I recently received a phone call from a man who lived on twenty-four acres of raw land in rural Michigan. He explained to me that he had leased a small portion of this property to a large national cellular carrier about a decade earlier. The cellular carrier then built a 200-foot-tall free-standing lattice tower on which it placed transmitting and receiving equipment. However, the location did not prove to be as profitable as the cellular carrier anticipated, so it abandoned the site prior to the end of the lease term. The gentleman explained that he and his wife were of… Read more

Authored by: Linda S. Koffman Fitness centers and gyms are a big business. According to Statista, there were more than 37,000 fitness centers in the U.S. in 2017. This is an increase of more than 5,500 compared to 2012.  In an era with declining activity in retail, fitness center leases provide a growing opportunity for both landlords and tenants.  After representing a number of fitness companies in their lease negotiations, I have come across some key provisions that should be discussed between the landlord and tenant at the letter of intent stage. Early agreement on these issues will lead to… Read more

Owners of commercial real estate, regardless of the property type, try to utilize every aspect of their property to maximize revenue and create additional value.  For example, many landlords often look at building rooftops and other generally “unused” areas on their property to generate additional rental income by leasing those areas to tenants with “specialized space needs.”  Any income generated from the roof or any unused portion of property is often considered by the property owner to be “found money” and the terms of those “specialized space” leases (including the rental income generated by these leases) are often not analyzed… Read more

Most commercial real estate leases are located on property encumbered by a deed of trust. The rental stream from these leases is a major factor in the lender’s valuation of the real property as its security and its underwriting of the loan. The rental stream is also the borrower’s source of funds to make its monthly loan payments to the lender.  Before making the loan, the lender will review the existing leases to determine if those leases are acceptable to it and support the loan. The lender will also decide if it wants any of the existing tenants to subordinate… Read more

Wireless communication is one of the most important and fastest growing sectors of the national economy.  Not only are many households giving up their landline telephones entirely in favor of wireless services, but businesses are also incorporating wireless services into their day to day operations (such as the use of mobile devices to scan purchases and documents and to complete sale transactions).  Companies are launching new applications on a daily basis and use by individuals of cellular networks has expanded to include access to emails, websites, music, videos, games, and other applications.  Each wireless facility can only provide service to… Read more