Your Lease May Be the Biggest Fixed Cost You Have Never Challenged

CAM Charges Without Itemized Backup

Common Area Maintenance charges billed as a lump sum with no itemized breakdown. Without line-item detail, overbilling for services never rendered or costs outside your lease definition go undetected.

Percentage Rent on Gross Sales

Percentage rent clauses calculating on total gross sales without deducting returns, employee sales, or sales tax. The calculation basis alone can add thousands to rent liability every year.

Disproportionate Utility Pass-Throughs

Utility costs for shared areas allocated by square footage rather than actual consumption, resulting in smaller tenants subsidizing higher-use anchor tenants in the same center.

Above-Market Lease Renewals

Leases renewed at the landlord's proposed rate because no market comparison was performed. Retail vacancy rates in many markets favor tenants, but only if they show up with data.

Personal Guarantees Never Renegotiated

Personal guarantee terms signed when the business was small, never revisited as revenue grew and creditworthiness improved. Leverage that could have reduced the guarantee scope was never used.

Base rent vs. current market comparables

CAM charge itemization and diagnostic rights

Percentage rent clause structure and calculation basis

Pass-through and escalation clause verification

Utility pass-through allocation methodology

Lease renewal terms and negotiation leverage

FIND

Review CAM reconciliation statements for the past 24 months. Identify any overbilling patterns and flag diagnostic windows before they expire.

TRACK

Build an occupancy cost tracker covering all locations with renewal dates, CAM diagnostic windows, and cost-per-sq-ft benchmarks.

RECOVER

Challenge CAM overbillings, verify pass-through clauses, and benchmark base rent against market rate at every renewal.

SUSTAIN

Standardize lease review processes for all future locations. No lease renews without a market comparison and CAM diagnostic.