One thing very few people remember to take into account when they make the decision to move into a new office space is their phone number and internet service. For instance, my lease expires this year and as of now, I’m unsure as to whether we’ll move or renew. If ... Read More
25
Mar2013
What I’m about to share with you might come as a surprise. Are you aware that the large insurance companies got together a few years ago and decided as a group not to offer notice of cancellation policies to landlords? Well, that’s not 100% true – you can get it, ... Read More
March 25, 2013Lynn Drake
27
Feb2013
Does the song sound familiar? Well, it’s a tune every tenant should be singing – twice a year. That’s right. Every tenant should check their lease expiration date twice, and make sure to start their search at least a year in advance. Wondering why? Doesn’t a year sound a bit ... Read More
February 27, 2013Lynn Drake
19
Feb2013
This past year, it seemed we ran into more landlords who worked against our clients than we did landlords who worked with them. In Virginia, every time we found a subtenant for a sublease, the landlord in question would lure them over to another listing in the building. Meanwhile, in ... Read More
February 19, 2013Lynn Drake
05
Feb2013
As we enter the New Year, it’s exciting to look back on my first blog post of 2013 and see that we exceeded our fiscal goals for the year. 2012 was for us, as I’m sure it was for many, a year of many changes for our organization. Someone recently ... Read More
February 5, 2013Lynn Drake
11
Oct2012
As a tenant representative this is my advice for landlords and agents representing them:If you don’t treat your tenant’s right I’m not going to warn my tenants about you before showing them your buildings. As a tenant representative I hear from your tenants why they don’t like the building. If ... Read More
October 11, 2012Lynn Drake
27
Sep2012
Most of my career the vacancy rate in the City of Detroit has been extremely high. Yet as 2011 turns into 2012 we see the City of Detroit making real progress with occupancy. According to Co-Star which measures all of the statistics Detroit is seeing improvement quarter over quarter. The ... Read More
September 27, 2012Lynn Drake
13
Sep2012
As a tenant representative this is my advice for landlords and agents representing them:Don’t over promise improvements when showing the space. My clients will remember what you told us and think the landlord doesn’t want them when you can’t deliver. Under sell and over deliver is always better.
It does matter ... Read More
September 13, 2012Lynn Drake
26
Jul2012
While sitting at Boston Market in Troy enjoying a chicken pot pie and a newspaper I had this uncomfortable feeling I was one of the only people in the place. How could this be? The food is good and healthy. The service is better than most family diners. Yet crowds ... Read More
July 26, 2012Lynn Drake
12
Jul2012
Over the next few weeks, let’s exchange some lease clauses that drive us crazy. During my 25 years in corporate real estate I had to live with some mighty repugnant clauses, prohibiting such things as sub-leasing a portion of space, occupying the building on weekends or hiring a satisfactory janitorial ... Read More
July 12, 2012Lynn Drake