Many tenants receive and Estoppel Certificate at some point during their lease term.  Some tenants just take a quick glance, sign it and send it straight back to the landlord.  Don’t be that tenant!  Not every tenant knows what an Estoppel Certificate (“EC”) is, so here is a brief description: An Estoppel Certificate is a document used...Read More

“You don’t get what you want, you get what you negotiate”   We have all heard the phrase, but do we always heed its advice?  Many leasing transactions are done with the thought that the initial tenant improvements will be adequate for the lease term, and they usually are.  But what happens when your business requirements...Read More

By this is the time of year you have probably received your annual reconciliation statement of real estate tax and operating expenses from your landlord.  If your Landlord is on a fiscal year, like The Irvine Company, you may receive it at a different time.  This statement will calculate your pro rata share of actual...Read More

Has the business cycle run its course, or does it have legs for a few more years? Has the stock market peaked again? What about commercial Real Estate?  Is it different this time?  What might derail the market this time?  Is it the shift of private debt to national debt?  Will it be the raising of interest rates...Read More

Everybody wants to reduce their carbon footprint these days, and for good reason.  Companies are catering to a demographic that is continually more concerned about the environment – both for their own health and for the health of the environment.  A lot of the changes that can be made to acheive these concerns and ambitions...Read More

Many tenants are large enough in an office project to warrant asking for a building top or monument sign.  Just like retail tenants expect, this signage can drive new business or enhance the brand of the company.  In either case the negotiation of the signage rights requires a detailed examination of the situation.Read More

I met with a client today who’s business has continually expanded over the last 10 years.  They have been smart and deliberate about planning for expansion.  Each time they have leased space and/or expanded they have been able to negotiate (in order of preference) a Right of First Offer (ROFO), Right of First Refusal (ROFR)...Read More

California adopted Proposition 13 in 1978. The initiative was politically charged and was called the Peoples Initiative to Limit Property Taxes.  It limited the amount of the property tax percentage that could be assessed as well as the amount property taxes (2% per year).  It is a subject that a book could be written about as it...Read More

I can hear it already, “John, really?  Couldn’t you have picked a really tantalizing subject, instead of Operating Expenses and Tax Pass throughs for your first blog?”  I know, it seems mundane, but the fact is that reading this will SAVE you MONEY! Multiple terms are negotiated in a lease that affect cost, but rent...Read More