Just talked to a guy who leased in 2020 and his warning hit me hard

I was at a coffee shop near Eastern Market last Friday and ran into an old friend who leases office space in the Fisher Building. He told me he locked in a 5 year lease in early 2020 right before everything went remote, and now he's stuck paying $28 per square foot for a floor that's half empty. He said his tenant improvement allowance barely covered the buildout because contractors were booked solid and costs spiked 30% mid project. Anyone else hearing similar stories from people who signed leases during that window?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_brian1mo ago

My buddy signed a 7 year lease on a storefront in Ferndale in early 2020. He was so excited about it, put all his savings into the buildout. Six months later his landlord wouldn't even negotiate on rent reduction, just said tough luck. He ended up subletting half the space at a loss for two years just to cover the base rent. Last I heard he finally broke the lease early and paid a big penalty. That 2020 window was a real trap for anyone who thought things would go back to normal fast.

stellachen1mo ago

Are you sure it was that bad? I mean, @jamiew53 has a point about still having a roof, and subletting at a loss still beats having an empty space with no income at all. Besides, the landlord probably had their own bills to pay and couldn't just cut the rent for everyone.

jamiew531mo ago

Yeah but honestly @the_brian how bad could subletting be? He still had a roof.