Business owners who are searching for office space for rent have quite a few options available to them. Long-term leases, annual leases and month-to-month options are the most common types of leases. With that said, most leases are longer-term in the 3-7 year range, and they reflect the market conditions that were in effect at the start of the lease term. So, what happens when a company's need for office space changes midway into its lease term? or what happens when market conditions change dramatically, but the company still has considerable time left in its lease term? Is he stuck? The short answer is: not necessarily. A relatively new type of lease has emerged which business owners have found to be advantageous to their leasing situation, and that is the blend and extend lease. These leases relate to tenants and landlords who are in a current lease relationship, and want to extend the lease for an additional term while in the midst of their current lease. When a blend and extend lease is initiated, the parties also get to alter the terms of the lease which is an additional benefit to such a lease. The following will highlight more information regarding the blend and extend office lease and cite the various pros and cons of such an office space rental agreement.
The first thing which commercial property owners and renters need to know about is that there must currently be a lease in place between the landlord and business owner tenant. As the purpose of a blend and extend lease is to get an early renewal with lease term changes it goes without saying that there must be an active lease agreement at the time in which a blend and extend lease is discussed. You should also be aware of why a blend and extend commercial property lease is desirable. Commercial office leases are often lengthy in duration and this makes altering terms more difficult as when compared to an annual lease. With that said, landlords do not like to take chances of having their office space be empty once their current tenant's lease expires. With a blend and extend lease, tenants benefit by negotiating for a more favorable monthly rent and lease terms and landlords benefit by ensuring that their current tenant remains in the premises for years to come.
Venture leasing is also very flexible. By structuring a fair market value purchase or renewal option at the end of the lease, the start-up can slash monthly payments. Lower payments result in higher earnings and cash flow. Since a fair market value option is not an obligation, the lessee has a high degree of flexibility and control. The resulting reduction in payments and shift of lease expense beyond the expiry of the transaction can deliver a higher enterprise value to the savvy entrepreneur during the initial term of the lease. The higher enterprise value results from the start-up's ability to achieve higher earnings, upon which most valuations are based. Customers benefit more from venture leasing as compared to traditional bank financing in two ways. First, venture leases are usually only secured by the underlying equipment. Additionally, there are usually no restrictive financial covenants. Most banks, if they lend to early stage companies, require blanket liens on all of the companies' assets. In some cases, they also require guarantees of the start-ups' principals. More and more, sophisticated entrepreneurs recognize the stifling effects of these limitations and their impact on growth. When start-ups need additional financing and a sole lender has encumbered all company assets or required guarantees, these young companies become less attractive to other financing sources. Correcting this situation can sap the entrepreneurs' time and energy.
Generally, a major round of equity capital raised from credible investors or venture capitalists makes venture leasing viable for the early stage company. Lessors structure most transactions as master lease lines, permitting the lessee to draw down on the lines as needed throughout the year. Lease lines usually range in size from as little as $ 200,000 to well over $ 5,000,000, depending on the lessee's need and credit strength. Terms are typically between twenty four to forty eight months, payable monthly in advance. The lessee's credit strength, the quality and useful life of the underlying equipment, and the lessor's anticipated ability to re-market the equipment during the lease often dictate the initial lease term. Although no lessor enters a leasing arrangement expecting to re-market the equipment prior to lease expiry, should the lessee's business fail, the lessor must pursue this avenue of recovery to salvage the transaction. Most venture leases give lessees flexible end-of-lease options. These options generally include the ability to buy the equipment, to renew the lease at fair market value or to return the equipment to the lessor. Many lessors limit the fair market value, which also benefits the lessee. Most leases require the lessee to shoulder the important equipment obligations such as maintenance, insurance and paying required equipment taxes. Venture lessors target lessee prospects that have good promise and that are likely to fulfill their leases. Since most start-ups rely on future equity rounds to execute their business plans, lessors devote significant attention to credit review and due diligence - evaluating the caliber of the investor group, the efficacy of the business plan and management's background. A superior management team has usually demonstrated prior successes in the field in which the new venture is active. Additionally, management's expertise in the key business functions -- sales, marketing, R&D, production, engineering, finance --- is essential. Although there are many professional venture capitalists financing new ventures, there can be a significant difference in their abilities, staying power and resources. The better venture capitalists achieve excellent results and have direct experience with the type of companies being financed. The best VCs have developed industry specialization and many have in-house specialists with direct operating experience within the industries covered. Also important to the venture lessor are the amount of capital VCs provide the start-up and the amount allocated to future funding rounds.
As with any negotiations, there may be some less than favorable aspects of a blend and extend lease. With regard to the landlord, although the blend and extend lease provides the landlord with a longer lease term in which the tenant is required to stay in the building, the landlord may have to accept a lower monthly rent payment as well as agree to office improvements and other concessions. As for the tenant, it may receive a more favorable monthly rent under the blend and extend lease, but it will be locked in to the office space for a longer period of time and not be able to move from the office should it desire to do so a few years down the road.
To keep your company from getting snared in the lease renewal trap, set a calendar reminder in several support staff's computers to remind you to send the lease expiration notice on time (usually 90 to 120 days in advance of lease expiration-check your lease for specifics). This should prevent staff turnover from erasing memory of that necessary step. Another option is to set up "delayed send" e-mail messages from several computers to be sent to several staff members reminding them to send the lease expiration. There are also free external calendars that you can set up to send an e-mail reminder to several people in case your organization deletes all information from previous users of a computer. Applications like calendar.yahoo.com and Google calendar can be set up to provide e-mail reminders to multiple people to assure you cover your turnover and promotion events. This way you can notify the leasing company in a timely manner. As you execute a new equipment lease, make a 30-day renewal mandatory before you approve it. If you do miss the notification deadline your lease only renews for 30 days. Remember you do have to provide the written intent to return equipment to prevent or end the renewal cycle.
