I may be over-selling this post a bit, but not by much. There’s no doubt for most small businesses and start-ups that the first, and perhaps only, real estate transaction the firm will enter into is a commercial lease. Whether it is for a retail store, manufacturing or studio space, or a restaurant, there are a few
Green Leasing Unveiled – Part II
In Part I of our series on the particulars of Green Leasing, we discussed Lease Term and Operating Expenses. Now we turn to a robust area for implementing sustainable processes between Landlords and Tenants:
Interior Alterations and Repairs
A typical commercial lease will have two separate sections, one on maintenance and repairs, and one on
Co-Working Office Space
As more workers and entrepreneurs are requiring space to hold meetings and appointments outside the company office, there is a growing need for locations away from homes in which to "plug in", make phone calls without the background music and noise of a Starbucks or other such cafe. The industry which addresses this need is referred
Green Leasing Unveiled – Part 1
As the movement to increase energy efficiency and create sustainable operations has swept across the real estate industry, more and more commercial tenants and property owners are expressing interest in “green leasing.”
What, exactly, is a “green lease?”
To be sure there is no form green lease; rather the term describes the evolution from a traditional, split incentive triple-net commercial lease to a lease that aligns incentives so that landlord and tenant are collectively pursuing goals of energy efficiency and sustainable practices. Typically, a green lease will include measuring criteria or rules that implement all or portions of ratings systems such as Energy Star® and the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED™ program.
This post is the first in a series examining in detail some of the changes one may see when using a green lease. Today’s topics: Lease term and operating expenses.
Is There a Walmart in Your Future ?
Walmart has opened its supercenters in many if not most urban and rural communities. Where do they go next ? With the over abundance of strip store space just about everywhere Walmart has many options. Walmart is embracing the concept of ‘in-flll" with three concept store formats with which they are experimenting:
- Walmart Express
Taking Advantage Can Be Disadvantage
A recent off hand statement by a Landlord’s attorney got me thinking. I was representing a national retailer in a lease negotiation. We got to an issue that sophisticated landlords typically ask for and most retailers typically concede. Our client, however, does not typically concede the issue. The issue has unique meaning for our client because
Are We There Yet?
The ubiquitous refrain at any gathering of commercial real estate professionals in the past 24 months can be summed up in a few short questions: Are you busy? Who is lending? No, seriously, who is lending? And — of course — when will this end?
As 2011 kicks into gear the refrain is the same but our
Another Reason To Consider a Flat Tax
Landlord’s have gone to fixed CAM to reduce administrative expenses and disputes with their tenants. The government could accomplish the same by going to a flat tax – no need for complicated tax regulations that create unintended consequences; no need for intrusive audits where the government is at odds with its constituents; in fact maybe
ELIMINATING OFF-BALANCE-SHEET ACCOUNTING OF LEASES
Remember Enron and off-balance-sheet accounting scandals? The efforts to clean up these accounting practices are still in the works and are about to hit the world of commercial real estate—arguably at the worst possible time. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) (which is endowed with the power to decide U.S. generally accepted accounting principles) and its international counterpart, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) are hoping to enact a new lease accounting standard by 2013. The Securities and Exchange Commission in a 2005 report to Congress estimated that the current lease accounting standards which went into effect in 1976 allow tenants to keep about $1.25 trillion in future liabilities off-balance-sheet.
Currently, a lease may be shown on a tenant’s balance sheet as either a capital lease which is treated on the balance sheet much like a finance transaction or as an operating lease which is mostly off-balance sheet. The FASB and IASB believe that investors are not getting a full picture of a tenant’s obligations when the lease is treated as an operating lease because the lease payments are recognized as an expense when they are incurred or paid rather than all of the rental payments for the term appearing as a liability on the balance sheet.
Continue Reading ELIMINATING OFF-BALANCE-SHEET ACCOUNTING OF LEASES
Some Good News About Empty Big Boxes
The current economic downturn and the corresponding contraction of the retail sector have resulted in a glut of vacant “big-box” retail stores in shopping centers across the country. Vacant big-box spaces pose special challenges for landlords and communities. While the number of vacant big-box spaces is daunting, there are glimmers of hope as landlords and communities have become increasingly creative in their re-adaptive uses of these dark spaces. For creative landlords who are willing to invest in redesigning and redeveloping vacant big-box spaces, big boxes can provide opportunities for both landlords and communities.
Across the U.S., vacant big-box spaces have been successfully retrofitted for use by nonretail users such as churches, schools, colleges, medical and dental facilities, libraries, office and municipal tenants, health clubs, and other tenants who require large parking areas. Because traditional retail tenants are not available to fill vacant big-box spaces, Landlords should strongly consider non-traditional tenants for re-adaptive uses of vacant big-box spaces because they fill up highly visible vacant spaces (and community eye sores); they tend to be long-term, stable, credit tenants who may invest up-front in infrastructure improvements; and they are often well received by the community because of the benefits they provide.