By Jeffrey Margolis 2/21/12 1:00pm

Raising the Bar

Jeffrey Margolis.

A Tenant’s List of Silent Leasing Issues

Silence is not always golden. In commercial leasing the “standard” form is anything but, and the typical verbiage we see (leaving aside issues of poor grammar and punctuation) is far from transparent. In fact, to do the right thing by our clients, savvy leasing professionals must also bring a laser-like focus on those “silent” lease issues—the ones lurking beneath the superficial form language—that are traps for the unwary and likely to have a substantial economic impact on landlord and tenant above and beyond a simple base rent calculation. Read More

By Jeffrey Margolis 11/21/11 2:09pm

Legal Matters

Legal Matters: Kronish Lieb v. Tahari and the Case of the Holdover Tenant

While I’m not looking to take business from the mouths of the real estate bar, let’s face it: if you’re serious about being a player in this real estate game, there’s a fundamental body of law you must be familiar with. And the court’s interpretation and reinterpretation of that “corpus juris” is what requires us to visit important cases from time to time.

Over the next several months, The Commercial Observer will be reviewing 10 of the most significant leasing cases in ascending order of importance. Read More

By Jeffrey Margolis 8/11/11 8:50am

legal ease

margolis foto for TCO

The Dirt Dictionary, Part I

SHOPPING CENTER: A group of retail and other commercial establishments that is planned, developed, owned and managed as a single property. On-site parking is provided. The center’s size and orientation are generally determined by the market characteristics of the trade area served by the center. The two main configurations of shopping centers are malls and open-air strip centers.” – from the I.C.S.C. website

The hallmark of the shopping center lease is the interdependence of various tenants on one another and the special relationship between landlord and tenant, with each looking to the other to promote the “product.” The shopping center lease has many unique aspects and, in fact, a different vocabulary from the office or urban retail lease. “G.L.A.,” “CAM charges,” “go dark,” “exclusives” and the like pepper the deal-making dialogue.

While the shopping-center world is sometimes thought of as indeed from another planet, the savvy broker or his counsel should have at least a passing familiarity with the nomenclature employed in this specialized area of leasing.

So, here goes. Read More

By Jeffrey Margolis 5/16/11 1:33pm

Dirt Law

Options to Renew: Watch That Calendar!

Having an option to renew is a terrific benefit to any tenant and represents a substantial landlord concession. Let me count some of the ways.

 

Tenant’s POV

Most significant-especially for tenants to whom location is very important, like retailers and medical offices-it gives continuity of service to customers. The Read More

By Jeffrey Margolis 3/03/11 2:03pm

Dirt Law

Guerilla Leasing Tactics for the Space-Challenged Tenant

I recently gave a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) lecture and called it “Guerilla Leasing Tactics for the Space Challenged Tenant.” I thought Commercial Observer readers might enjoy listening in.

 

The Program Preliminaries

[Embarrassingly over-the-top thank-yous and kudos to all concerned for putting together this momentous program of Read More