The first thing which commercial property owners and renters need to know about is that there must currently be a lease in place between the landlord and business owner tenant. As the purpose of a blend and extend lease is to get an early renewal with lease term changes it goes without saying that there must be an active lease agreement at the time in which a blend and extend lease is discussed. You should also be aware of why a blend and extend commercial property lease is desirable. Commercial office leases are often lengthy in duration and this makes altering terms more difficult as when compared to an annual lease. With that said, landlords do not like to take chances of having their office space be empty once their current tenant's lease expires. With a blend and extend lease, tenants benefit by negotiating for a more favorable monthly rent and lease terms and landlords benefit by ensuring that their current tenant remains in the premises for years to come.
Venture leasing is also very flexible. By structuring a fair market value purchase or renewal option at the end of the lease, the start-up can slash monthly payments. Lower payments result in higher earnings and cash flow. Since a fair market value option is not an obligation, the lessee has a high degree of flexibility and control. The resulting reduction in payments and shift of lease expense beyond the expiry of the transaction can deliver a higher enterprise value to the savvy entrepreneur during the initial term of the lease. The higher enterprise value results from the start-up's ability to achieve higher earnings, upon which most valuations are based. Customers benefit more from venture leasing as compared to traditional bank financing in two ways. First, venture leases are usually only secured by the underlying equipment. Additionally, there are usually no restrictive financial covenants. Most banks, if they lend to early stage companies, require blanket liens on all of the companies' assets. In some cases, they also require guarantees of the start-ups' principals. More and more, sophisticated entrepreneurs recognize the stifling effects of these limitations and their impact on growth. When start-ups need additional financing and a sole lender has encumbered all company assets or required guarantees, these young companies become less attractive to other financing sources. Correcting this situation can sap the entrepreneurs' time and energy.
Generally, a major round of equity capital raised from credible investors or venture capitalists makes venture leasing viable for the early stage company. Lessors structure most transactions as master lease lines, permitting the lessee to draw down on the lines as needed throughout the year. Lease lines usually range in size from as little as $ 200,000 to well over $ 5,000,000, depending on the lessee's need and credit strength. Terms are typically between twenty four to forty eight months, payable monthly in advance. The lessee's credit strength, the quality and useful life of the underlying equipment, and the lessor's anticipated ability to re-market the equipment during the lease often dictate the initial lease term. Although no lessor enters a leasing arrangement expecting to re-market the equipment prior to lease expiry, should the lessee's business fail, the lessor must pursue this avenue of recovery to salvage the transaction. Most venture leases give lessees flexible end-of-lease options. These options generally include the ability to buy the equipment, to renew the lease at fair market value or to return the equipment to the lessor. Many lessors limit the fair market value, which also benefits the lessee. Most leases require the lessee to shoulder the important equipment obligations such as maintenance, insurance and paying required equipment taxes. Venture lessors target lessee prospects that have good promise and that are likely to fulfill their leases. Since most start-ups rely on future equity rounds to execute their business plans, lessors devote significant attention to credit review and due diligence - evaluating the caliber of the investor group, the efficacy of the business plan and management's background. A superior management team has usually demonstrated prior successes in the field in which the new venture is active. Additionally, management's expertise in the key business functions -- sales, marketing, R&D, production, engineering, finance --- is essential. Although there are many professional venture capitalists financing new ventures, there can be a significant difference in their abilities, staying power and resources. The better venture capitalists achieve excellent results and have direct experience with the type of companies being financed. The best VCs have developed industry specialization and many have in-house specialists with direct operating experience within the industries covered. Also important to the venture lessor are the amount of capital VCs provide the start-up and the amount allocated to future funding rounds.
As with any negotiations, there may be some less than favorable aspects of a blend and extend lease. With regard to the landlord, although the blend and extend lease provides the landlord with a longer lease term in which the tenant is required to stay in the building, the landlord may have to accept a lower monthly rent payment as well as agree to office improvements and other concessions. As for the tenant, it may receive a more favorable monthly rent under the blend and extend lease, but it will be locked in to the office space for a longer period of time and not be able to move from the office should it desire to do so a few years down the road.
To keep your company from getting snared in the lease renewal trap, set a calendar reminder in several support staff's computers to remind you to send the lease expiration notice on time (usually 90 to 120 days in advance of lease expiration-check your lease for specifics). This should prevent staff turnover from erasing memory of that necessary step. Another option is to set up "delayed send" e-mail messages from several computers to be sent to several staff members reminding them to send the lease expiration. There are also free external calendars that you can set up to send an e-mail reminder to several people in case your organization deletes all information from previous users of a computer. Applications like calendar.yahoo.com and Google calendar can be set up to provide e-mail reminders to multiple people to assure you cover your turnover and promotion events. This way you can notify the leasing company in a timely manner. As you execute a new equipment lease, make a 30-day renewal mandatory before you approve it. If you do miss the notification deadline your lease only renews for 30 days. Remember you do have to provide the written intent to return equipment to prevent or end the renewal cycle.
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Frank Miller has a Debt Consolidation Blog & Finance, these are some of the articles: Learning More Concerning The Issue Of Fast Loans And Their Advantages To Different People You have full permission to reprint this article provided this box is kept unchanged.
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