Yes! Rent is important.
Yes! The date of your lease expiry is important.
But what about some other expenses related to facilities?
- Snow removal – what does this cost your business on an annual basis?
- Insurance – any idea what your general liability payment is?
- Property taxes – the city which you reside in, just decided to reclassify your building as commercial from general employment. Your taxes are going up $0.40 PSF/annum – how is this treated in your lease? Do you think your landlord will gracefully pick up this delta?
- Your HVAC is broken. Who is paying for this? How is it amortized?
- Your asphalt is cracking and your roof is leaking? Should you be paying to repair this? Are you already paying for this through your additional rent (TMI)?
- What if, for the past five years you have been paying for these repair items – when really – the landlord should have been picking up this tab? Can you recover these payments retroactively?
If you can’t answer all of these questions off the top of your head, don’t worry. Most business executives can’t, because they only open up their lease document once every five to seven years – at the exact point when it’s time to start thinking about whether to stay or relocate.
It’s worth spending the time finding the answers though. Make sure you understand what you have, and what you are signing up for. Material terms go far beyond NET rent.
Want to learn more about negotiating your lease from a position of power? Download my eBook Should I Stay or Should I Go?
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