidential by default

    Off-market opportunities stay off-market until you say otherwise.

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