When you rent Tucson office space in a multi-tenant building or complex, you’ll have some costs and concerns that are shared by everyone. You can make sure you’re paying your fair share—and not more—while also maximizing your space use by addressing these issues in your lease agreement.
CAM Costs
Common area maintenance (CAM) keeps the building operating smoothly and makes public areas inviting. The following terms come up in lease proposals and negotiations.
You’ll want to eye these to maximize the benefits to your business.
1. Limit your portion of CAM costs to a percentage based only on the total facility’s square footage. Do not agree to offsets for anchor tenants or vacant space. That way, you pay a pro- rated amount of operating expenses.
2. Precisely define what is included in CAM charges. Poorly defined terms such as advertising or management override charges could lead to over-payments.
3. Eliminate or cap management fees. That reduces potential overcharging by the landlord.
4. Obtain the right to audit CAM charges. This allows you to look for and avoid unfair charges or overcharges that could save you money.
5. Limit yearly increases to a certain percentage per year or by negotiating a cap on increases for the length of the lease.
Other Common-area Costs
There are other provisions in leases to rent Tucson office space that don’t fall under CAM costs, but could still save you money and run your business efficiently.
1. See if it’s mandatory to join the merchant’s or tenant’s association that may exist in your building or complex. If it isn’t, save on dues by spelling out that membership is optional.
2. Some landlords may turn off utilities outside of the building’s business hours. Negotiate a guarantee that these are kept on after traditional business hours if you need them. This could save you from paying fees for the expanded use.
3. Get a guarantee that the landlord will regularly test and assure good indoor air quality. Make sure it is defined as a capital improvement and not as a tenant reimbursement.
Do Your Research
Before even deciding whether to sign a lease, you’ll need to do your homework about the property’s rules and regulations regarding the conduct of other tenants. For instance, how does the landlord respond when tenants
- take up too much of the parking
- create too much noise
- emit obnoxious fumes
- operate non-synergistic businesses?
If landlord’s rules and enforcement are not satisfactory to you, look elsewhere to rent Tucson office space.
These are just a few of the dozens of contract provisions I’ve identified that, if negotiated correctly, can give you substantial savings. Contact me for a free consultation on how I can help you evaluate and negotiate a new or existing contract to rent Tucson office space.
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