BUSINESS BASICS
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more than anything else, they often serve to compensate the landlord for the real-estate
commissions he will be paying out to the agent(s). If you are negotiating a lease renewal
and your landlord is already holding a deposit of yours, negotiate to get that deposit
back. The Lease Coaches are frequently successful with negotiating to have the tenant's
deposit returned.
MEASURE YOUR SPACE. Coffee/tea shop tenants often pay for phantom space. Most of these
tenants are paying their rent per square foot, but often they are not receiving as much
space as the lease agreement says.
NEGOTIATE, NEGOTIATE. The leasing process is just that—a process, not an event. The more
time you have to put the deal together and make counter offers, the better chance you
have of getting what you really want. Too often, coffee and tea shop tenants mistakenly
try to hammer out the deal in a two- or three-hour marathon session. It's more productive
to negotiate in stages over time.
NEGOTIATING FOR FREE RENT. The most free rent we have ever negotiated for a tenant was
the first four years free on a 10-year lease. In some cases, the landlord is in such a strong
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