as possible. Some landlords are willing to give a tenant a break on the rent, such as not requiring payments until three months aſt er the renter gets a certifi cate of occupancy (which usually is more daunting than it seems, Herman says). Th ey may also be willing to "ramp up" the rent payments, for example accepting 25 percent of the payment for the fi rst three months, then 50 percent for the next three, and so on up to full payments. Others may not want to completely forgo this rent, but may be willing to take ramped-up payments with the understanding that they will be made up toward the end of the lease. Th is can preserve cash at a time when relatively little will be coming in. Of course, there's no advantage to the landlord giving you
term. Th e whole point, Armstrong says, is to preserve capital. One way to save cash may be to delay rent payments as long
that refl ects an individual renter's share of various expenses like insurance, property taxes, water, power and garbage pickup, usually fi gured on a square-foot basis. A variation is Common Area Maintenance (CAM), which oſt en is imposed for things like janitorial services in the shared spaces of a mall. No matter what they're called, they simply come down to additional rent and should be considered part of any negotiation.
" Th is is simply a fee
something with one hand only to take it back with the other. Th at's why prospective renters should watch for various add- on fees that landlords routinely tack onto commercial rent. One of the most common is "triple net.
NO COMPETITION Asking for things doesn't have to be a one-way street. One
of the things that renters oſt en fail to ask for is a non-compete clause, ensuring that the landlord will not rent another space in the mall to a competing coff eehouse. Probably the best thing an inexperienced renter can do is
better off without a real-estate broker. "I would suggest to anybody who's going into a coff ee
get experts on his or her side to look at a prospective lease. According to Herman and Milletto, this includes recruiting an certifi ed commercial real-estate broker, preferably one with experience in small restaurants if not coff eehouses specifi cally. Th e broker's fee usually is paid by the landlord. Melaniphy, on the other hand, believes that fi rst-timers are
shop for the fi rst time, negotiate the location and the deal themselves, not through a real-estate broker,
used a broker or not, be sure to have an attorney with real- estate experience review the lease. Leases set the terms under which your business can operate. Shrewd negotiation can set up your eventual success. SCR
In any case, once the negotiations are over, whether you " BPA-FREE & REUSABLE
reason is, it's your money. You can usually do a heck of a lot better by simply putting your story on the table and explaining what you're going to do, why you're going to do it, and what you can aff ord to pay.
" he says. "Th e
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