Part 3: When Rent Starts And The Space Is Not Ready
Part 3: When Rent Starts And The Space Is Not Ready Few disputes create more frustration in commercial leasing than fights over whether the premises are actually ready for occupancy and whether rent has commenced. The landlord believes the work is substantially complete, while the tenant walks through the space and sees unfinished work, incomplete […]
Part 2: Whose Money is the TI Allowance?
Whose Money is the TI Allowance One of the most misunderstood provisions in a commercial lease is the tenant improvement allowance. At the beginning of the negotiation, the allowance often sounds simple. The landlord agrees to contribute a certain amount toward construction of the tenant improvements, and the tenant assumes that money will be […]
Part 1:The Work Letter: The Construction Contract Hidden in the Lease
The Work Letter-The Construction Contract Hidden in the Lease Part 1: In many commercial leases, the work letter receives far less attention than the business terms of the lease itself, even though it may ultimately become the source of the largest disputes in the transaction. That is particularly surprising given that a substantial portion of the […]
The Trap That Can Kill a Business Sale: Nontransferable Lease Options
The Trap That Can Kill a Business Sale: Nontransferable Lease Options A business can lose millions of dollars in value because of a single sentence buried in its lease. That sentence determines whether the tenant’s options can be transferred to a buyer.For many commercial tenants, the lease is inseparable from the business itself. Options to […]
Podcast with Drew Sherman
What It’s Really Like to Be a Trial Lawyer (And How to Win Cases) Drew Sherman is an award-winning civil litigation attorney with Mashian Law Group in Los Angeles, known for handling complex business disputes, trials, and high-stakes cases. With over two decades of experience, he brings deep expertise in courtroom strategy, client advocacy, and […]
Option or Illusion? When Lease Extension Options Fail
SIGN UP FOR MY MONTHLY NEWSLETTER Option or Illusion? When Lease Extension Options Fail An “option” to extend the lease term may turn out not to be an option at all. One of the most common and costly drafting mistakes in commercial leases is deceptively simple. The lease grants the tenant an option to extend but […]
Who Pays the Prop 13 Spike?
SIGN UP FOR MY MONTHLY NEWSLETTER One clause in a commercial lease can quietly shift six or seven figures of value, and therefore should never be dismissed as boilerplate. The issue is who pays the increase in property taxes when a sale or other change in ownership triggers reassessment under Proposition 13. Under Proposition 13, […]
Co-Signer or Guarantor? Why a Guarantor Can Be Riskier Than a Co-Signer in a Commercial Lease
Co-Signer or Guarantor? Why a Guarantor Can Be Riskier Than a Co-Signer in a Commercial Lease When a landlord asks for “extra credit support” on a commercial lease—often because the tenant is a newer business, lightly capitalized, or doesn’t have a long operating history—people sometimes assume a co-signer and a guarantor are basically interchangeable. They’re […]
How to Save on Transfer and Property Taxes : A Strategy Worth Examining—Carefully
Reducing the Price by Amount of Commission to Save on Transfer and Property Taxes : A Strategy Worth Examining—Carefully Recent changes in California law have brought renewed attention to an issue that, until recently, was largely treated as deal mechanics rather than tax planning: who pays real estate brokerage commissions. Beginning January 1, 2025, California […]
Do Brokers (unknowingly) Practice Law Without a License?
For California real estate brokers, one of the most important—and often ambiguous —boundaries is knowing where legitimate brokerage work ends and the unauthorized practice of law begins.This issue isn’t theoretical; it arises every day when brokers help clients complete purchase agreements, leases, addenda and other forms.