Lease Review
Our Review Process
When you lease your property, you have a contract with 1) dates and dollars, 2) rights and responsibilities, 3) roofs and HVAC units, and 4) relocation expenses. It is imperative that you analyze these annually to maximize your companies profit potential and flexibility, while protecting your downside and unanticipated out of pocket expenses. Clients have me review their leases, amendments, and addendums, annually to make sure they are positioning themselves to be in the driver’s seat.
It is imperative that you analyze these annually to maximize your company’s profit potential and flexibility, while protecting your downside and unanticipated out of pocket expenses. Clients have me review their leases, amendments, and addendums, annually to make sure they are positioning themselves to be in the driver’s seat.
The following items in every lease review are the tip of the iceberg when contemplating any lease and thinking through your next moves:
- Lease commencement and expiration dates
- Rental rate and annual increases
- Operating expenses
- Roof condition, replacement date, anticipated future replacement date, responsibilities
- HVAC condition, replacement date, anticipated future replacement date, responsibilities
- Dock equipment (if industrial) condition, replacement date, anticipated future replacement date, responsibilities
- Deferred maintenance
- Lease option language
- Fair market value assessment
- Tenant improvements need, scope, cost and timing
- Relocation expenses
- Overlapping of operations during relocation, phased move in
Tenant Representation
Our Process
Our process provides structure and accountability within the often times chaotic environment of a commercial real estate transaction. We skillfully guide you through the competitive landscape, provide detailed insight into your target landlord’s key motivations, and then position your company for success. When the process is complete, the entire team debriefs and documents the results for future reference.
We have experience representing corporations with their creative offices, R&D laboratories, manufacturing and distribution operations. We have relocated corporate headquarters, setup branch locations, handled high rise sublease dispositions and built to suit assignments across the nation. We are solution oriented always.
Our process outlined below is the platform through which we continually achieve superior results for our clients.
| 1.0 | Define Requirements |
| 1.1 | Analyze and validate requirement and programming |
| 1.2 | Ensure alignment with strategic goals |
| 1.3 | Define specialized expertise needed |
| 1.4 | Assemble team and assign responsibilities |
| 1.5 | Review existing lease |
| 1.6 | Conduct preliminary due diligence of existing landlord |
| 1.7 | Establish reporting requirements |
| 1.8 | Build Project Schedule |
| 1.9 | Create preliminary scenario assessment |
| 2.0 | Develop Analysis & Strategy |
| 2.1 | Refine understanding of spatial and financial requirements |
| 2.2 | Analyze prevailing market conditions & forecasts |
| 2.3 | Prepare preliminary budgets for all scenarios |
| 2.4 | Create baseline financial analysis |
| 2.5 | Identify alternative location scenarios |
| 2.6 | Analyze alternative transaction structures |
| 2.7 | Compile employee information and develop workforce profile |
| 2.8 | Develop hypothetical space plan |
| 2.9 | Identify ideal lease term |
| 3.0 | Survey Market |
| 3.1 | Conduct comprehensive market survey |
| 3.2 | Analyze prevailing market conditions & forecasts |
| 3.3 | Match potential facilities with requirements |
| 4.0 | Qualify & Select Alternatives |
| 4.1 | Prepare and issue RFP |
| 4.2 | Conduct physical facility assessments |
| 4.3 | Review any test fits |
| 4.4 | Perform financial analysis of each option |
| 4.5 | Review proposals against market conditions |
| 4.6 | Conduct due diligence of landlord |
| 4.7 | Establish short list |
| 4.8 | Conduct tours of the most qualified options |
| 5.0 | Finalize Negotiations |
| 5.1 | Formulate negotiation strategies |
| 5.2 | Present counter proposals |
| 5.3 | Negotiate scope of final tenant improvements |
| 5.4 | Update financial analysis |
| 5.5 | Present final documentation |
| 5.6 | Negotiate final lease agreement |
| 6.0 | Execution, Planning & Construction |
| 6.1 | Ensure lease documents are executed by all parties |
| 6.2 | Finalize design drawings |
| 6.3 | Ensure completion of all reviews and documentation |
| 6.4 | Arrange project kickoff between with landlord |
| 6.5 | Participate in project meetings |
| 6.6 | Attend final walk thru and ensure punch list is completed |
| 7.0 | Ongoing Service |
| 7.1 | Project close out including final savings overview & KPIs |
| 7.2 | Provide assistance as needed during lease term |
| 7.3 | Abstract lease |
| 7.4 | Audit annual operating expenses |
| 7.5 | Notify client of all critical dates |
| 7.6 | Strategize renewal or restructuring opportunities |
Tenant Representation
Our Corporate Solutions Platform
Imagine the total headcount within your company. There are hundreds, possibly thousands of people that work within your company that create value and revenue for you within your real estate. Now imagine each employees’ full potential being realized when placed within the right environment. What would be possible? Our Lee Corporate Solutions platform was built with the entire organization in mind. We understand the effects of M&A, talent turnover, competing interests and excel at orchestrating internal alignment.
