Articles Written by
Tenant Representative, Levi Smith
It's All Greek to Me
Most real property leases are written with non-legal terms that read like Greek to the non-landlord.
In fact, Microsoft Word often underlines them as
misspellings or grammatically incorrect. This article
will give you the tools to understand basic lease terms
and beat the landlord at his/her own game.
Law Office Location
Location, location, location! It applies to a law firm as much as a retail store or a restaurant
when considering where to establish a business. But what is the right location - downtown or in
the suburbs, and in which building?
Lease Clauses
In a soft real estate market, tenants should seek more than lower rent, rent abatement, limited
annual increases or increased tenant improvement allowances like voice data lines
and moving expenses. The entire landlord standard form lease is now open season for tenant-friendly
negotiations. Landlords simply cannot afford to let the tenant get away from any remotely fair deal.
It's a GREAT Time to be a Tenant!
The results are in and Metro Detroit office lease asking rates are down significantly from 5 year ago
before and after adjusting for inflation! Office vacancy rates increased from 6% to 17.2% during this
period! Simply economics 101-supply and demand have kicked in. For example, average rental asking rates
on Class A space decreased from $25.38 to $23.00* since 2000. This is calculated before inflation.
Other places Levi Smith has been Quoted
Fast deal lands Fuyao Group Glass Industries in Orion Township
Leading Chinese auto glass manufacturer
Fuyao Group Glass
Industries Co. Ltd. is locating its first Michigan
facility in Orion Township, moving into an
80,000-square-foot facility to supply a Big Three auto
manufacturer.
"We all had to get on China time, so to speak," [Levi]
Smith said. "When my client wanted to set up same-day
appointments, that's what we did, even though,
generally, I need 24 to 48 hours to contact other
brokers."
Package of incentives for GM still under negotiation
Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano announced that they had offered a renaissance zone to General Motors Corp. for the Renaissance Center in Detroit at this year's Mackinac Policy Conference.
The fight was on to keep GM's headquarters downtown, the move a counter-offer to Warren Mayor Jim Fouts' offer of a 30-year tax break should GM move its headquarters to its Tech Center there.
Small business owners finding deals in commercial leases
There's good news for small businesses, bad news for
landlords.
As the Detroit area commercial real estate market
continues to struggle, small business owners are finding
deals on up-market commercial space.
Deal of the Week: Downtown Detroit Dream
Dan Gilbert has been picking up Motor City buildings at prices that are low even by Detroit's depressed standards. The Quicken Loans founder is buying Detroit towers designed by famed architects like Albert Kahn at a square-foot price that is near a 10-year low.
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