Janet Portman & Fred S. Steingold 
Negotiate the Best Lease for Your Business 

When it comes to business, there is no standard lease!



Ready to haggle for the best deal possible? Turn to Negotiate the Best Lease for Your Business — you’ll find the information, advice and strategies you need when negotiating with an experienced landlord.



This practical handbook explains how to analyze space needs, find the ideal location and then get the best possible terms. Learn how to:



determine the real cost of renting

keep future rent at manageable levels

get the most out of your broker and attorney

suggest alternatives to hefty security deposits

allocate responsibility and cost of fixing up your space

negotiate flexibility to expand, renew or leave early

ensure costs are shared fairly among tenants

avoid dealing with costly code compliance and clean-ups

save your lease if you can’t live up to it now and then



This edition provides new strategies and advice throughout, plus new checklists that will help you at every step of your negotiation.



Comprehensive and written in plain English, Negotiate the Best Lease for Your Business is essential for entrepreneurs on the hunt for a fair and workable lease.

Table of Content

Introduction

Part I: Finding and Evaluating Space and Developing a Negotiation Strategy

1. What Kind of Space Do You Need?

2. Looking for Space and Using Brokers

3. Evaluating the Space and the Landlord

4. Understanding the True Size and Cost of the Rental

5. Setting the Stage to Negotiate

6. Your Negotiation Strategy

Part II: Common Lease Terms

7. Lease Basics

8. The Length of Your Lease

9. Rent

10. Security Deposits

11. Improvements and Alterations

12. Maintenance, Utilities, and Code Compliance

13. Parking, Signs, Landlord’s Entry, and Security

14. Option to Renew or Sublet and Other Flexibility Clause

15. Insurance Clauses

16. Breaking the Lease, Disputes, and Attorney Fees

17. Foreclosures, Condemnations, Guarantors, and Other Clauses

Index

About the author

Attorney Fred S. Steingold practices law in Ann Arbor, Michigan. HIs main practice areas are real estate law and business law. He is the author of several Nolo books, including Legal Guide for Starting & Running a Small Business and The Employer’s Legal Handbook, and serves on the advisory panel for Nolo’s Essential Guide for Buying Your First Home.