what would you do?

[incisor]

lease on my shop is up for renewl...

realestate managing the complex send me a lease offer, trying to rasise my rent well over a 100 week.

not on i say, sorry.

but i will meet you half way on a 3 x 3 year lease instead of the 5 x 5 i normally take (plans of selling up in back of mind)

they agree so send me a lease and it is a retail lease, slightly different to what i usually get. part of the lease is i have to get my legal eagle and my accountant to sign off on it that it is okay and i am apply to forfill it.

accountant says yep, all good..

legal eagle looks at lease, eyes light up, and she points out at least 5 areas that are non compliant with the laws in qld governing retail leases :P

and another half a dozen clauses that are excluded under the attached lease statement which we have agreed on prior to the point eg landlord pays outgoings except electricity which i pay.

so legal eagle puts a line thru them, i initial it and sign off and we drop it into realestate

next day i get a very terse letter.

not agreeable, there can be no amendments to lease :eek: sign it as it is within 14 days or you have a months notice to quit...:eek::eek:

dumbfounded....

no way will i sign a lease that breaches the retail leases act i think to myself, so i ring the legal eagle and let her know..

not a happy girl is she, faxes off a 9 page letter stating why each clause was struck thru ... mainly being they are illegal or contrary to what was ageed and duly attached

waiting for an answer but am sure they wont move...

as an aside the principal of the realestate concerned terminates the tenant in the shop next to me because he wouldnt sign a lease and wanted to stay on monthies as he has been doing for years while i am negotiating with them...

principal then puts a sex shop in beside me, in which he is a partner ;)

gotta love them..

anyone need a 53 yr old fitter/welder with some IT experience or own or selling 80sq metres of shop workshop space in caboolture / morayfield area ?

[LandyAndy]

Sounds STICKY Dave.
Hope all works out for you.
Is your bussiness such that you can run it from home/internet and negate the need for an attended shopfront but still service your good customers in the same way???
GOODLUCK!!!
Andrew

[WhiteD3]

Dave,

Regardless of what a contract or lease says, they can't contract out legal or legislative requirements. What they will try is illegal clauses which you'd have to go to court to beat (you would win) but have to spend a lot of money doing so (so you won't).

Lying, cheating B!@#%^@s is the formal term given to these people.

My advice is to sniff around and see if there's anyone else interested in leasing the property. If not, hold your ground; if so, get ready to move or swallow your pride.

Blunt, but well-intended:)

[abaddonxi]

Caboolture Office Lease - Commercial Real Estate ID 236427 (http://commercialrealestate.com.au/236427)

Cheers
Simon

[Jamo]

I'd look elsewhere.

Like WhiteD3 said, most legislative requirements cannot be contracted out of (although in my opinion it would be up to them to go to court to enforce your compliance rather than the other way round - which would fail, but you'd still be out of pocket).

I'd be standing firm with them and continuing to negotiate whilst seeking other premises.

At the end of the day even a few adverse lease conditions can put off buyers if indeed you do try to sell as a going concern in the future. So the costs of relocating may be better than sticking it out with a hostile landlord/property manager.

[Debacle]

A move to another spot mighnt be a bad thing. Where you are at the moment you dont have great exposure to passing traffic and potential customers would only know you were there if they had your address and were looking for you or were popping into the chemist or one of the other shops in the complex.
It would be a good feeling to tell them to jam it then watch as the place stays vacant for a few months because very few other potential tenants want to move in next to a sex shop

[George130]

I would be highly suspisious.
Problem is it is your livelyhood.
I have ejected the relestate agent from a rental home I had. Did it to them and the prospective new tenant who had driven from Sydney. Told then agent exactly what I thought of them too in font of the new customer.
We had 2 days left on the lease due to their tricks so I demanded written notice 2 weeks in advance if they were going to set foot on the property while my lease was still active.

I think they want the space and see it as if you sign then they will just wait a little longer and pocket the extra cash.

Good luck but use caution as it sounds like they are preparing to screw you.

[TP7]

A Real Estate agent presenting you with an illegal lease. They have a legal reponsibility to act within the law. A complaint in writing to the REIQ will put pressure on them. The threat of losing their licence will stop them acting illegally on behalf of a client.

The market is over the balance point and will soon drop so you may get a good deal elsewhere. Also any incentives on offer at new locations will pay for your fitout etc.

[adm333]

You could merge with the new shop next door.


.... and spend the rest of your days fixing "sticky" keyboards and DVD's stuck in the drive.


