Inside R&E Podcast — The Lease Is Not the Rent: How Commercial Leases Create Predictable Economics

In this episode of Inside R&E, William Byers Jr., Member of R&E’s Transactions Department, joins Dave Lorenzo, Founder of Exit Success Lab, for a conversation on how landlords, buyers, tenants, and lenders should look past headline rent and understand the lease as a financial system that controls predictability, expense recovery, concessions, cash flow, and financing risk.

During the conversation, Bill and Dave discuss why base rent tells only part of the story and how a commercial lease functions as a financial system that drives cash flow, expense recovery, predictability and financing risk. They examine how concessions, escalations, operating expense pass-throughs, audit rights, base years and triple net structures can affect the true economics of a deal, and conclude with what lenders look for when evaluating lease income and risk.

William Byers Jr. has worked on a myriad of both large and small transactions ranging from sales and purchases of office, apartment and mixed-use buildings to landlord and tenant representation in office, retail, restaurant, garage and ground leases, as well as grantor and grantee representation for complex multi-party easement agreements. In addition to having an MBA, Byers previously worked at a corporate firm, which serves him well in drafting complex corporate documents such as operating, partnership and shareholder agreements, joint venture agreements, stock purchase agreements, and employment agreements for commercial real estate brokers.

For any questions related to this episode, contact William Byers Jr. at [email protected] or (212) 551-8456.

Stream the full episode, now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.