You’ve found the perfect building, location, and interior space for your commercial business.
Now, all that’s left to do is negotiate your lease. This is often easier said than done, and if you don’t do your research and work with an attorney, you’ll likely end up getting a raw deal.
In this post, we’ll cover a few of the most important questions that your attorney should ask on your behalf during a commercial lease negotiation.
Make sure you both go over these points well before negotiation day to ensure that everything is in order and that you’re on the same page when it comes to your expectations.
1. “Which Kind of Commercial Lease Agreement Is Right for Me?”
First, you should ask your attorney which type of commercial lease they would advise you to take.
If you have a single net lease, the tenant will pay for property taxes and utilities, while the landlord handles insurance, maintenance, and repairs.
If you have a double net lease, the landlord handles maintenance and repairs, while the tenant handles property taxes, insurance premiums, and utilities.
Under a triple net lease, the landlord only past for structural repairs, while the tenant is financially responsible for everything else.
Finally, ask if they think you should go for a full-service gross lease, where the tenant and landlord split everything down the middle. (This one is the most common option if the building has several tenants.)
2. “What Is My Termination Clause?”
When you’re defining a commercial lease agreement, one of the most important things your attorney should help you define is the termination clause.
Ideally, your legal representative will help you to negotiate a clause that lets you pay just one month’s rent if you decide to terminate the lease early.
This will help you to avoid having to pay thousands of dollars every month for a space you’re not even using. This will protect you financially, especially in the event that there’s a clear issue with the building.
3. “What Is My Rent?”
When you’re renting commercial property, your lawyer should do a good amount of research on comparable rents in the area for buildings of similar size and condition.
You can present these findings in your lease negotiation, and, if there’s a major discrepancy, demand that more favorable clauses be added to your lease to make up for the high rent.
Of course, this also means that you have the possibility of negotiating a lower rent.
Visit the Weisblatt Law Firm website to learn more about what to look for in a commercial lease legal representative.
Make Sure Your Commercial Lease Attorney Works Hard for You
Whether you’re renting out a commercial property for the first time, or if you’re in the process of getting a new commercial lease, having the right representation on your side can make all the difference.
Of course, you need to do tons of research on your own before you even hire an attorney.
Check out our blog to learn more about what you should look for in a commercial lease, basic commercial property rental laws, and much more.
