Don't Use Previous Measurements After Buying Property

When you buy an office building or shopping center, don't rely on the prior owner's space measurements when you set your tenants' rent. Always remeasure each tenant's space, and then use your measurements to calculate the rent before you negotiate a new lease. Otherwise, you could lose money. That's because by putting a prior owner's incorrect measurements into a new lease you might get less rent than you could have asked for because the space was in fact much larger than the prior owner's measurement indicated. That can be especially costly when you sign long-term leases with tenants.