REoptimizer^® Blog

The US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design -- LEED -- certification is America's leading certification for green buildings. As it grows in popularity, it is also becoming a global standard. Green buildings, in general, offer significant benefits over traditional properties, but LEED certified buildings offer additional advantages.

More and more, the business papers are starting to talk about the dreaded R word. With the US economy continuing to expand and the post Great Recession expansion on track to be the longest expansionary period in recent history, it's almost to be expected that there would be an eventual slowdown. However, if you're betting that the slowdown will make it cheaper to sign a commercial lease, you might be in for a nasty surprise.

Way back when, it used to be that you had to lease office space downtown. Then, in the 1970s, companies started following their workers out to the suburbs and the large suburban campus was born. Now, the rule of thumb is supposed to be that you have to move back into the city. However, it isn't quite that simple.

Some tenants enter space negotiations by touring potential sites with their broker then sending out a request for proposals. The RFP process lets tenants collect offers from landlords without revealing a great deal. However, there might be times when you want to directly enter into a negotiation with a landlord. In those instance, you and your broker can choose to submit a letter of intent and bypass the RFP process.

photo credit: http://www.macworld.com

Getting near the end of your commercial lease agreement? If you haven't started thinking about whether to renew your lease or move into a new space, it's time to get started. After all, you'll need to time to find that perfect new space if opt to forgo renewal, and if you do choose to stay in your current location, you'll want plenty of time to negotiate a fair deal.

When you are a tenant under a commercial lease, you exist in a state of limbo. On one side, you have an interest in your space for a set period of time and, with that interest, carry a bundle of rights to that space. On the other side, it's someone else's building and, ultimately, they get to make many of the rules. One of the most important areas where your rights and the owners' rights can collide is in the area of making improvements to your space.

It almost goes without saying that as the country's recovery continues at full steam, office space in tech-heavy global gateway markets like San Francisco, Seattle, New York and Boston remains hard to find and relatively expensive. However, these markets aren't the only ones experiencing rent growth.