There are a few things you should know about when looking for spaces. (Warning: this could get a little long)

What kind of zoning fits your needs?
This can be a big one, and is going to vary a lot depending on your location and goals. If you are just getting a private space to have a few people share as a studio, lounge, hackerspace, etc. then you may well be able to get by with a residential place. This will generally keep everything cheaper, but you could run into issues with the landlords (who often frown on non-traditional use of residential space), neighbors (people coming and going at odd hours, suspicious of what you are doing, noise complaints), and government agencies (running many businesses out of a residence is illegal, gathering of people for commercial events is problematic, etc.).
A popular co-working facility I know started in a residential area, which served them well for a while. But with their growth and popularity on the rise, friction with the neighbors and landlords have forced them to look for a new space.

How much space do you really need?
Space is a paradox. It simultaneously goes further than you might expect, and is always smaller than you think. It pays to think this one out well. Get too little space, and you won’t have anything better than the corner of your bedroom where your soldering iron is threatening to send the bed up in a blaze. Get too much space and you may not be able to afford it long enough to get your community off its feet.

I highly recommend pulling out a program like Visio, Illustrator, or even just a sheet of graph paper. Mark out a reasonable space, say, 300 square feet. Now measure out some of the average pieces of furniture you would like to have – chairs, couches, desks, workbenches, server racks. Make shapes (either electronically or physically) and arrange things in the space. (Allow for things like doors, clearance for chairs, etc.) This will give you a much better idea of how much space you need and want. Scale up or down the room as needed – and keep in mind, you may not get a single, big rectangle of space, so be prepared for odd corners and niches. (Great for mini lounge areas!)

What amenities do you need?
This is where you decide if you need a bathroom (or if the one down the hall will work), a shower, utility sink, kitchen, lots of windows, no windows, 220V power, and more. There are a lot of things that fall into this list, and it’s easy to go overboard. (Of course we need a full bathroom, kitchen, back yard, porch, parking, hardwood floors, 220V, fiber internet, and a live-in housekeeper!) Prioritize things into “requirement”, “important”, and “nice-to-have” lists. No space is likely to have everything, but you can use this list to evaluate what it does have against other potential spaces. And, depending on the space, landlord, and funds, many of your amenities could be added after you move in.

Where should your space be located?
This can make or break your space. Put your hackerspace down a dirt road four miles from the nearest place to buy coffee and snacks with no parking for visitors and a scary/grimy back alleyway leading to the entrance and you’ve likely doomed yourself from the start. (There are exceptions to this, especially if you have a closed group of people who *like* grimy alleys, like to be left alone, and you aren’t looking at starting a open/public group.)If you live in a car-centric area, make sure you have parking. If you live in a transit-centric area, make sure you are convenient to the bus or subway. If most of your members live on one side of town, don’t put the space on the opposite side. The convenience of getting to/from the space is key in making sure people use it regularly.
I don’t think you can overestimate how important this is. (But it’s all a balancing act – you probably can’t get a floor in a high-rise downtown no matter how convenient it might be!)

What kind of lease are you willing to settle for?
There are a lot more to leases than just the length of the lease term. Residential leases are going to be about the same from place to place in your district, but they all need to be read carefully. (What if they don’t like what you are doing and kick you out on a technicality – are you still responsible for paying for the rest of the lease?) Commercial leases are a different ball of wax and will vary greatly from place to place and landlord to landlord. If you are going with a commercial place, you are probably going to be better off going with a space that you lease directly from a person. They are more likely to work with you to understand your needs and to give you reasonable terms on a lease. Corporate lessors are often more interested in tenants they can put into a pre-defined category (“office workers”, “restaurant” or “manufacturing”) and their leases are often much more strict owing to the army of lawyers who have made their mark on them.
One of the most important things you can understand about commercial leases is the concept of a “Gross Lease” vs “Net Lease” – and the variations between. In the residential lease world, if your stove breaks or toilet leaks, you are used to calling the landlord who (usually) comes and takes care of it. Not necessarily so in the commercial world. Residential leases are usually gross leases which means the landlord takes care of pretty much any expense that arises from the ownership of the property, including repairs and taxes. There are commercial gross leases available. On the other hand, a full net lease could leave the lessee holding the bag for all repairs (regardless of original condition of the property) and even the taxes! Often, you will find leases fall in the middle somewhere, but you should expect to take care of some of the repairs of the space that come up over time yourself – and by that, I mean you foot the bill for the plumber or electrician unless you are *well* qualified to complete such repairs.

