I would have to guess that we may have annoyed a client this week because we would not drop an issue. Their leases required the inclusion of licensee square footage in Gross Leasable Area (GLA). Generally, most standard leases today define licensees as exclusions when calculating prorata shares. (Licensees themselves are typically defined as short… Continue reading Phantom Square Footage
I have mentioned in prior blogs that one of the things I love about lease administration is that everything you need to know about the lease is right there in 40-50 pages of the lease (sometimes as few as 2-3 pages, but sometimes as many as 500+). But, unless there are outside rules specifically addressed… Continue reading Intelligent people will argue
In prior posts, we have addressed why there are excluded areas defined for purposes of calculating prorata shares of taxes or CAM. In a nutshell, if a part of a property is not paying a full prorata share of expenses, any shortfall has to be absorbed by the landlord. For example, we have a fully… Continue reading Poof! A $40m value swing because of lease language.
There is a subtle difference in prorate share definitions that you might miss if you are not looking for it. But, believe me, sophisticated national and regional tenants are looking for it. In defining excluded areas, a lease will often read: “the tenant will pays its prorate share of the charges based upon the gross… Continue reading Excluded Areas – Premises vs. Occupants
A friend emailed me a suggested topic for this coming Sunday’s blog post. “So with the events in Houston, is it time for a blog on Rent Abatements in Damage and Destruction clauses?” Clearly, it is. And, as landlords and tenants are not going to wait to start paperwork for claims until Sunday, it is… Continue reading Hurricane Harvey, flooding and your lease obligations
It is not uncommon for a municipality to work with a property owner to them achieve some mutually beneficial goal – usually because the project might not otherwise be feasible without some sort of public assistance. Among the reasons a municipality may be considering the inventive,, they may be doing it to bring new jobs,… Continue reading Realizing the intended benefit of a tax abatement
Every few weeks, someone in the office will let out a scream of frustration. The frustration comes from reading lease language that is so involved, but could have been accomplished with incredibly simple lease language. For example, it is fairly common to see Consumer Price Index (CPI) increases applied to rents, or used as caps… Continue reading Don’t overcomplicate the lease language
In any given year, we (my company, Meridian Realty Consultants) will read and abstract 8-10,000 leases. We get to see what landlords and tenants spend their time negotiating. It is not uncommon for someone in the office to say, “Can you believe someone took the time to negotiate this?” It might be something as simple… Continue reading Negotiate your leases wisely!
“… the breakpoint shall likewise be abated…” This clause is almost a throwaway clause – one landlords and tenants give much consideration to – and it is the majority of retail leases. So, what does it mean? If the tenant is struggling, and the landlord agrees to reduce minimum rent by 50%, then the “breakpoint… Continue reading “… the breakpoint shall likewise be abated…”
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