A client paid a rental deposit and when the building was sold, the old landlord took the deposit. Cirrus had to negotiate to get the deposit back from the new landlord.

This all happened because of the Estoppel Certificate. This indicates what happens when/if the building is sold during a tenancy.

A pharmacist wanted to reduce his space and his rent. He thought the best thing to do would be to exercise his option to renew, so he signed it. Unfortunately what he didn’t know is that when that option is exercised, the only thing that can be renegotiated is rent. Therefore he was not able to do anything about his space.

Not realizing that there were alternative options, a successful dentist chose a real estate agent to help him in finding a new site. What the dentist didn’t know is that landlords pay these agents a commission. A higher commission may influence sites they decide to show to the client. Of course not all agents are influenced by this, but it is something to be aware of.

A thriving dentist had been having problems with his landlord for years, and even had to go to court to resolve some issues. He was in a wonderful location located in a shopping centre and was running a successful practice. He still had 4-5 years left in his lease when the shopping centre was sold to a large grocery store chain. The chain told the dentist that they were planning on redeveloping the centre and gave him 6 months notice of the lease termination.The dentist did not think this was possible, but upon further examination of his lease documents found that in the redevelopment clause it was perfectly acceptable. After panicking for a while, he decided to contact Cirrus to see if they could help his situation at all. Although there was nothing we could do about his redevelopment clause, we were able to find him a location across the street, and negotiated a payout of the existing lease of 10% of the outstanding rent.

The experience of Cirrus Tenant Lease Services and the knowledge of the unique needs of the health professional were invaluable to me.

Dr. Allan Miller — Briarcliff Manor, NY

Another successful dentist was preparing to retire after the termination of his existing lease in 5 years. He had a 90-day termination clause. The lease stated that the shopping centre could relocate the dentist, and if there was no open space for the relocation the lease would be terminated. The mall was sold and the new owner put the doctor into default because he was not open on Boxing Day like the rest of the tenants. Since he was in default, his option to renew was cancelled.

Everything was arranged with the new lease, and a Houston dentist was just waiting for the renovations to finish so she could open her new practice. One day she decided to pay a visit to the site to see how things were coming along when she had a horrible surprise. The renovations had cut the size of one of the rooms on the perimeter by 5 feet. When she phoned the landlord she was informed that the space was going to be smaller than they had agreed upon, with fewer windows. She contacted Cirrus (who was negotiating the lease) and got the original agreed upon space back. A person needs to stay on top of things until everything is complete. This just goes to show that in a lease, you have to dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s, and nothing is final until everything's final.

A potential tenant considered himself lucky to have a friend that was a real estate agent. Together they found a site that was absolutely perfect for him. The doctor confided to his friend that there was no other site he wanted, and laid out the maximum numbers that would be acceptable to him. When the landlord was beginning the negotiation process, the doctor noticed that landlord’s lowest acceptable numbers were the same as the doctor’s highest. Eventually he figured out that his ‘friend’ had been divulging all his plans to the landlord for a higher commission. Cirrus was able to negotiate better terms for the doctor, but some damage had already been done. Tenants have to be careful that they do not give out too much information on what they are willing to accept.

Common mistakes

• Not knowing what it is that you want
• Do not sign offer too early
• Do not become so focused on one site that you accept everything a landlord has to offer.
• Do not let the landlord sense your stress.

A dentist had been subleasing some space in the practice of a colleague for the past 4 ½ years, and had 6 months left on the lease. Under the agreement, the subtenant was not allowed direct contact with the landlord or they would be considered in default and given 30 days notice of the termination of the lease. During the course of the negotiations, the landlord back-charged the tenant 10 years of operating costs. For the subtenant, this amounted to roughly $75,000. Since he was unable to be a part of the negotiations, he could not protect himself against any other back-charges. Only 6 weeks left of lease, not enough time to move… Lesson – allow yourself enough time for these negotiations. Cirrus was able to negotiate with the tenant a clause that indemnified them from any future backpayments.

A dentist was opening a new practice. Although he wanted to expand in the future, he wanted to open up a small practice for the first few years to save some money. Instead of signing a lease for 3000 square feet, he signed a lease for 1800 with the intention of expanding. In the meantime, a chiropractor leased the space next door. When the business improved for the dentist, and he was ready to expand, there was no free space left to expand into. He had to wait two years until the chiropractor moved and he could expand to where he could accommodate all his new clients.

It is a good idea to use forward thinking.