Read Before You Sign
None of this is secret. It is simply not in anyone's interest on the other side of the table to bring it up. Eight things that are true in almost every medical lease negotiation.
$0 to your practice. The landlord pays our fee.
Send us your lease Call (210) 384-2342Eight Things
On most listed buildings the landlord has agreed, in the listing agreement, to pay a leasing fee when the space leases. If you walk in without a broker, the landlord's broker keeps all of it. If you walk in with one, our share comes out of that same fee. Brokerage fees are negotiable and not set by law, and we confirm the arrangement in writing on every building before you tour it.
A listing broker's duty runs to the landlord. That is not a criticism, it is the job. It means the first number you hear is an opening position chosen to serve the owner, and the person quoting it is not in a position to tell you what the building down the street just did.
What tells you whether it is true is checkable: what comparable space in that submarket has actually traded for, and how much vacancy the landlord is carrying. We check both before you respond to anything.
The leverage in any negotiation comes from a real alternative, and a real alternative, toured, priced and ready to sign, takes twelve to eighteen months to create. A renewal conversation that starts six months out starts after most of that leverage is gone. Start early, even if you fully intend to stay.
Free rent, the improvement allowance, the annual escalation, the operating-expense base year and any cap on it, parking, after-hours HVAC and who pays for code upgrades all move the real number, often by more than the difference between two quoted rates. We reduce every proposal to one comparable figure over the same term before anyone picks a winner.
Every year the landlord tells you what your share of taxes, insurance and operating costs came to. Whether you can audit that, what can be passed through, and whether controllable costs are capped is decided in the lease, years earlier. We ask for all three.
A relocation clause that lets the landlord move a plumbed-in practice. An assignment clause that blocks the sale of your practice. An exclusive that is missing when a competitor leases next door. A personal guaranty that never burns off. We wrote them up here.
A signed letter of intent is not the lease. The lease draft that follows is written by the landlord's counsel, and terms that were agreed can quietly soften or disappear. We review the business terms of the draft against what was agreed before it goes to your attorney, which also keeps your legal bill shorter.
General observations from healthcare tenant representation, not legal advice. Every lease is different, and your attorney should review the document.
Not Ready To Call
Send us the lease you have or the proposal you were handed. Within 72 hours we tell you what stands out: the rate against the market, the terms worth a closer look, and whether there is anything to do right now. No agreement, no fee for that, and your landlord does not hear about it.
San Antonio and South Texas
Our free tool at satxleasecheck.com compares the rent you pay against what the market charges for buildings like yours and flags the terms worth a closer look.
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What This Costs Your Practice
It is in the listing agreement before you walk in.
You do not save it. Their broker keeps it.
For most practices, $0 and no invoice from us.
Same fee, two ways to split it. One of them puts a negotiator in your corner. The other does not.
A few situations differ, such as owner-direct, physician-owned and sublease space. We confirm the fee in writing on every building before you tour it. Brokerage fees are negotiable and not set by law.
Common Questions
Because we never represent the landlord on your deal, in writing, and because the fee is the same whether you have a broker or not. The only question is whether someone at the table is paid to work for you. We also tell you, in writing before you tour, if a building is a Partners listing.
No. Landlords expect it and most prefer it: a represented tenant is organised, informed and faster to close. The relationship with your landlord is not the issue. The relationship between their first number and the market is.
Send us the proposal and your reply. Until a lease amendment is signed, nothing is final, and most of what matters is still open.
Seventy-two hours, no agreement, no fee for that.
Send us your lease Call (210) 384-2342