What you need to know about commercial leasing You have done all the preliminaries and you are finally coming to the last stages of the commercial leasing transaction. Many times people are afraid to sign the dotted line because they are not sure they have done everything right. If you are wondering what you need to do before appending your signature, you need to know the following important things.
Read the entire thing Many commercial leasing agreements are long documents and that are not as interesting as your favorite novel. You must read all the details and check all the terms without making the assumption that everything is just right. Check details about the start and end dates, rents and escalation as well as any special terms you may have negotiated. Don’t forget to ascertain what your obligations are and those of the landlord and when or how you can terminate the lease. This is done to make sure you know what you are getting yourself into. Negotiate Your power to negotiate does not end when you receive a commercial leasing agreement. You can still negotiate many of the terms you are about to commit yourself to. You should be able to make a list of all the provisions that you thin need to be fine tuned and send them back to your landlord. Most people are surprised at how much ground landlords are always willing to cede. Check your business documents before signing Always make sure that the legal structure of your business is correct before you sign a commercial leasing agreement. You must make sure that your articles of incorporation or organization are in place. While filing these articles through the mail may be the most affordable way to accomplish it, you must also remember that the downside is it will take slightly longer, this means that you must give yourself enough time for all thee things to get accomplished. Understand leasing terminology Don’t assume any terms you don’t really understand. Ask your real estate agent to educate you on the meaning of those terminologies that may seem like every day language for everyone else.
Terms such as ‘CAM’ mean Common Area Maintenance. When you come across this term, you should get to know what percentage of CAM you are responsible for which in the ideal sense should be based on the percentage of the building you are taking up. Check if lease is assignable Check to see whether the landlord has the absolute right to end your lease if you ask for an assignment. This provision should be removed because the landlord can use it and it will kill your business.