Most commercial tenants assume that as long as they pay rent, they can run their business however they like. In retail leases, that assumption is often wrong. Many shopping center leases include a continuous operation clause that requires you to keep your store open during specified hours, and closing your doors can trigger serious penalties. … Read more

If you operate a retail store in a shopping center, your lease may contain a restriction you have never heard of: a radius clause. This provision limits your ability to open another location within a certain distance of your current store, and violating it can cost you a significant amount of money. Radius clauses are … Read more

When you sign a commercial lease, your landlord’s mortgage lender may ask you to sign a separate document called an SNDA. It often arrives with little explanation, buried in loan paperwork, and many tenants sign without understanding what it does. An SNDA stands for Subordination, Non-Disturbance, and Attornment agreement. It governs the relationship between you, … Read more

Signing a commercial lease in New York City almost always involves some form of personal guarantee. Landlords want a person, not just a company, standing behind the rent obligation. For tenants, that demand can feel like a deal breaker, since a full personal guarantee puts personal savings and investments on the line for the entire … Read more

When you sign a car lease, you agree to return the vehicle after a set number of miles. Most leases allow 10,000 to 15,000 miles per year. If you go over that limit, the leasing company charges you for every extra mile. This is called lease mileage overage, and it can add up to hundreds … Read more

Opening a retail store in a shopping center is a major commitment. You sign a long-term lease, invest in build-outs and inventory, and build your customer base around the foot traffic that the center promises. But what happens when the anchor store closes, neighboring storefronts sit empty, or the center loses the mix of retailers … Read more

If you are signing a commercial lease, the rent figure on the first page is only part of the story. Many office and retail leases use a base year lease structure, which means your rent can rise each year as the building’s operating expenses grow. Understanding how the base year works helps you predict your … Read more

When you tour office space, the broker tells you a suite is 1,000 square feet, but the rent quote is based on 1,150 square feet. That gap is not a mistake. It comes from two different ways of measuring commercial space, and understanding rentable vs usable square feet is one of the most practical skills … Read more

Commercial tenants usually face a choice between two extremes. A gross lease bundles nearly every property expense into one rent payment, while a net lease piles taxes, insurance, and maintenance on top of the base rent. Many businesses find neither option comfortable. The modified gross lease offers a middle path, splitting expenses between landlord and … Read more

If you are signing a commercial lease for office space, retail space, or an industrial unit, you will run into the phrase CAM charges early in the process. Many tenants learn what are CAM charges only after the first bill arrives, which is the wrong time to figure it out. Common Area Maintenance charges are … Read more