My good friend Gregg Pasternak tells us why we need audit rights in our leases, how they work, and how they should be structured.  I particularly like his opening line: “Operating Expense Audit Rights are Like Nuclear Weapons” You don’t want to use them, but it’s nice to know you have them, just in case.  ...Read More

It is amazing to me how many times I have represented tenants who would prefer to remain in their current location only to find that their landlord wants to “hold them hostage.”  What do I mean by this?  Well, most landlords are pretty smart and they understand how expensive it is for a tenant to...Read More

This is a good article on base year gross ups from KBA: http://ow.ly/fOGTA One of my pet peaves! You can also get my take on this subject in one of my first blogs “How Auditing Your Base Year Saves You Money” #SIOR #CRE #CoreNet #TenantRepresentationRead More

Are the anti FASB change voices loud enough for the government to hear? http://ow.ly/fOFs6 #TenantRepresentation #CoreNet #SIOR @CBRESoCalRead More

Many of our clients voice concern about waiving statutory rights in leases.  Gregg Pasternak is an attorney.  He specializes in the proper documentation of office and retail leases on behalf of our clients.  Below are his thoughts on the common waiver language in found in typical California leases: Statutory Waivers California leases typically contain language in a number of provisions...Read More

If you have been reading my blogs you know that I often offer my thoughts on the ins and outs of important lease clauses. Subleasing, Transfer and Assignment rights are typically handled in the same clause and are very important to the flexibility of any lease.  Multiple concepts are covered in the Sublease & Assignment...Read More

It seems like every real estate conference or association “state of the market” event that I attend these days has an overriding theme.  All of the money (Equity and Debt) is focused on Core Urban Environments.  I have even written about the dynamic myself in a recent blog entitled Capital and Workplace Strategies Collide.  Many...Read More

One of the most under-negotiated clauses in leases is the paragraph dealing with Use.  In general, when a landlord prepares a lease it limits the use as much as possible (i.e. “Legal Offices” or “Italian Restaurant”).  However, tenants should always try to negotiate the broadest use clause possible.  The reason for this is that business...Read More

I recently attended the NAIOP Capital Markets Review in Newport Beach California.  It was your typical Moderator / Panelist format with Mark Gibson off HFF leading the discussion among 3 large commercial property owners (Donald Akeny of Westcore Properties, Christopher Chee of The Blackstone Group, Bleeker Seaman III of Lowe Enterprises) rounded off by Allen...Read More

I get asked a lot of questions about real estate, but one question never stops coming.  It is asked by my clients, tenants I meet with, and other brokers in my office, “Should I get an allowance and build out my own space or should I just have the landlord build it?”  It is a...Read More