Seriously though, from what I know, retail landlords are some of the greediest people around. As soon as they think you might be making a buck... whoosh up goes the rent.

[RonMcGr]

Dave,

Build a shed and work from home.
Putting up with those turkeys is not worth it.

Ron

[JohnE]

none of it reads well,sounds like your being lined up for the brass rivet!!!
don't know much about commercial law, but know this if there is a statute for it , it is arrestable and therefore able to be investigated/acted upon.

My 5 cents worth put the bloke in, to whoever is the oversighting body,




john

[Captain_Rightfoot]

Sorry to hear Dave. From my one law subject I'm pretty sure that any contract that has anything illegal in it is invalid. Ie you could ask someone to do a hit on someone and get them to sign it. But, because the contract is contrary to the laws of the country it is, of course, invalid and not enforceable.

[MickG]

Move premises or work from home Dave. I have just shut down one of our offices in SA for similar reasons as the real estate agent was just being plain greedy and unreasonable. Totally changed the way we operate the business in SA and aside from the office running costs, outgoings and staff, have added a flat $25K p/a to our bottom line now that we don't have to pay rent.
Sounds like there are few positives in your situation either now or down the track if you decide to sell, so as asked, my opinion would be to change the way you operate, assuming you can still service your existing clients albeit slightly differently and look to control as much of your outgoings as you can.

One other point which may be relevant, with the changes I have made to our SA operation (which was operating from an office for 7 year) we have injected a breath of fresh air into the business as this gave us the opportunity to dismantle the current structure (based on a 10 year old business model) and piece it back together again. Things are now running far more efficiently as I was forced to look at each process from a work/return point of view. i.e, does this need done like this and is it earning me money.

I seem to have gone off a bit but to sumise, move:D

[Bigbjorn]

Well, I would have no hesitation in presenting a written complaint about the agent's conduct complete with copies of all documentation to the relevant Dept demanding they take action about an agent acting illegally. Copies to your state member and the relevant minister requesting they supervise the Dept's actions on your behalf and keep you informed of progress. They are, after all, your elected servants. Keep in mind the future possibility of forwarding the same documents to your local paper and The Courier Mail and the television do-gooders.

I think the relevant Department is now the Dept. of Tourism and Fair Trading, but your attorney should know which.

Next, research vacant shops in your preferred location, and if there are quite a few, inform the agent that there are a lot of long vacant shops around and a reduction in rent might keep a good tenant in the premises. Tell the landlord direct as well. Suggest to the landlord that a change of agent to one who operates legally and ethically might be preferable to being involved in legal actions brought about by his agent's misconduct.

[mojo]

anyone need a 53 yr old fitter/welder ...

Get back on the tools and head west, buckets of money to be made!!! :D

Seriously though, unless you really need a shop front, I'd be trying to set up office at home.

[incisor]

after all this time it is finally sorted..

they eventually capitulated on all bar one clause which i finally got watered down to my satisfaction..

signed the new lease yesterday and while i was there it looks like i have picked up the legal eagles computer work as a bonus...

i can feel a contra coming on.. ;)

[Pedro_The_Swift]

I hope it works out better than the last contra,,,,;)
:burnrubber::wheelchair:

[MickG]

Glad to hear it's sorted out Inc........took a while.

Aye, Mick

[Camo]

Glad you have it sorted Dave:D

I should tell you some stories dealing with Centro Properties and Westfield:mad:they are all a bunch of f.....wits to deal with

But thats how it is aye..can't do anything about it

Camo

[MickG]

Glad you have it sorted Dave:D

I should tell you some stories dealing with Centro Properties and Westfield:mad:they are all a bunch of f.....wits to deal with

But thats how it is aye..can't do anything about it

Camo

Yeah, my bro in law has a shop in the Paradise Centre Surpers Paradise owned by Centro and the rent hikes in the last few years are beyond a joke.........bloody criminal really but than as you say Camo, what can you do apart from move or hike your prices up to unreasonable amounts and pass on to customers......like that's going to work:mad:

[stevo68]

Good stuff mate, glad it all got sorted,

Regards

Stevo

[JDNSW]

Glad to hear it got settled. Took a while, but I am not at all surprised about that!

John

[CraigE]

Glad it is sorted, but it does not suprise me and happens everywhere.
Another option is to get a group of retailers together, form a co-op and buy your own complex. Just like the old days.
Or with Centro and Westfields financial problems lately, you might be able to buy their complex.;)
Seeing it happen a bit lately. Tennants disatisfied with Centro or Westfield buying property directly opposite the complex and starting their own mini complexes, still keeps your exposure for current customers.