Lease Offer Comparison

Compare up to three lease offers on the numbers in each proposal. Every figure here is one you enter; nothing is estimated for you.

Inputs

Offer A

As the offer states it. Picking one does not mark any cost as included.

Rent unit
In dollars per square foot per year.
In square feet.

The suite's size in the offer, not the building's.

In months.
In percent.

Enter 0 if the offer has no increases.

In months.

Enter 0 if the offer has none.

In dollars per square foot.

Enter 0 if the offer has none.

In dollars.

Operating costs ($/SF/yr, held flat over the term)

In dollars per square foot per year.

Not in the offer yet? Ask the landlord for last year's actual charge per SF.

In dollars per square foot per year.

Not in the offer yet? Ask the landlord for last year's actual charge per SF.

In dollars per square foot per year.

Not in the offer yet? Ask the landlord for last year's actual charge per SF.

In dollars per square foot per year.

Not in the offer yet? Ask the landlord for last year's actual charge per SF.

Offer B

As the offer states it. Picking one does not mark any cost as included.

Rent unit
In dollars per square foot per year.
In square feet.

The suite's size in the offer, not the building's.

In months.
In percent.

Enter 0 if the offer has no increases.

In months.

Enter 0 if the offer has none.

In dollars per square foot.

Enter 0 if the offer has none.

In dollars.

Operating costs ($/SF/yr, held flat over the term)

In dollars per square foot per year.

Not in the offer yet? Ask the landlord for last year's actual charge per SF.

In dollars per square foot per year.

Not in the offer yet? Ask the landlord for last year's actual charge per SF.

In dollars per square foot per year.

Not in the offer yet? Ask the landlord for last year's actual charge per SF.

In dollars per square foot per year.

Not in the offer yet? Ask the landlord for last year's actual charge per SF.

Results

All figures are undiscounted sums of the numbers you entered.

Offer A

Enter the base rent, square feet, lease term (whole months, up to 600) and annual escalation to see this offer's figures.

Offer B

Enter the base rent, square feet, lease term (whole months, up to 600) and annual escalation to see this offer's figures.

Lease terms to ask about

Triple net (NNN)
The tenant pays base rent plus a share of the property taxes, insurance and common-area maintenance, usually billed monthly as estimates.
Modified gross
Base rent covers some operating costs and the tenant pays others. Which costs fall on which side is set by the lease, so it varies from one lease to the next.
Full service
Base rent includes the operating costs, often including utilities and janitorial. Many leases still pass through increases over a base year.
CAM reconciliation
Once a year the landlord compares the tenant's estimated common-area maintenance payments with the actual costs, then bills the shortfall or credits the excess.
Escalation
A scheduled rent increase, usually a fixed percentage or amount each lease year, or one tied to an index such as CPI.
Free rent
A number of months, usually at the start of the term, when base rent is waived. Operating costs may still be due during those months.
TI allowance
Tenant improvement allowance: money the landlord contributes toward building out the space, quoted per square foot. Costs above it are the tenant's.
Security deposit
Money held by the landlord against unpaid rent or damage, returned under the conditions the lease sets.
Personal guarantee
A promise by an individual, often the business owner, to pay the tenant's lease obligations if the business does not. It may be full or capped.
Burn-off
A clause that reduces or ends a guarantee or deposit over time, often after a set number of on-time payments.

General information, not legal advice. Have a real-estate attorney review a lease before you sign.