All contracts, until signed, are written on paper not engraved in stone.

Nothing is more dangerous than walking into a lease or purchase negotiation without the benefit of having read the contracts well in advance and having enough time to go over them with your attorney.

If you have chosen a good real estate attorney, they should be extremely familiar with all of the legal and most of the business issues concerning your intended use. Make sure to go over every aspect of the contract with them and mention any considerations or concerns of yours that you think they should be aware of (permitting time, Union Labor, competition, etc).

If it's going to take you six months to obtain the building permits from your municipality, let your lawyer know so they can address the topic of a Permitting Contingency (It's a section in a lease that identifies how much time a tenant has to obtain their permits, otherwise the deal dies or goes into effect...but speak to your lawyer about this because there could be penalties to you if the deal dies!).

The both of you should openly discuss your intended use and develop alternate strategies to every concern or issue you have in the Landlord's drafts.

Of course, you should try and focus on the business issues and let your attorney concentrate on the legal ones, that's why they're there. However, have them explain any serious problems to you, those that may be a "Deal Killer" in their opinion or what they would call a threshold, or important issue. If the deal is going to fall apart, let it do so sooner than later and spare you the possible expenses.

This is going to be the only time in which you to get to memorialize the things that will protect you and your business for the term of the lease. Seeing a competitor moving in next door a year after you open your doors and realizing that you don't have a "Restrictive Use" clause in your lease, is really going to ruin your day.

Be as prepared as possible when you meet with the landowner and his attorney. Understand that if the landlord and/or his attorney have prepared these documents and have used them for some time, then they have the “home field advantage” of sorts.

Just as a professional golf player or a professional sports team will scout out the course or field where the next game will be played, you and your attorney should review all contracts and addendums well in advance of the meeting. And be much better prepared to negotiate with the landlord or owner.

In contracts, everything is negotiable!!! But, once that baby’s signed, you are legally bound to what ever it contains.

Get what you need up front.

<<Back