REoptimizer^® Blog

There are three things to remember CAMs -- alternatively referred to as common area maintenance or common area management charges. First, they're really a form of rent. Second, they don't only apply to common areas. Third, they can be a significant part of your total occupancy cost. Read on to learn more about the CAM, how it impacts you and how to manage it.

As with most of your business's expenses, occupancy costs usually go up over time. Lease escalations are common clauses that make your rental payments go up on an automatic basis. Since they build over time, even small changes in their terms can have significant long-term effects.

Welcome back to Part 2 of "A Tenant's Guide to Commercial Lease Clauses."  Here is Part 1 in case you missed it.

After almost a decade-long process, the Financial Accounting Standards Board is finally going to change how leases are treated on the balance sheets of American companies. Since this process has been going on for such a long time, a number of myths have sprouted up about the new lease accounting procedures coming in 2019 or 2020. Here are the five most common ones, why they're myths and what will actually end up happening:

When you find a space that suits your business needs and is working well for your team, renewing your lease is usually preferable to searching for new space. Searching for a new unit to lease and going through the moving process means time and money spent, so most businesses prefer to remain in their current locations unless their requirements have changed.

When you lease space for your business, you will sign a document that is made up of a series of rules and stipulations. The individual pieces of the document are referred to as lease clauses. For instance, most office leases in buildings with a garage, ramp or lot have a clause that defines your rights in that property's parking facility. Below is an alphabetized list of lease clauses and, while not every lease will have all of them, and some leases might have a few that aren't on the list, they will give you an understanding of what you can expect.

It's easy to spend millions of dollars on a commercial lease. Whether you're looking at a five-year commitment on a 300,000 square foot warehouse or a ten-year deal on 10,000 square feet of office space, it's easy to find yourself on the hook for millions of dollars even in lower cost markets. In major markets like New York and San Francisco, eight digit leases aren't that uncommon. With that in mind, finding at least a million dollars in savings isn't hard to do. Read on.