Product Description

When it comes to business, there is no standard lease!

Ready to haggle for the best deal possible? Turn to Negotiate the Best Lease for Your Business -- you’ll find the information, advice and strategies you need when negotiating with an experienced landlord.

This practical handbook explains how to analyze space needs, find the ideal location and then get the best possible terms. Learn how to:

*determine the real cost of renting *keep future rent at manageable levels *get the most out of your broker and attorney *suggest alternatives to hefty security deposits *allocate responsibility and cost of fixing up your space *negotiate flexibility to expand, renew or leave early *ensure costs are shared fairly among tenants *avoid dealing with costly code compliance and clean-ups *save your lease if you can't live up to it now and then

The 2nd edition provides new strategies and advice throughout, plus new checklists that will help you at every step of your negotiation.

Comprehensive and written in plain English, Negotiate the Best Lease for Your Business is essential for entrepreneurs on the hunt for a fair and workable lease.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #86155 in Books
• Published on: 2005-07-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781413302165
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"A fine book on leasing... for the aspiring entrepreneur as well as a valuable reference book for the seasoned businessperson." -- Sacramento Business Journal

About the Author
Janet Portman, an attorney and Nolo editor, received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Stanford and a law degree from the University of Santa Clara. She is an expert on landlord-tenant law and co-author of Every Landlord's Legal Guide, Every Tenant's Legal Guide and Renters' Rights. As an attorney, she specialized in criminal defense, conducting trials and preparing and arguing appeals before the Court of Appeal and the California Supreme Court. Janet is the editor of several Nolo books, including Legal Research: How to Find and Understand the Law and How to Seal Your Juvenile and Criminal Records.

Attorney Fred S. Steingold practices law in Ann Arbor, Michigan. An expert on small business law, he represents and advises many small businesses and frequently leads seminars on how to start and run small businesses. He is the author of Legal Guide for Starting & Running a Small Business Vols. 1 & 2 and The Employer's Legal Handbook. His monthly column, The Legal Advisor, is carried by trade publications around the country.

Customer Reviews

Moneysaving Info
This book is perfect for what we needed as a first time business leasee. Knowledge is key in any negotiation allowing you to negotiate from a position of strength. This book gives you that knowledge.

The potential to save money and/or not get stuck in a long term lease on an inappropriate property makes this a must-have book. Read it before signing any lease contract.

How to avoid being a sucker
Thinking to lease space for your business? It's a buyer's market but an uphill battle! Just because landlords have so much unoccupied space doesn't mean they've accepted that the tenant will be able to modify their lease contract in a big way.

These are unique times. For once, a small business is in a position to negotiate much different lease terms. Chances are you will find yourself in a unique situation, able to almost rewrite the contract that the building's landlord has used for years. But everybody will try to rush you into signing the lease once the basic price per square foot has been agreed upon. You will need time to rewrite their standard lease. That's why I gave this review such a dramatic title. My point in the title is simply to encourage prospective tenants to make the most of this opportunity and avoid onerous terms. We don't have to be rushed into anything that we don't fully understand.

This book is written in an accessible manner and the chapters are well-organized. You can see this by clicking on "Look Inside!"

Historically, small businesses typically had to accept one-sided leases heavily favoring the landlord. The landlord was naturally in the stronger position since small businesses typically didn't have much in the way of collateral or credit. Generally small businesses are far worse off nowadays, often with no access to credit. What has changed is that so many landlords are truly edge-of-the-abyss desperate. They're losing tenants at a faster rate, and they cannot sell their buildings with the possible exception of at auction.

This is an historic opportunity to get a fair lease. But be prepared for tough negotiations and to walk away. At a minimum, this book will warn you of major tricks that you'll be up against. Use this book to do more on your own and save on legal fees, or at least to get the scoop on how to select a broker or an attorney and then how to deal with them. This book covers those points well.

In the end, nobody knows your situation better than you, and it's possible that nobody else really cares. Problems are avoided by being better informed and engaged in your negotiations. The negotiation part won't be fun, with everybody trying to rush you including your own representatives. I've been through it several times and in one instance am in the process currently. I'd like to see some reform in the industry, with a fair balance of power between landlord and tenant. Nevertheless, it is disconcerting to see the landlords in such desperate straits.

The fun part is looking at spaces and finding out how much landlords want you as a tenant, given the high vacancy rates. You shouldn't have any problem getting a one-year lease in a Class A building, if that is what you want. If you go with a broker, the authors advise you get one that has exclusively represented tenants over a long period of time. Such a broker is likely to find you many great deals, often subleases at extraordinary low prices.

Informing oneself with this NOLO book is a small sacrifice compared to enduring years of an intolerable lease when the opportunity was there to do otherwise. Good luck!

Must read book...
I just started my own business and leased space. If I had not read this book I could have been duped 100 times over. There is so much good information in this book. It covers every major area of the process. It gives many examples of points discussed. It gives tips and warnings for you to avoid getting talked into a bad lease. It covers brokers, lawyers, contracts, and more. It does not give a sample lease because it says they are all so different and amendable. Read this or risk getting stuck in a bad lease for 3-5 years and learning the hard way you could have done a lot better if you were informed.