Online Alerts

Set Conditions for Financing Tenant Improvements

October 7, 2019    

Offering tenant improvement allowances (TIAs) is a great way to attract and retain small and new businesses that can’t afford the renovations they need to open shop. But it can also backfire if the tenant defaults before moving in or generating the revenues necessary to pay you back. TIAs...

Get Control Over Tenant's Right to Amenities

October 7, 2019    

Q: Most tenants at my property require certain amenities and they won’t sign leases for space there if they don’t get them. But I’ve heard of circumstances under which office building and retail property owners have had to...

Can You Use 'Escalation' Clause to Make Tenant Pay Property Tax Increase?

September 11, 2019    

Standard commercial net leases require tenants to pay not just rent but a proportionate share of the owner’s property taxes. Of course, property taxes are apt to fluctuate over time. Accordingly, owners typically include an “escalation” or “adjustment” clause in the...

Get Reimbursed for Improvements, Commissions When Tenants Terminate Early

September 10, 2019    

If you give tenants an early termination option, make sure it gives you the right to charge prorated amounts for brokerage commissions and improvement allowances when the tenant exercises an early termination option. In this video excerpted from their recent live presentation, What Could...

Don't Rely on Boilerplate 'Force Majeure' Clause

September 9, 2019    

It’s among the least appreciated parts of the lease. But while rent, renewal, and other business terms command most of the attention, the so-called force majeure clause takes center stage when disasters occur. It’s at that point that both landlords and tenants recognize the...

Landlords Hunger for Food Hall Leases

August 15, 2019    

Unlike mall food courts, food halls don’t just accommodate traffic; they drive it—and not just in malls but also at mixed-use, office, multifamily, and other non-retail properties. Like the mall food court, the food hall is a mix of retail eateries sharing space within a larger...

Can You Include the Rental Value of Amenity Space in CAM?

August 15, 2019    

You can try, but savvy tenants are demanding that the rental value of an amenity space be excluded from CAM or operating expenses. In this video, excerpted from their live presentation on June 13, 2019, "What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Key Issues to Resolve BEFORE an Office Lease Is...

Spell Out Renewal Rent — Don't Rely on Boilerplate Language

August 15, 2019    

Boilerplate renewal and amendment agreements typically contain language indicating that the tenant’s obligations under the original lease survive and become obligations under the new arrangement. But they may also include contradictory language saying that the new lease “supersedes...

Negotiating 101: Know Your Amortized Capital Investment

July 9, 2019    

Before you go into negotiations with a prospective tenant, make sure you have a financial analysis of the proposed lease, so you can tie every added dollar of capital investment per square foot to an amortized x dollars at a certain interest rate over the lease term.

Get U.S. Guarantor When Leasing to Foreign Tenant

July 8, 2019    

If a prospective tenant isn’t a U.S. business or individual, it may not have sufficient assets within the U.S. to protect you if it eventually defaults. Preferably, the tenant can provide a U.S. guarantor. But...

Who's Responsible for Making a Tenant's Space ADA-Accessible?

July 8, 2019    

SITUATION

An electronics store leases 3,000 square feet of shopping center space. But the city won’t let the store operate until wheelchair ramps are installed and the parking lot is re-striped to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The owner...

Protect Yourself When Tenants Use Letters of Credit

June 10, 2019    

A letter of credit (LC) offers distinct advantages over a cash security deposit. If the tenant defaults, drawing on the LC should be as easy and automatic as making a withdrawal from the tenant’s security deposit account. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out that way. The key is...