After developing a strong business plan, an aspiring business owner may be ready to finally sign a lease. Commercial leases make it possible to have a storefront that can draw customers without having to buy a property outright. However, choosing the right property to lease in Los Angeles and surrounding communities is critical for long-term business success.

Location is a particularly important factor when it comes to leasing commercial property. If business owners would benefit from having many walk-ins, they may want to choose areas that have high levels of foot traffic and are easy for the public to access. For instance, a coffee shop would likely do much better in a pricier downtown area versus a remote industrial park outside of the city.

Parking is another essential consideration when thinking about leasing. An appropriate number of parking spaces is especially important for businesses like workout facilities or restaurants. After all, worrying about being ticketed or constantly having to feed the meter will only tarnish an otherwise good experience with lifting weights or eating a delicious meal.

Other critical factors to consider include whether the facility’s lighting is adequate, the layout meets the needs of the business, if the business’s suppliers can easily access the facility and if the facility is in a safe part of the city. An important question to ask is whether the landlord will agree to make necessary repairs as well. An attorney in Los Angeles can help with negotiating and reviewing commercial leases to make sure that they ultimately meet a business owner’s unique needs.

Source: findlaw.com, “Choosing a Facility Checklist“, Accessed on May 22, 2017

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A lengthy boom in real estate in California is expected to continue to benefit Los Angeles. In fact, a recent survey by CBRE Group, a commercial real estate services firm, indicated that Los Angeles was in first place among cities drawing investors interested in purchasing North American property. As a result, the number of commercial real estate purchases and commercial leases is expected to remain strong in 2017.

Los Angeles is very attractive among real estate investors these days due in part to the strong job growth in part of the state. In fact, there is more job growth in Los Angeles than in San Jose and San Francisco combined. This is likely because the city has much of what the millennial generation likes: Hollywood, Venice, beaches and mountains.

In addition, Silicon Valley is lacking in office space. However, Los Angeles has a fairly large amount of available space, so technology companies are increasingly eyeing the City of Angels for property. Furthermore, Los Angeles is generally cleaner than many other cities around the world, with its emissions-control program making the city attractive internationally.

As commercial leases continue to become available in Los Angeles, more businesses can take advantage of them in an effort to grow their presence and profits in this in-demand city. However, negotiating a commercial lease can be tricky. An attorney can help with the negotiation process so that a business owner’s long-term goals are considered in the terms of the agreement before he or she signs the contract.

Source: latimes.com, “Is the real estate market about to crash? No way, says this CEO — and here’s why“, Roger Vincent, May 27, 2017

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The majority of investors throughout the United States, including in Los Angeles — 72 percent, to be exact — are continuing to seek out new investment opportunities in real estate this year. Institutional investors in 2017 are hoping to devote a total of $62 billion to investments in commercial real estate. This means opportunities for businesses interested in commercial leases are expected to increase.

Many investors in the United States are interested mostly in industrial properties. This is due to the demand for these properties as a result of the growth of the e-commerce industry. Meanwhile, multifamily properties are in second place in terms of popularity among investors. The third most-popular type of property is self-storage, followed by student and senior housing. The properties receiving the least amount of attention include office, retail and medical office properties.

In addition, investors are expected to put the most of their real estate investment capital in core properties followed by value-added properties, at 33 percent and 27 percent, respectively. In addition, investment capital will go to opportunistic investments and debt products, at 20 percent and 8 percent, respectively. Finally, capital is slated to go to foreign investments at 7 percent and real estate securities at 5 percent.

With commercial real estate looking promising nationwide, now may be a beneficial time for businesses interested in expanding to start exploring new areas for commercial leases. Negotiating commercial lease agreements, however, can be tricky. An attorney in Los Angeles can help with reviewing and negotiating leases to avoid any costly pitfalls in the complex commercial leasing process.

Source: ai-cio, “Kingsley: Real Estate Remains Most Attractive Asset Class for 2017“, April 27, 2017

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Anytime you begin a construction project, you know there are certain risks you may not be able to predict. Injuries on the job, bad weather and material prices are just a few factors that may impede your project goals. Setbacks can cost you money and endanger the completion of your work.

One element every construction site encounters is the environmental risk the project presents to the surroundings. There may be commonly known areas of potential harm against which you can insure your company, but it is difficult to know the varying laws, regulations and hazards of each jurisdiction and every type of construction.