Now imagine the financial effects of each piece of real estate within your company. When six and seven figure savings are possible with one single office or industrial leasing assignment, you can imagine the cumulative effects of 100 leasing assignments on your company’s financial statements. Our goal is to create an environment whereby real estate further adds value to the organization.
How is this possible? Read on.
First, we start with a Portfolio Management Process that provides for simplicity, clarity and consistency:
| 1.0 | Lease Abstract |
| 1.1 | Support staff in retrieval of all lease documents |
| 1.2 | Identify missing documentation |
| 1.3 | Create digital and hard copy files |
| 1.4 | Provide documentation to all internal departments |
| 1.5 | Create lease abstract standards |
| 1.6 | Abstract all leases and amendments |
| 1.7 | Verify, document and upload operating expenses |
| 2.0 | Lease Management |
| 2.1 | Review all landlord invoices |
| 2.2 | Update database with all monthly expenses |
| 2.3 | Provide monthly reports outlining all rent obligations and liabilities |
| 2.4 | Document commencement date memorandum and match to lease abstract |
| 2.5 | Monitor and reconcile tenant improvement allowances |
| 2.6 | Coordinate move out |
| 2.7 | Collect security deposits |
| 2.8 | Review and upload estoppels |
| 3.0 | Reporting |
| 3.1 | Rent obligations and liabilities |
| 3.2 | Lease expirations |
| 3.3 | Critical dates and option dates |
| 3.4 | Tenant improvement allowances |
| 3.5 | Support internal departmental and personnel needs |
| 4.0 | Audit |
| 4.1 | Review annual operating expense reimbursement invoices |
| 4.2 | Request all applicable documentation from landlords |
| 4.3 | Scrutinize reconciliation and compare with local standards |
Lease Abstract
“What gets measured, gets managed.”
– Peter Drucker
In real estate this means abstracting every single lease. Only through lease abstracting can an organization have the data needed, in a productive medium, to manage its many real estate assets.
Once all locations are identified and leases abstracted, we can go about the quantitative and qualitative process of assessing the current state of affairs and priority level of each location.
Lease Administration
Our duty to our clients is to aid the lease administration process in the most beneficial way possible. We have the staff and resources available to supplement your existing efforts, to fully outsource to our team or to help design an entire new system by bidding our services to new vendors.
The most important process within the lease administration module is to ensure that the system is consistent with the business goals and complements the current business infrastructure.
ePortfolio
ePortfolio mobile technology is an agnostic, mobile technology platform that is flexible to each project, identifies process improvement and provides customized mobile management of the transaction process, business analytics, and our clients’ real estate portfolios.
- Location Intelligence
- KPI Tracking (Business Analytics)
- Portfolio Management
- Data Layering
With ePortfolio you will be able to visually see every current location and prospective location while being able to drill down to lease files, floor plan, pictures, videos, drive times, demographics, competitor locations, stacking plans, and space plans. Do you have a need for customized reporting? No problem. We tailor each portfolio to your needs and we provide you the ability to decide each team members level of access. Preview our PDF introduction here.
Lease & Operating Expense Audit
Most tenants do not audit their leases or contest their operating expense reimbursables. It is very common that there are savings in these lease audits. The most likely saving is based on operator error in which your landlord has inadvertently passed through an expense to you without their knowledge. Alternatively, one can think of lease audits as another negotiating position. Often times able to get landlords to forgo charging a tenant operating expenses increases at the time of lease renewal. You’d be surprised at the savings that are possible.
Justin’s strengths include multi-market transactions, focused on providing best in class solutions through a systematic and controlled process. Client’s benefit from his transactional experience and sound advice.
Do you want to learn how you can improve the way you manage your portfolio? Contact us today.