commercial real estate · Malls · Office Properties · Retail leases · Shopping Center · Uncategorized

Real estate tax timing in a purchase

A little more than a year ago, we addressed the timing/matching of real estate periods. Perhaps it was taxes reconciled for a calendar year, but taxes were paid on a fiscal year. Some landlord would take six months of one fiscal period and six months of another to match those fiscal periods to the calendar… Continue reading Real estate tax timing in a purchase

commercial real estate · Malls · Office Properties · Retail leases · Shopping Center · Uncategorized

Applying the K.I.S.S. method in leases

“Keep it simple, stupid!” That hits home so often as I am reading leases. I have taught classes for ICSC for nearly 25 years. One of my favorite example has been base rents or fixed CAM charges increased by the CPI. That in and of itself is pretty simple. But, you often see caps on… Continue reading Applying the K.I.S.S. method in leases

commercial real estate · Malls · Office Properties · Retail leases · Shopping Center · Uncategorized

Could this be worse than a Most Favored Nations clause?

We have addressed the Most Dreaded Lease Clause a few times over the past couple of years. We have also addressed another lease language concept – co-participation. But what happens when you combines the concepts? That combination was evident in an acquisition we were working on this week. If you have time, take a minute… Continue reading Could this be worse than a Most Favored Nations clause?

commercial real estate · Malls · Retail leases · Shopping Center · Uncategorized

Taxes and insurance addressed in CAM – and then again, separately

It’s not unusual to see terms referenced several times throughout a lease. Often, it will be a definition of a concept in one clause and the use of that defined term in another. But, sometimes, it can be confusing as to why a term is mentioned multiple times. Case in point is when insurance or… Continue reading Taxes and insurance addressed in CAM – and then again, separately

Malls · Office Properties · Retail leases · Shopping Center · Uncategorized

An approach to lease administration and due diligence

When we are verifying rents at a property, we do all of our calculations – prorata shares, caps, breakpoints, CPI calculations, lease year language applications and so on – prior to looking at what the current landlord has done. I don’t know about you, but I can be fairly easily led by what someone else… Continue reading An approach to lease administration and due diligence

commercial real estate · Retail leases · Uncategorized

The first issue to review when starting due diligence on an acquisition

In the 30+ years that we have been doing abstracts and cash flow analysis as part of property and portfolio acquisitions, there is one issue that we do a quick check for before we start the acquisition process in full force: Rights of first refusal to purchase a property Why that issue? A right of… Continue reading The first issue to review when starting due diligence on an acquisition

commercial real estate · Malls · Office Properties · Retail leases · Shopping Center · Uncategorized

Prior defaults

This past week, we worked on a 40 tenant open air center acquisition. Often times, a seller severely restricts the information provided to our clients, the buyers. Fortunately, this time, we had almost free access to the seller’s files. Many of the leases were leases that had been amended and extended 3,4,5 times since their… Continue reading Prior defaults

commercial real estate · Malls · Office Properties · Retail leases · Shopping Center · Uncategorized

CAM, tax and insurance reconciliations during due diligence

More often than not, when acquiring a property or portfolio, prospective purchasers are focused on future cash flows. When it comes to CAM, taxes and insurance, it is future reconciliations that will have the most impact on the buyer’s cash flow. However, when acquiring a property, it is critical to get as many years of… Continue reading CAM, tax and insurance reconciliations during due diligence

Malls · Office Properties · Retail leases · Shopping Center · Uncategorized

“That’s standard” is not a good enough answer.

Two or three weeks ago, we were working on a portfolio acquisition. There was an outparcel ground lease tenant that had the right to purchase its premises if the landlord ever sold the property. Our client asked the seller for the tenant’s release from its option to purchase the parcel. The seller replied that it… Continue reading “That’s standard” is not a good enough answer.