Pollution is a dirty word

Environmental laws are constantly expanding, and the potential to harm the environment is real with every new construction plan. It is often a delicate juggling act to complete a building while causing minimal damage to the existing biomes and habitats. Environmental risks may occur from many sources on a construction site, for example:

• Heating and air conditioning units
• Drywall dust
• Improperly stored building materials
• Lead dust or paint (mostly when renovating or demolishing older buildings)
• Erosion
• Concrete washout
• Leaking equipment fuel

You are not only responsible for keeping the air, water and earth clean throughout your construction, you are also overseeing the well-being of your employees and those who are exposed to your structure. For example, even materials that claim to be environmentally friendly may pose a risk by promoting mold growth.

Weighing your risks

If you have begun or are considering beginning a construction project, you may feel overwhelmed by the permits, documentation and insurance coverage California law requires you to maintain throughout the project. This may be especially true in the ever-changing area of environmental protection and pollution control. To minimize your risk, you will certainly want to cover every base so that, should a problem arise, your business is protected.

Consulting with a risk management attorney will provide the opportunity to review the particulars of your project and help you determine the best way to protect your business from environmental liability or other risks that may jeopardize your goals. Experienced legal counsel will help minimize your frustration and allow you to focus on the future of your business.

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There has been a push for development in and around the city of Los Angeles during the past several years. One of the newest planned developments is the mixed-use Park Fifth, which is slated to break ground in April. With these kinds of developments come many more opportunities for businesses to take advantage of commercial leases in the Golden State.

The first stage of Park Fifth will involve the building of a tower featuring more than 300 apartments. In addition, retail space spanning a whopping 7,000 square feet on the ground floor will also be created. In the second stage of the project, a tall building spanning 460,000 square feet will be erected. This building will provide nearly 350 luxury apartments, underground parking, restaurants, retail space, a pool and a rooftop terrace and kitchen.

Yet another project is planned for construction soon in the Los Angeles area: the mixed-use Grand Avenue Project. This billion-dollar project will feature residential units that are both for rent and for sale. The project will also include restaurants and retail space.

As the Los Angeles area continues to build up, now appears to be an ideal time for businesses to seek out commercial leases in prime retail locations. However, the leasing process can be complicated, and one’s bottom line may be negatively affected if caution is not taken when signing a lease. A California real estate attorney can help review a potential lease as well as negotiate one so that a business owner’s best interests and rights are protected long term.

Source: constructiondive.com, “Construction begins on massive North Hollywood, CA mixed-use development“, Kim Slowey, April 11, 2017

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The market for commercial real estate is booming in the southern part of California, including in Los Angeles. This is the finding of a recent report on market intelligence for the year of 2016. This area of the Golden State is picking up steam in several areas, including business expansion, with more companies taking advantage of commercial leases.

Four new businesses have leased space for research and development, spanning almost 40,000 square feet over the past six months in Pasadena alone. In addition, Kaiser Permanente is continuing to expand its medical and office spaces in this city. In fact, Kaiser, which currently employs more than 4,800 people, is creating a new medical school that will be four stories tall and 80,000 square feet. This project is slated to be finished in the early part of 2019.

Besides business expansion, Southern California is witnessing low vacancy rates in office buildings as well as a rise in land sales. There has been particularly strong activity at Long Beach’s and Los Angeles’s ports. In addition, in the San Fernando Valley, Westfield Corp. plans to erect a huge mixed-use complex that will replace an old shopping mall.

As Southern California continues to experience unparalleled growth, an increasing number of company owners may be interested in a wide variety of commercial leases, ranging from industrial leases for warehouses and office leases to retail and mixed-use leases. However, understanding the intricacies of each of these types of leases can be challenging. An attorney in Los Angeles can review these documents as well as negotiate them or even draft them to ensure that a lease reflects a company’s best interest before the company signs it.

Source: pasadenastarnews.com, “Report: Southern California’s commercial market is booming“, Kevin Smith, April 22, 2017

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In Los Angeles County, a quickly growing outlier is nearby Santa Clarita Valley. In fact, traffic levels in this area recently exceeded those of the years 2010 to 2012. The strong growth being witnessed in the area may be a motivating factor for businesses to pursue commercial leases in the area.

Information about the growth of Santa Clarita Valley was recently shared during an economic forecast meeting involving business people and economic development professionals. Bankers and commercial real estate brokers also participated. The economist who spoke during the meeting emphasized that not only high traffic levels but also the low percentage of commercial real estate vacancies are indicators of the region’s strong growth.

