Your business is expanding, you’re unhappy with your current business space, or you’re just ready to say goodbye to working out of your garage. You’re both excited about leasing a new office and bracing yourself for the avalanche of paperwork! And while your attorney or broker have all the legal documents prepared for you, such as a lease agreement, the most important document is one you yourself will be writing; i.e., the Letter of Intent. We all know terms initially agreed upon are often a long way from what ends up being the lease agreement. The letter of intent is a non-binding document that paves the way for both parties to understand each other and start the negotiation ball rolling.
What to Write?
A letter of intent to lease commercial space contains the names of tenant and landlord, the nature of your business, products or services, rent and what it includes, equipment you’ll be using and power and communication specifications for operating, and any issues or special wish list you may have in mind. Describe your intended space explaining how you intend to use that space and what interior modifications, signage, parking space and foot traffic in the building you anticipate. One thing that really helped me write that letter was gathering insight from other tenants to get to know the landlord and thus, finding the right balance between oversharing and not saying enough.
Sample Letter of Intent to Lease Commercial Space
Gloria J. Norfleet
CEO
Sid’s Deli Business Office
4181 Johnson Street,
Raleigh, NC 27601
November 22, 2016
Mr. Charles Lanier
Leasing Manager
Crabtree Valley Mall
4325 Glenwood Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27612
Dear Mr. Lanier,
This letter of intent is proffered as a proposal by Sid’s Deli for renting a shop from Crabtree Valley Mall for a delicatessen business. With reference to our meeting earlier this week, the shop we have selected is 1000 square feet (SF) and the rent is $20/sf.
Sid’s Deli has been serving high quality delicatessens in Raleigh since 2005 with the finest local and foreign delicatessens. We started from an online food store and went on to a counter at North Hill. And now, demand for our products has grown so much that it is time to open our own outlet. After a thorough search and study we find Crabtree Valley Mall to possess the ideal space with the right customers, foot traffic and easy access.
The equipment I would be using to operate Sid’s deli are meat and cheese slicers, a refrigerator, a deep freezer, a dishwasher, an industrial oven, a microwave oven, an electrical fryer. Interior modifications would be installing shelving for finished foods, a pantry, a display counter, cutting boards, counters, bar stools, tables, chairs and a register.
The Deli would be operating 24/7 and there will be 24 employees coming in 3 shifts, 8 persons per shift. I’ll need a spare key for each of my 3 shift supervisors and 2 keys for myself. The back entrance would be used for a delivery van to offload goods fresh produce and frozen goods.
You can contact us at 919-899-4967, 09:00 am – 8:00 pm, Monday through Friday, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm Saturdays, to discuss this further and hopefully arrive at the final terms of lease. We believe it can be a great match as we are serving the same customers.
Thank you very much,
Best regards,
(Sign Here)
Gloria J. Norfleet