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

I read an article in the Harvard Business Review this morning (http://t.co/q61tlJ07) . It talked about how most big corporations are miserable at innovating. Other than a few bright spots like the Silicon Valley, where tech is driving commercial real estate demand, it seems like many areas just don’t have an economic engine to pull them out...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