Negotiating Commercial Leases & Renewals FOR DUMMIES
For many healthcare tenants, negotiating a good lease or lease renewal against an experienced agent or landlord can be a challenge. While a doctor focuses on proper patient care, savvy real estate agents and brokers are specialized sales people. Their job is to sell tenants on leasing their location at the highest possible rental rate.
As explained in our new book, Negotiating Commercial Leases & Renewals FOR DUMMIES, tenants may go through the leasing process only two or three times in their entire lifetime – yet they have to negotiate against seasoned professionals who negotiate leases every day for a living. Negotiating appropriate leasing terms is vital for a doctor as the amount of rent he pays will directly affect the practice’s financial bottom line.
Whether you are leasing a new location for the first time or negotiating a lease renewal for your practice, these are some money-saving tips for healthcare tenants:
Location, location, location: For most general practice doctors, selecting the right property is critical enough, but leasing the right location within that building can be even more important to your success (you will need to be visible and accessible to your patients). Specialists, on the other hand, do not rely on a conspicuous location as much to produce business (they can lease office space where referred patients can come). Proper site selection takes time and objective consideration. Remember, your physical location that you choose to lease is the most difficult part of any lease agreement to change after opening.
Negotiate for Early Occupancy: If your commencement date is June 01st but you are ready to open your new practice on May 19th, the landlord usually doesn’t mind. However, the landlord may expect to get paid rent for the early occupancy period. By negotiating for rent free early occupancy, you can save or make money – depending on how you look at it. Whether it’s just a few days or a few weeks, you win!
For a copy of our free CD, Leasing Do’s & Don’ts for Commercial Tenants, please e-mail request to [email protected].
Jeff Grandfield and Dale Willerton – The Lease Coach are Commercial Lease Consultants who work exclusively for tenants. Jeff and Dale are professional speakers and co-authors of Negotiating Commercial Leases & Renewals FOR DUMMIES (Wiley, 2013). Got a leasing question? Need help with your new lease or renewal? Call 1-800-738-9202, e-mail [email protected] or [email protected] or visit www.TheLeaseCoach.com.
The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.