In 2016, the area had an 8.3 percent vacancy rate. This was one of the lowest rates in the Southern California area. This was at a time when landlords have been struggling to fill big sites in Los Angeles County. In addition, job growth is expected to rise almost 3 percent this year in areas such as professional business, health care, leisure and retail services.

Officials anticipate that commercial investment in the Santa Clarita region will rise significantly between now and the year 2022, totaling over $540 million. This is a much bigger jump than the $394 million worth of commercial investment that took place in the region from 2011 to 2016. With strong growth on the horizon, now appears to be an ideal time to take advantage of commercial leases while vacancies still exist. An attorney can help business owners to understand and negotiate the terms of any lease before they sign on the dotted line.

Source: sfvbj.com, “Economist Reports Strong Growth for Santa Clarita“, March 31, 2017

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Once the ink has dried on the signature line of a lease document, it is natural to think that the deal is done. However, the process is far from over in the moments directly following business owners’ signing of commercial leases in Los Angeles and other parts of California. Some important steps still need to be addressed.

First, making a couple of copies of a lease can be helpful. One can be placed in a digital file that is easy to access, or it can even be stored in a desk drawer so that it can be referred to easily. The other one can be placed with the company’s payable department.

It may also be beneficial to create a lease abstract. This abstract details important dates for renewal options and purchase options as well as the amounts due for rent and any rent increase amounts. Finally, ensuring that the lease document is fully executed is paramount, as the occupants of commercial real estate in many situations are never provided with fully executed copies of their leases.

Signing commercial leases for new locations can be exciting for companies, as it is a sign that these companies are finally establishing themselves, growing or expanding. However, not understanding the lease negotiation process can be costly for a business owner in the long run. An attorney in Los Angeles can help business owners to review and negotiate leases on their terms so that their best interests are upheld as they seek to claim a profitable spot in the business world.

Source: ocregister.com, “Commercial real estate: A new lease is signed — now what?“, Allen Buchanan, April 17, 2017

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Whole Foods Market recently signed a lease for yet another brand new store in California. The lease is for a facility that spans a whopping 52,000 square feet. By signing these types of commercial leases, companies in Los Angeles and other parts of the Golden State are able to have a major impact on the economy of a local area, with the lessor — the owner of the lease — especially benefiting as well.

Construction of Whole Foods, which sells natural and organic foods, is slated to start this year. The store should open in the early part of 2019. It will essentially serve as part of the replacement of a town center shopping mall.

The town center in which the supermarket will be introduced is considered a very desirable location for both residents and businesses, with the downtown area already being vibrant. Construction has already started on the 36-acre development, which a venture capital fund acquired in 2016. A real estate developer also plans to bring nearly 200 residential apartments along with more than 100,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space to the market next year. Another project in the works is the reopening of a square for the public to use in the spring.

Adding a business to a new location by signing a commercial lease for property there can understandably be exciting. However, commercial leases can be complicated to negotiate. An attorney in Los Angeles can offer guidance during the process of reviewing and negotiating a lease to ensure that a business’ best interests are upheld in the terms of the lease long term.

Source: Mountain View, CA, Patch, “Whole Foods to Open New South Bay Location“, Mark Nero, Feb. 24, 2017

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Easements are one area of real estate that can be confusing for both residential and commercial buyers. A major question posed in a real estate dispute involving an easement, or the right to use a particular piece of land, is whether it is implied or express. The chief difference between the two is that an implied easement in Los Angeles or another part of California is created through particular circumstances, whereas an express one arises from a document or agreement.

Express easements are created by wills or deeds. Therefore, they have to be in writing. They can also be formed when the owners of certain properties convey their land to others but save or reserve easements in them.

Implied easements exist when there are no particular agreements or documents creating them. There are three requirements for having these types of easements. First, they have to be reasonable necessary for the original pieces of property to be able to be enjoyed. Second, the land has to be split so that a parcel’s owner is either selling a part and retaining the other party, or is subdividing the land and then selling parts to various new owners. Finally, the reason for the use of the easement must have existed before the sale or severance took place.

In some cases, a real estate dispute may arise regarding whether an easement exists or not. In other cases, a business or individual may wish to create one. In addition, some people or businesses might want to buy properties that have been burdened by them. In any of these situations, an attorney experienced in real estate law can help to protect one’s best interests in Los Angeles and elsewhere in California.

Source: findlaw.com, “Express and Implied Easements“, Accessed on March 15, 2017

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