What it actually looks like to renegotiate a commercial lease with us, from the first phone call through an executed amendment. Eight stages, typically 6 to 16 weeks end to end depending on landlord responsiveness and complexity. No two engagements are identical, but the structure below is the spine.
A 20-30 minute conversation, free of charge, no obligation. We assess lease size, property type, expiration window, and whether you have a credible alternative — the four factors that drive leverage. By the end of this call we know whether your situation is a fit for our specialist-network model or whether you would be better served by different counsel.
Outcome: Either a fit (proceed to Stage 2) or an honest "we are not the right team for this" with a referral where appropriate. The qualification call creates no agency relationship.
If we are a fit, we send a written engagement letter. Specifies scope (which lease, which property, which renegotiation targets), fee structure, timeline, and termination terms. Most engagements use a success-fee or hybrid retainer-plus-success-fee structure tied to documented annual savings — so our incentives are aligned with yours. You review with your counsel, ask questions, sign when comfortable.
Outcome: Executed engagement letter. We are now your representative on this specific renegotiation; agency relationship is in writing.
We read your lease end to end. We abstract the key terms — base rent and escalation schedule, operating expense structure and exclusions, renewal options and rent formulas, termination provisions, exclusive use, assignment and sublease, default and cure, holdover. We identify every clause where leverage exists and every clause that constrains it. Output is a written lease abstract memo — a non-legal summary by your broker. For legal interpretation of any specific clause, your attorney is the right reader.
Outcome: Lease abstract memo in your hands. You know what is in your lease in plain English.
We pull current market data for your specific submarket and property type — current asking rates, recent closed transactions, concession packages, vacancy rates, landlord-specific patterns. The Phoenix metro commercial market in 2025-2026 is materially different across submarkets and property types; a 79th-Avenue West-Valley industrial building has different dynamics than a Camelback Corridor office tower. We anchor your negotiation in actual current market reality, not last cycle pricing.
Outcome: Comp set memo with 8-15 comparable data points your landlord will recognize.
The strategy memo is where the engagement becomes specific. Targeted outcomes: base rent reduction range we believe achievable; OpEx structure changes; renewal optionality; tenant improvement allowance; termination flexibility; any other negotiable terms relevant to your specific lease and business situation. Trade space — where we can give up something to get something. Recommended negotiating sequence. You review the memo, push back where you disagree, sign off on the opening position.
Outcome: Aligned written strategy. You know what we are asking for, what we are prepared to trade, and what the realistic outcome range is.
Active negotiation with the landlord and the landlord representative. Typically 2-6 rounds spanning 2-8 weeks depending on landlord responsiveness, deal complexity, and how aligned both sides are on market reality. This is the stage where specialist match matters most — different brokers in our affiliated Landmark ACM network handle industrial vs retail vs office vs medical vs flex, because each property type has different negotiation dynamics, different landlord types, and different leverage points. George personally oversees every engagement as your accountable contract manager from intake through close; specialists handle the rounds.
Outcome: Agreed economic terms documented in a term sheet.
Once economic terms are agreed, we document the deal in a term sheet, then in a formal lease amendment. We draft business terms; your attorney handles the legal interpretation and any legal-language refinements. We work alongside your counsel, not instead of them. This division of work is intentional — we are licensed real estate brokers, not attorneys, and lease interpretation is legal work.
Outcome: Final lease amendment ready for both parties signatures.
Both parties execute the amendment. We deliver the executed copy to you for your records, file our copy, and schedule a post-close debrief — usually 30 minutes. We capture what worked, what could have gone better, and what to watch for at the next renewal. We remain available for the next renegotiation event, expansion question, or relocation analysis. Our practice is built on repeat engagement, not transaction churn.
Outcome: Executed amendment in your records, documented savings, post-close debrief captured, ongoing relationship preserved.
Faster engagements (6-9 weeks): single-tenant building or simple multi-tenant property; landlord is a single entity or family rather than an institutional REIT; market data clearly supports your position; lease language is clean and the amendment is mostly economic terms.
Slower engagements (12-16 weeks): institutional REIT landlord with formal approval committees; complex multi-clause renegotiation including renewal options and tenant improvements; lease language requires extensive amendment drafting; multiple rounds needed because initial position gaps were wide.
The qualification call (Stage 1) usually surfaces enough to estimate where in the range you will land. If we cannot, we say so.
We do not give legal advice on lease interpretation — that is UPL (unauthorized practice of law) for non-attorneys. Your attorney is the right reader for any clause whose meaning is in question.
We do not give tax advice on the structure of the deal — your CPA is the right reader. Some lease structures have material tax implications, particularly around tenant improvement allowance treatment and lease-vs-purchase analysis.
We do not guarantee specific outcomes. ADRE rules prohibit it, and the actual outcome depends on many variables (landlord motivation, market timing, lease specifics, your alternatives). What we can guarantee is the process: structured, written, transparent, and aligned with your interests because the fee structure is aligned with your savings.
We do not handle the negotiation through email-only communication. The work happens by phone and in person where it matters — email is for confirming agreements, not for making them.
Schedule a free 30-minute qualification call — Stage 1 of the process. No obligation, no agency relationship until you sign an engagement letter. If we are not the right team for your situation, we will say so.
This page describes typical engagement process. Actual process is documented in your engagement letter and varies by specific situation. Process descriptions on this page are not legal, tax, or financial advice. Outcomes described as typical patterns are observed in the Phoenix metro commercial real estate market 2025-2026; specific outcomes depend on many variables and cannot be guaranteed under ADRE rules. References to a network of specialists describe affiliated licensees and referral relationships through Landmark ACM, LLC and George Ward commercial real estate practice. Information-sharing disclosure: George Howell Ward does not sell client information to third-party marketers; specialist referrals and commission-sharing arrangements are disclosed honestly within each engagement; intent is to handle the majority of work in-house at Landmark ACM, with legal, tax, and financial advisors consulted directly by the client.
© 2026 Renegotiate My Lease · George Howell Ward · AZ Salesperson SA528635000 · Landmark ACM, LLC