THE USUAL SUSPECTS
FRIEND OR FOE?
August 15, 2024
Shane Minnis
The next time you negotiate a lease – whether you renew at your current spot, expand, or relocate elsewhere there are secrets your landlord doesn’t want you to know…
Like the parties commonly involved in lease negotiations, I refer to them as “The Usual Suspects”, and you may encounter 1, 2, 3 or all 4 of them…
They’ll interact with you in a friendly manner with a smile on their face but they’re all working together to enhance leverage for the landlord…
Did you know you were at a disadvantage before you even realized you had a real estate problem that needed to be handled? The deck was already stacked against you…
Landlords eat, sleep, breathe and earn a living through real estate – consuming all the information they can and still they continue to stack the odds in their favor by building a team of specialized professionals…
Friend or foe? Before you step in the ring to negotiate your next lease make sure you’re at least familiar with The Usual Suspects:
1) Landlord
The real estate you enjoy as a tenant is the “product” of your landlord’s business…
Their goal is to charge you the maximum amount possible via rent, fees, expenses, and any means possible.
2) Property Manager
Property managers operate as your landlord’s day-to-day intermediary to ensure you’re abiding by the terms of the lease.
They tend to be cooperative and many times friendly… but don’t let that fool you – they’re gathering insights and information to report back to your landlord.
Their goal is to make your landlord happy – to earn their management fee, expand their business through additional management assignments and earn any commissions or bonuses through negotiating leases or renewals.
3) Listing Broker
Listing brokers are your landlord’s expert negotiators – their secret weapon to maximize asset value and achieve the best possible deal on each transaction.
Listing brokers are incentivized by their commission structure – the higher the rent and longer the term, the bigger the commission…
Happy landlord = happy listing broker and more listing opportunities with your landlord.
4) Attorney
Leases are legally binding contracts… so to further tip the scale in their favor many landlords retain attorneys to help negotiate the legal points of the lease agreement. This is usually in addition to using the other parties noted above who generally assist with negotiating the business terms of the lease.
However, they don’t just retain any attorney… they engage attorneys specialized in commercial real estate leases for a competitive edge who are well versed in the ins-and-outs of the industry, leasing and lease documents.
It’s also common practice for many landlords throughout Silicon Valley to use their own custom lease templates – if you’re into sports… this is how landlords manufacture a “home field” advantage.
Notice… None of the parties above are looking out for YOUR best interest – they’re all focused on enriching the landlord… at YOUR expense. Even the playing field by having your own bulldog in the fight – a fiduciary, with a duty of utmost care, integrity, honesty and loyalty to you!
Dedicated To Helping You Get A Great Deal + Maximize ROI On Your Next Lease,
– Shane Minnis
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