Hep me Negotiate a Commercial Lease buyout? Feeling like a little fish in a big pond..
I’m a small business owner who rented a small (700 sq ft) of office space for my health practice in the middle of a building complex. Since moving in, other tenants’ leases have expired but I have just over 2 years left. The building is for sale for $750,000 and the owners are pretty bummed I’m in there because potential buyers don’t want me there stopping remodeling or use for the entire building. Their realtor and my property manager said they regretted it immediately after signing my lease a year ago. 

I actually reached out to them about letting me move to a larger space on the end because I’d love to expand my practice, especially if I can get a great deal on it with some of my leverage, but also help them in their sale since I wouldn’t be smack in the middle for remodel potential. 

They don’t want to give me the space I’d like, but would give me another smaller one but it really doesn’t work for my business. I’ve also brought up a lease buyout which they seem to be very open to. I found out today that a new buyer was going to purchase it a couple months ago and then offer me a buyout but that sale fell through. 

I feel like I really want to protect myself, not get taken advantage of, and hopefully use this as a tool to expand to my larger business plan I’ve been working on for several years. I’m certain they see me as a young, female, little fish in their big pond. I’m an Orthopedic Massage Therapist who does correctional treatment work, but their Realtor seemed surprised and made comments that shows they thought I was some “little massage therapist” and that “I’ll admit, jokes were made.” So I’m even more motivated to show them that if I think extra hard with my lady brain, I can negotiate a good deal. 
 
But I DO have this leverage and they are pretty motivated to get me out. I expressed I’m super open to working with them, and won’t dig my heals in to stay the 2+ years if it’s to my advantage. 

How do I even figure out a buyout amount for something like this? I’m looking at comps in the area, costs of relocating, new marketing, improvements I’ve made, etc. But I’m wondering what’s realistic. I told the Realtor I’d like to talk about it but want them to throw out a number first.
[{"id": "fiagluj", "text": "PM me the listing and what you pay in rent and I can tell you what you're looking at.\n\nIt sounds like you're in a great position to get more than you want (you should NOT aim for anything less than 'over the top compensation)", "replies": [{"id": "fibcdx6", "text": "Thank you so much! I\u2019ll send it right over.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fiakv1g", "text": "As a broker we\u2019ve helped tenants negotiate these before for free provided we get to help the tenant seek their replacement location. It may be worth reaching out to a junior broker at a firm established in your market and asset class for advice. I\u2019d say junior broker as this appears to small of a deal for a senior broker to get as heavily involved as you\u2019d like. \n\nTo make it extremely simple, it becomes a question of the building\u2019s purchase price, the availability of competing surrounding options, and what you can push on the buyer/seller before it becomes more worth the buyer\u2019s time to pursue one of those competing options instead. The existing building\u2019s buildout will play a factor in this as well. An office broker with decent presence in the market should be able to help you analyze as well as present replacement options to you which is the more important aspect of this given you have a business to run. I would not utilize the seller\u2019s nor buyer\u2019s brokers for assistance in this task.\n\nGood luck!", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fialcfc", "text": "For 17 easy payments of $799.99 I'll teach you my time tested Strategy for negotiating commercial leases!", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fianvl9", "text": "Definitely call a local commercial realtor, they can look at your lease and provide comps for vacancies in other space, then work up a strong proposal. Don't do this alone, the owners will have lawyers and realtors on their side drafting the documents, so have your very own. They definitely would prefer you not be there so they can remodel and increase the rent. Factor in things such as what it will cost you for tenant improvements, signage etc at a new location. Plus your nice inconvenience fee.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fiaocga", "text": "You already made a slight mistake by saying you'd like to talk about it. You should act completely uninterested in leaving, make them really sweat it.\n\nI know it sucks that they insulted you/your career with their remarks, but don't let them think you're consciously playing hardball with the negotiation. When these kind of people know that you're actively negotiating they might take it personal and start to bring their A-game against you. The dumber you seem to them, the better.\n\nAlso, any time they contact you don't reply for a couple of days. As someone who's been on both sides of these kinds of situations (not in real estate, but in entertainment biz) it's going to make them more desperate because of how little you seem to care.\n\nGood luck!", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fiarkev", "text": "Side note it might be helpful to track your negotiation on negotiableapp.com you can easily see all the points your proposing and what they are countering with.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]