Real Estate – Commercial

Leasing Contract Review and Negotiation Protects Client’s Interests While Securing Income

Peter Covo, Partner

Situation

Our client, a business owner and property owner of industrial-zoned land on Cape Cod, was approached by a power supplier seeking to lease a small portion of his property. With industrial-zoned property being scarce on the Cape, he was intrigued with the opportunity to earn income on the small portion of land, as it otherwise would have been unused, while enabling him to lease additional unused portions of the land he owned. The opportunity seemed too good to be true; the lease was drafted by the potential tenant for his review and approval.

Action

The business and property owner, a long-time client of Wilchins Cosentino & Novins, had worked with business attorneys in our Business Law practice. So, when the attorney for the other party presented the proposed leasing agreement, our client turned to WCN for advice and counsel. He was immediately introduced to Attorney Peter Covo, leader of the Real Estate Practice at WCN. It was prudent of the client to secure a real estate attorney with Peter’s experience in commercial real estate leasing contracts as the details of the contract revealed terms and conditions that would have adversely affected his goals to leverage other unused portions of his land for potential leases. Through skilled contract negotiations and revised engineering plans, the final lease terms kept our client’s goals and options open for further leasing of the land while meeting the needs of the power supplier.

Outcome

The negotiated lease provided our client with income for the next 30 years on a small unused portion of his land while maintaining his ability to lease, sell or construct on the remaining parts of the property without hindrance. Another lease is being finalized to achieve our client’s goals for maximizing the return on finite industrial-zoned land on Cape Cod. Our Private Client Services attorneys are now assisting the client in effective tax planning and estate planning strategies to minimize tax liabilities.