This is no joke. There is no catch. One of the bigger benefits of subleasing is avoiding the upfront costs of office furniture.
How much does furniture cost you ask?
It could be as little as $15 per square foot or could be as much as $40-$50 per square foot depending on how you furnish your space. If we split the chickens and say $25 per SF on a 7,000 square foot space that’s $175,000. That’s real money!!!
Sublease your next space
When you sublease you get to use all of the furniture that is in the space. In fact, if you negotiate well you could even get the sublessor to remove the furniture you don’t want.
Not only do you get to use that furniture for the time that you are in the space but you get the opportunity to own it for $1. As is often the case, it is negotiated that at the end of your sublease you get to buy all the furniture for a nominal fee, one dollar.
Why would the sublessor agree to this?
It serves them well because it removes their obligation to take all the furniture out at the end of the lease, as almost every lease states returning the space to the landlord in broom clean condition.
But it’s a bonus for you because if there’s a chance you stay in the space after the sublease ends and you agree to a direct lease with the landlord you literally don’t have to do a thing at that point. If you didn’t want any of it, it would only cost a few thousand dollars to have it removed, a tiny price to pay for free furniture. And if you were moving to new offices you could furnish it with everything from your sublease. Another bonus!
You should at least consider subleasing for your next space.