Need To Lease A Commercial Space, Have Questions.

[Chase Banta]

My wife and I are interested in opening a child care center in Portland, Oregon, and I am doing preliminary research on what it will look like to enter into a commercial lease arrangement on a space that's, say, 2500 SQFT or more. So, to get myself oriented, I have a short list of questions.

What do we need to have in place/arranged before sending a broker out into the world to find us a space? I've never been on either side of the commercial rental arrangement, but if I was on the landlord's side I'd probably want to see proof of financing, and a business plan showing how the business revenues would be sufficient to cover all costs, especially rent.

With respect to proof of financing, what will the landlord want to see from us? If I was the landlord I'd want to see something like good credit, as well as some level of capital that I'd deem to be a sufficient margin of safety for someone opening a child care center. Is there anything like "X times monthly rents in savings?"

What sort of terms could we reasonably expect to have negotiated on our behalf with respect to upfront tenant improvements as well as a potential "grace-period" where we might not have to pay rent up front? If I was a landlord, this would depend entirely on the current market demand for my space, but what might be some sort of "standard" arrangement with respect to how much the landlord would pay to transition their space into one that was fit to be used as a child care center (of course, this will differ depending on whether the space is currently retail/office/etc, but just looking for some general insight), and any number of months free rent up front?

What are some general pieces of advice you'd give us as we begin this process?

Thanks in advance!