008: Lease Negotiations, Surprises, and Lessons Learned

Casey
Jul 3
2 min read

This week, I want to talk about something that most of us don’t think about… until we have to.

Leases.

More specifically, what to do when your building gets a new landlord.

We recently found ourselves in a new situation: One of our building owners sold the property.

That had never happened before, and it was a wake-up call.

The new owners? Not so warm and fuzzy. They raised our rent...big time. We’d been paying below market, and they took us right up to (if not above) market rate.

Ouch.

Here’s the deal: if you’re leasing space, you need to keep ownership changes on your radar.

Even if you’ve had a great landlord for years, staying in regular communication helps you spot changes before they impact your bottom line.

Here are 5 key items to negotiate in a new lease or renewal:

1️⃣ Ask for Extension Options - Gives you flexibility and leverage if ownership changes unexpectedly.
2️⃣ First Right of Refusal - If there’s space next door and you may want to grow, lock in the option to expand.
3️⃣ Negotiate Repairs on Renewal - Lease renewal time = your chance to ask for updates or fixes.
4️⃣ Cap Major HVAC Costs - If you’re responsible for HVAC, cap your exposure by maintaining a service contract.
5️⃣ Clarify Parking + Competitor Clauses - Prevent messy tenant conflicts and ensure parking availability for your families.

This list is just the start...there’s always more fine print.What’s worked for you? What’s caught you off guard?

Send it my way - casey@theninjazone.com We’ll compile the top responses and share in a future Fix.

Talk soon,

Casey Wright Founder, Wright’s Gymnastics & NinjaZone

🎯Real talk - You know what’s not fun?

Negotiating a lease when you’re under pressure.

New landlord. Higher rent. Zero leverage. 😬

It’s like trying to haggle with someone holding all the cards… and the building.

We’ve learned (the hard way): proactive beats reactive. Every single time.

And yes, it’s a little boring to talk about lease terms, renewal clauses, and HVAC caps…But imagine sitting in a team meeting saying, “Wait, we didn’t put that in writing?” Yikes.

Your lease will come up again. Whether it’s next year or five years from now. Make a quick list of your needs, your nice-to-haves, and your never-agains. Future you will be doing a happy dance. 💃🕺🏽