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• About the Authors
• Contents at a Glance
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• About This Book
• Conventions Used in This Book
• What You’re Not to Read
• Foolish Assumptions
• How This Book Is Organized
• Icons Used in This Book
• Where to Go from Here
• Part I: Leasing 101 for Tenants
• Chapter 1: Yes, You Can Negotiate a Great Commercial Lease
• Understanding What a Profitable Lease Agreement Is
• Leasing 101 for Tenants
• Negotiating the Offer and Key Terms
• Reviewing the Formal Lease Agreement and Dealing with the Landlord
• Negotiating Your Lease Renewal
• The Part of Tens
• Chapter 2: Starting the Leasing Process
• Getting a Few Business Ducks in Order
• Preparing to Begin the Leasing Process
• Opening a New Business — But Where?
• Allowing Time for the Leasing Process
• Buying versus Leasing: Pros and Cons
• Chapter 3: Choosing the Building Type that Best Suits Your Needs
• Influences on Your Choice of Space
• Analyzing and Comparing Building Types
• Evaluating Various Building Types
• Preleasing Undeveloped Property
• Chapter 4: Selecting the Most Profitable Site for Your Business
• Figuring Out Where Your Business Will Thrive, Not Just Survive
• Distinguishing Sites That Make Sense for Your Business
• Chapter 5: Using Commercial Brokers and Real Estate Agents
• Differentiating Between the Various Types of Brokers and Agents
• Revealing the Real Estate Agent’s True Persona: Friend or Foe?
• Realizing How Commission-Splitting Can Negatively Affect the Tenant
• Looking at Real Estate Agents from Different Perspectives
• Franchising and Real Estate Agents
• Asking the Agent for Disclosure Information
• Chapter 6: Selecting the Right Professional to Help You, the Tenant
• Understanding Why You May Need Some Professional Help
• Choosing Between Professionals
• Exploring the Services a Lease Consultant Can Provide
• Using a Checklist to Make Sure the Professional You Hire Can Do the Job
• Part II: Negotiating the Offer and Key Terms
• Chapter 7: Presenting and Negotiating a Lease Proposal
• Understanding the Players and Their Roles
• Getting the Landlord to Pursue You
• Creating Competition for Your Tenancy
• Choosing the Proper Lease Agreement Format
• Presenting the Offer to Lease
• Making Counteroffers
• Avoiding Common Negotiating Errors
• Chapter 8: Negotiating the Business Terms of the Lease Deal
• Choosing Between an Offer to Lease or Letter of Intent
• Determining the Parties to the Lease Agreement
• Establishing the Location to Be Leased
• Knowing What Term or Length of Lease Is Best for Your Business
• Calculating the Base or Minimum Rent
• Stating the Operating Costs, TMI Charges, or Net Charges
• Including a Lease Renewal Option Clause
• Negotiating for Tenant Incentives and Lease Inducements
• Dealing with Renovations and Construction
• Assigning or Transferring a Lease Agreement
• Negotiating the Lease Deposit and Prepaid Rent
• Anticipating a Personal Guaranty
• Protecting Yourself with Conditions
• Getting the Miscellaneous Points in Order and on Paper
• Dating and Signing the Lease Agreement
• Chapter 9: Negotiating the Rental Rate
• Understanding the Importance of the Rent Figure
• Exploring How Landlords Set Rental Rates
• Determining What You Can Afford to Pay in Rent
• Preparing to Negotiate the Biggest Deal of Your Life
• Negotiating the Operating Costs as a Rent
• Figuring Out and Negotiating Percentage Rent
• Identifying Other Rents
• Chapter 10: Negotiating the Area (or Square Footage)
• Determining Your Space Requirements
• Getting the Space You Pay For
• Understanding Measurement Standards
• Negotiating Rights of First Refusal on More Space
• Chapter 11: Choosing your Commencement Date and Dealing with Construction
