Now the fun begins. I passed the lease on to my lawyer and spent the evening reviewing it myself to be familiar with what’s being said. In general most seemed okay however I pushed back on the requirement to provide financial details of my business every year.
I got the updated lease back from my lawyer. He said the phrasing was a bit outdated and several bits needed clarification. I was able to update the definitions for Lease Commencement and Rent Commencement. Here are the pieces my lawyer either excluded or recommended review.
- There was a statement about future assigned parking spaces, making sure I had at least 2.
- For the pylon sign (next to the street that has several retail space signs), they had a one time $500 charge. I’d asked if they were creating a sign for that fee since maintenance was included in the triple net fee (external maintenance fee; calculate the costs over the past year, divide by 12, and again by the space I occupy).
- Some assignment questions (that’s when you sell your business to someone else for example). They wanted me to continue to be liable and to pay them 50% of what I would receive if I sold the business. Both statements were removed.
- Then if I overstay the term of my lease, a 150% monthly rent which my lawyer wanted reduced to 120% if possible.
- Then that I was not getting interest on the security deposit. My lawyer said it’s somewhat common but we can ask.
One of the problems right now is the current tenant is waiting on his space to be cleared of kitchen gear so he can move in. Since I’m supposed to take possession Oct 1st, and the current tenant hasn’t moved a thing yet, this weekend should prove interesting. The lease does have a statement that due to unforeseen circumstances, possession might be delayed. I’d sent an email over to ask if there’s a timeline as I need to schedule several work crews to get the space ready.