Persistence Pays Off for Commercial Lease Negotiator

Since commercial tenants usually consider their lease a valuable business asset, they also value the relationship they have with their landlord.

They fear asking for rent relief to help them through a rough spot could jeopardize that relationship.

So says veteran San Diego business attorney Bill Reedhead, who is offering to make that call as principal of Commercial Lease Advocates.

Since launching his new business in May, Reedhead says he’s closed 10 deals resulting in lease reductions.

At present he handles the client load by himself, but he has three contract attorneys currently in training.

His clients are primarily restaurateurs and small businesses occupying strip malls or neighborhood centers that have two years or less remaining on their leases.

Historically they’ve had a healthy revenue stream, so their chance of succeeding once the economy improves is good. They just need a little help to get over the hump that the recession has created.

Landlords most likely to agree to a reduction, he says, are small-scale players whose properties have a 15 percent to 20 percent vacancy rate.

“Most neighborhood centers or strip malls are owned by small investors and the one thing they fear more than anything else is that vacancies will go up,” Reedhead said. “They’re struggling with the economy in the same way tenants are and for that reason they’re generally amenable.”

According to the most recent report from the San Diego offices of Cushman