• Selecting the Best Commencement Date for Your Business
• Avoiding Problems with the Commencement Date
• Avoiding Paying Rent Before You Open
• Dealing with a Building Under Construction
• Dodging Penalties and Fines for Not Opening by the Commencement Date
• Getting Everything in Writing
• Chapter 12: Dealing with Deposits
• Defining the Security Deposit
• Negotiating the Deposit Terms
• Getting Back Your Deposit
• Part III: Reviewing the Formal Lease Agreement and Dealing with the Landlord
• Chapter 13: Understanding and Negotiating the Rest of the Lease
• Factoring in Visibility and Accessibility
• Dealing with Default Clauses
• Modifying Relocation and Termination Clauses
• Operating Costs and Additional Rent Clauses
• Troubleshooting Miscellaneous Lease Clauses
• Chapter 14: Finalizing the Formal Lease Agreement
• Getting Your First Look at the Formal Lease
• Understanding the Significance of Signing an Offer to Lease or LOI
• Reviewing the Formal Lease Agreement
• Getting a Copy of the Revised Formal Lease Agreement
• Chapter 15: Dealing with the Landlord
• Understanding Different Landlord Types
• Communicating Effectively During and After the Lease Negotiating Process
• Standing in the Landlord’s Shoes: Seeing Yourself as a Prospective Tenant
• Dealing with Big Bad Landlords
• Part IV: Negotiating Your Lease Renewal
• Chapter 16: Starting the Lease-Renewal Process
• Debunking Lease Renewal Myths
• Knowing Who to Negotiate With
• Examining Whether to Use Your Renewal-Option clause or Not
• Doing Site Selection Even if You Don’t Plan to Move
• Understanding How Far in Advance to Initiate the Renewal Process
• Reviewing the Physical Lease-Renewal Agreement
• Counteroffering the Landlord’s Lease-Renewal Proposal
• Chapter 17: Negotiating Renewal-Option Clauses and How to Best Exercise Them
• Including a Renewal-Option Clause in the Initial Offer to Lease or LOI
• Additional Points to Negotiate if You Don’t Exercise Your Renewal Option
• Deciding When Not to Exercise Your Lease Renewal-Option Clause
• Exercising the Renewal-Option Clause Properly
• Going to Arbitration with the Landlord
• Understanding Month-to-Month Renewal Terms
• Part V: The Part of Tens
• Chapter 18: Ten Leasing Tips, Tactics, and Strategies for Tenants
• Negotiate to Win
• Negotiate All Lease Terms at Once
• Don’t Telegraph Your Intentions or Give Buying Signals
• Assume Nothing and Get It in Writing
• Protect Yourself by Incorporating
• Keep Your Success Quiet
• Change the Day Your Rent Is Due
• Creatively Build on Your Relationship with the Landlord
• Ask the Property Manager or Landlord for a Favor
• Prepare for Murphy’s Law
• Get Professional Help with the Leasing Process
• Chapter 19: Ten Questions to Ask the Landlord’s Real Estate Agent
• Getting the Answers to Your Questions
• Who Really Is the Landlord?
• How Long Has the Landlord Owned the Property?
• Is There Local Property Management?
• What Is the Building’s History?
• Who’s Doing the Leasing for the Property?
• Who Were the Two Most Recent Tenants to Move In and When?
• Who Were the Last Two Tenants to Move Out?
• How Secure Are the Property’s Anchor Tenants?
• Is the Property for Sale?
• What Were the CAM Charges for Previous Years?
• Chapter 20: Ten (or So) Warnings: What No One Ever Tells Tenants
• It’s a Business, Not a Marriage
• Not All Commercial Real Estate Agents Know What They’re Doing
• Sketchy or Problematic Co-tenants
• Shabby Property Maintenance
• Absentee or Distant Landlords
• Everything’s a Battle with Them
• The Location You Like is Simply Unrealistic
• Many Landlords Don’t Like Lawyers
• You’re Making Decisions for the Wrong Reasons
• Not All Landlords Are Litigious
• It’s All Negotiable if You Know What You’re Doing
• Glossary of Commercial Real Estate Terms
• Index