Each year National Lease Advisors saves in excess of $2,000,000 for our lease administration clients. We take pride in achieving these savings and believe that looking for recoveries, big and small, is essential to adding value to our clients and building trust.
We also understand that most of the recoveries are a result of human error and not malice, so we always take a cordial, non-confrontational, approach when presenting our findings to landlords. This approach ensures that errors are corrected and our clients’ relationships with their landlords remains harmonious.
The bulk of the savings comes from auditing operating expense statements, however we are able to achieve recoveries in many more areas of our process. Below are a real examples of how we have saved our clients money, just in 2024.
Amount Saved: $425,000
Recovery Type: CAM/Operating Expenses; Onboarding
Client Use: Retail
When onboarding a new client, we noticed that the landlord was passing through operating expenses as if the lease was a NNN lease, but it was actually a Base Year lease. This error resulted in our client paying an extra $85,000 since the lease commenced. NLA identified this error and had the charges corrected, resulting in $85,000 in immediate savings and $85,000 in annual savings for the rest of the term ($340,000) for our client.
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Amount Saved: $5,000
Recovery Type: CAM/Operating Expenses
Client Use: Office
The lease had a 5% cap on controllable operating expenses over the Base Year expenses. Our client renewed the lease with the Base Year updating to 2022. The landlord did not reset the expense cap when the base year reset, leading to incorrect charges. NLA identified this error and reached out to the landlord, requesting the cap be revised. As a result, our client saved $5,000.
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Amount Saved: $26,000
Recovery Type: CAM/Operating Expenses
Client Use: Industrial
When reviewing the 2023 reconciliation we noticed that the landlord did not factor in the 5% cap on operating expenses in the lease, as well as real estate taxes doubling from the previous year. We researched the property taxes in the public records and found that they had successfully appealed the real estate taxes but were passing through the original amount to our client. We presented our findings to the landlord and they revised the reconciliation, ensuring our client saved $26,000 by preventing these excess charges.
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Amount Saved: $10,000
Recovery Type: CAM/Operating Expenses
Client Use: Office
Our client is in a building where operating expenses have increased significantly. Fortunately, they have a cap on operating expenses in their lease. The lease states that the cap should be applied to the previous years capped amount, not the actual expenses for the prior year. The landlord incorrectly applied the cap to the previous year’s actual expenses instead of the capped amount. NLA identified this discrepancy and worked with the landlord to correct the error, resulting in $10,000 in savings for our client.
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Amount Saved: $9,000
Recovery Type: CAM/Operating Expenses
Client Use: Industrial
The landlord overlooked a 4% cap on expenses, leading to higher charges. NLA reached out to the landlord and ensured that the cap was correctly applied, saving our client $9,000.
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Amount Saved: $10,000
Recovery Type: CAM/Operating Expenses
Client Use: Office
Our client has consistently expanded with the lease having multiple amendments, each with a stipulated pro-rata share of operating expenses. The landlord provided one 2023 reconciliation for all our clients suites and we notices that the sum of the shares in the amendments was lower than the amount used in the landlord’s reconciliation. After pointing this out, the landlord corrected the error, saving our client $10,000.
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Amount Saved: $17,000
Recovery Type: Incorrect Rent Schedule; Onboarding
Client Use: Medical
The landlord was implementing annual rent increases one month before the date stated in the lease. NLA identified this issue, pointed this out to the landlord, and had the schedule corrected so the increases are applied in the correct month. The revised rent scheduled will save our client $17,000 throughout the term.
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Amount Saved: $24,000
Recovery Type: Review of Rent Ledger
Client Use: Retail
Our client signed a lease amendment during Covid to abate rent in 2021, but the landlord kept this amount on the ledger and included it in the 2023 reconciliation as an outstanding amount. NLA intervened and ensured the abated rent was removed, resulting in $24,000 in savings for client.
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Amount Saved: $2,000
Recovery Type: CAM/Operating Expenses
Client Use: Retail
The landlord charged a 10% administrative fee on taxes. The lease stated the administration fee should only be applied to CAM and insurance, but not taxes NLA identified this overcharge and had it corrected, saving our client $2,000.
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About National Lease Advisors: National Lease Advisors is a leading provider of lease administration services, specializing in helping businesses effectively manage their real estate portfolios. Their comprehensive range of services includes CAM reconciliation reviews, lease audits, rent statement analysis, and lease accounting. With a focus on quality service and client satisfaction, National Lease Advisors helps clients manage their lease portfolios effectively, reducing costs and optimizing their real estate strategy.