Looking for Advice as a Tenant
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[{"id": "flaj0qy", "text": "Just reach out to them and talk. Open lines of communication is key. I talked to a half dozen tenants this week. I understand that they can't pay, we're not evicting or anything like that. It's going to be tough for everyone and I think the vast majority of landlords are going to be understanding. You can't give what you don't have. I think banks are going to have to be flexible as well if this keeps going. Just call your landlord and talk it out. If you get some government relief, pay your employees with it. If you have extra, give some to your landlord. As of now mortgages, insurance, and taxes are all still due for LL.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "flakt4o", "text": "In addition, to the advice already given would consider looking at the SBA Disaster Loan.  [https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance](https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance) \n\nYour lease may have a \"Force Majeure\" clause in which case I would recommend you talk to a real estate attorney about what it allows you to do in this specific case. Would caution using this if you have it as it can immediately change the nature of the relationship with your landlord which currently sounds like a workable one.", "replies": [{"id": "flan5yl", "text": "Totally agree with this statement. Also, arent SBA Disaster Loans in the borrowers favor atm?", "replies": [{"id": "flde1x4", "text": "Not sure I follow your question. I am no expert in these Disaster Loans by any means so if you have a good resource would love to take a look.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "flauad0", "text": "Most  Force Majeure clauses state that if the default is such that it can be cured by payment, then the tenant is still forced to pay.", "replies": [{"id": "flddmoo", "text": "I am seeing attorneys send out letters claiming that given the circumstances the businesses cannot operate and hence the clause applies. \n\nHave contacts in commercial insurance saying their clauses specifically do not mention a healthcare shut down or forced government shutdown.\n\nGuess we will see what happens as we keep working through this.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "flan0yb", "text": "being a retail business is tough in commercial real estate but reach out to them for rent relief. Chances are that she can be pretty understanding considering uncertainty for the next upcoming months (possibly year). They might ask you to just pay CAM charges (costs that a landlord pays to operate and run the property, basically maintenance or operating expenses) which can be way better than regular rent rates. CAM charges are generally not negotiable as it\u2019s based on real costs. If they\u2019re not willing to give up a tenant paying rent above CAM charges, then negotiate the rate dude. \nsource: My parents having to deal with their landlord on a commercial property, were able to exercise their options and only pay CAM charges for the following uncertain months", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "flaplka", "text": "Banks are viewing this as a short term problem and many are offering 30/60/90 day and longer commercial loan payment deferrals. Talk to your land lord about the issues, and it's his job to talk to the bank", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "flaulmh", "text": "My advice is to ask for deferral of payment or for the landlord to tack on the next two months of rent to the remainder of the lease.  In your case, since renewal is coming up, maybe negotiate the extension from now and tack on the next two months over the new term, or over a year if your landlord wants to get paid sooner.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "flaxwq9", "text": "No harm in asking. Your landlord will probably work with you if you have been a good tenant so far. It is much easier for him/her to keep a tenant with some short-term gives than to try to replace you if have to close up.\n\nSomething like a one or two month deferral (perhaps with interest) or just a discounted rent in the short-term could be reasonable solutions for all.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "flb7s08", "text": "Reaching out is fine, but you need to come to the table with an actual plan and demonstrate your necessity. \n\nExample:\n\nI have a business park where we provide the internet service for a monthly charge. The tenant is not a \"critical\" business and basically is shut down and at home. She asked me to terminate her internet service while these conditions exist. Now, this internet system we set up costs us money no matter what so to the extent that tenants don't buy into it, we lose money. Nevertheless, I immediately approved this for the tenant because I understand they aren't there and not using it and it's not that big of a deal. \n\nSo, if you are going to come to your landlord for some kind of concession, you need to come up with a viable plan and prove that you need this. We have mortgages and while I'm seeking forbearance, so is everybody else. \n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\nIf you come to me with a vague complaint and provide no documentation, then I'm not going to spend time dealing with that. My answer is sorry, you tell me what you need and show me why. I don't have time to go through your financials and tailor a workout to you. That is your job. I have given my property manager some guidelines for negotiations so he has a good understanding about where I'm coming from, but each situation is different. \n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\nRemember, if I do a forbearance deal with my lender, and I don't pay principal for several months, there is no forgiveness for that. I will either pay it later or that unpaid principal will be there when I refinance. There is zero chance that the lender is going to miss out on a dime. For tenants trying to work out leases, many times they simply leave and I end up getting nothing.\n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\n Old Chicago Pizza is 54% of the square footage of a property I own. I got a BK notice from them instead of a check in March. Until last week, they had stayed open w/o paying rent. I've been through this before where even national tenants went into BK and they have the ability to prevent me from taking back the space through the Court, so I end up getting no rent and no ability to re lease the space. In a way the virus situation may help me with this one because now I have a viable forbearance claim where the bank wouldn't extend that to me for a run of the mill BK. But you get the idea. The landlord ALWAYS pays his bills and there is no getting out of it. Tenants, on the other hand, flake out on us regularly and this is why we are very stringent regarding concessions and workouts.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]