Also, a note on pricing terms. You may see commercial spaces advertised at “$25/sf” or “$3/sf” – this usually means “per year” or “per month” depending on the going rates in your area. Once you get a feel for what space is renting for around you, you’ll know at a glance whether they are talking per year or per month rates.

Landlords and listing agents lie in online ads.
Ok, so that’s a bit harsh, but in my experience it’s true more often than not. They aren’t always big lies, but things like the convenience of the location (especially when an address is not supplied), the total square footage, the actual lease payments, and even the city in which the property is located are misrepresented more often than I ever expected. I remember calling on a series of promising properties listed on Craigslist only to find that it was the same property, listed by three different people all likely on commission. That same location varied from 250sf to 600sf and the rent fluctuated by $200 depending on who I was talking to. So, don’t dismiss ads you see, but be prepared for some part of the property to be dissapointing. (Really, this isn’t much different from apartment hunting. At lease commercial listers don’t usually use “cozy home” or “cute apartment” as euphemisms for closets.)

Branch out beyond the online ads.
If your community still has printed papers, check them. Visit real estate agents. Drive/bike/walk through the neighborhoods you are interested in. Non-tech-savvy landlords may be your best find as they may be more willing to deal with you on a person-to-person basis. (I don’t know about you, but I like to be treated like a human.) Keep in mind that going through an agent may mean paying a fee or commission, but that can be worth it if they have the perfect space for you. And these fees can be negotiable – try to get the landlord to foot the bill, split it with you, or lower the rent a bit to compensate.

Check out the property thoroughly and make sure it meets your needs.
Make sure it’s sturdy. Be sure the sinks/toilets work. Check the outlets, A/C, heat and anything else you need and may be responsible for repairing. Make sure it’s going to work for your purposes – big tools generally don’t work well in third-story walk-up wood-framed units from 1902 no matter how beautiful the crown moulding is. It’s not worth taking a space simply because it’s available and well-priced if it’s not going to work for you.

Think carefully before entering into a lease – it’s a legal contract.
Consult a lawyer if you can. Consider who will be named on the lease – a person, or do you need a partnership/LLC/etc? Think about how long you and others can commit to paying the lease – and if those commitments are feasible. What happens if half your members walk away on one day and take their rent payments with them?  Defaulting on a lease can have real and terrible repercussions – especially in our credit-score-centric society. You don’t want your experimental hackerspace to keep you from renting an apartment next time you have to move.

Whew – and that’s just what I can say about searching for a space. There will be more coming. I hope someone finds this helpful.

Naturally, one of the first topics that came up in our conversations was what kind of space we needed, where, how big, etc. It was at the beginning of these explorations that we all realized that a persistent space is not a requirement for our goals. There are a lot of positives about having a space to call “home” to such a community – not the least of which is that a space facilitates a much faster growth of that community – but we decided it was not something to wait for. Communities start whenever and wherever they are needed and the only thing that is required is a group of generally like-minded individuals with a little motivation.

Realizing this really took some of the pressure off and allowed us to focus more on what we saw this group of people to be and less on Where/When/How Much issues. The Where became Anywhere, the When became Now, and the How Much became Essentially Free. That’s when Em organized the first Open Hack at True Grounds, a coffee shop in Ball Square, Somerville. And that’s when the community started coming together.

Everyone already knew each other (and, sadly, I was out of town and unable to join), but it had the feeling of something new, something a little more focused, something a little truer. It was a group of productive, enthusiastic, creative people coming together. And we didn’t have to wait to have a space to make it happen.

Since that night, we have gone on to secure a location that can serve as home to our community, and it has certainly raised the level of what we can do with projects, events, and education, but it was not a requirement to get the ball rolling. It was optional, a very nice option, to be sure, but had we waited until we had a space to get the ball rolling, we would just be that much further up the road than we are now.

So, I guess the point of this post is to say “Get Started Now!” and don’t let things like the lack of a space or lack of funds keep you from going forward. Choose a spot (it’s nice to check with the owners if it’s a cafe, bar, etc.) invite some friends, and do some stuff. Eventually you’ll figure out how to get a space, or even if a space is right for you.

And if you are in the Boston area, and need someplace to try out your community for a night or two, contact us as DINO.