Happy New Year!
2012 has already started on a great note. We are setting new and bigger goals, signing up new clients, helping existing clients and working on building our business. I am glad you are a part of it! Let’s make an effort to get together or touch base in the near future.
Laine
Are You Exclusive?
Tenants entering into commercial leases for retail shopping centers often request an exclusive use clause. An exclusive use provision is intended to protect a tenant from competitors who sell the same goods (i.e., no other bakeries in the shopping center, no other sandwich stores, no other drug stores). On the other hand, the exclusive use provision will restrict the landlord’s freedom to rent out space to other tenants who desire to be in the shopping center. While the tenant may want the clause, the landlord usually does not want their hands tied by an exclusive.
Real estate attorneys who represent retail tenants in lease negotiations should always consider whether an exclusive use provision is appropriate. A tenant may not consider the idea of an exclusive on their own, but when a competing business opens up next door, they will call their attorney asking whether the lease allows the landlord to do such a thing. Larger national credit tenants may have more leverage in lease negotiations to request such a clause but exclusives are used even in small neighborhood strip centers. The tenant’s real estate broker should address whether the landlord is willing to enter into an exclusive during the letter of intent stage of negotiations.
What We Are Working On…
– We are helping a client and his S Corporation negotiate a business separation from his business partner (and the business partner’s S Corporation).
– Our real estate investor client used us in purchasing a triple net investment in a building housing a national autoparts store.
– Specific performance is necessary to help our industrial warehouse purchaser client complete its purchase of a downtown Los Angeles building after the Seller was unable to close but blamed it on our client.
– We negotiated a settlement for our national retail store client in a lease dispute with a large mall owner.
– We were brought in to review insurance counsel’s work on a neighbor on neighbor quiet title action over one neighbor’s use of the other neighbor’s exclusive property in a condominium development.
– We are handling another family partition and partnership dissolution case relating to the co-ownership of land and related business partnership.
– We are filing another quiet title action on behalf of a neighbor who is in a fight over where the true boundary is between two residential properties.
How Can We Help You?
We always look to help our friends and clients with their real estate needs. Our business is built on referrals and we are thankful for everyone who refers their clients, family and friends to us to review a lease, handle a lawsuit or negotiate a settlement. We understand that this is the backbone of our practice and the key to our success over the years.
Likewise, we understand that our friends also rely on referrals. Because we deal with property owners, real estate investors and business owners everyday, there are often other needs that our clients ask us about. We want to refer them to our circle of friends where we can rest assured they will be treated well.
Email me with a description of your business and your ideal referrals so that I have your information in my database. Let’s build our businesses together.
Laine Wagenseller
ltw@wagensellerlaw.com