I just wrapped up negotiations for a lease where I represented a residential real estate brokerage office.  We found the ideal building on a high profile corner in West Los Angeles that was right in the middle of their primary “farming” area – exactly where the company wanted to be.  There was only one thing missing and it was a big thing: exterior signage that would promote their brand to a high volume of traffic on the two busy intersecting streets that passed in front of the building.

The building already had two large tenant signs on the exterior walls and the landlord deemed this was their limit.  But there was a small, innocuous address monument sitting in the landscaping on the corner.  It was the perfect place for a monument sign but in the 20 years the building had been standing there, the ownership was never motivated to erect one.   That is, until Aaron Weiner came along, wielding the colossal leverage of a 2,000 square foot tenant.  (Yes, that’s a little sarcasm!)  And so I pressed for an opportunity to create a benefit for my tenant far more valuable than grinding for a little lower rent rate.

I enlisted the support and cooperation of the listing broker.  Together, we convinced the landlord to engage a sign contractor and develop a design.  I demonstrated to the landlord how he could recover 100% of the cost of the sign from the tenants who appeared on it.   When they presented the design to the tenants in the building, the proposition was well received and several positions on the sign went very quickly.  But the landlord was slightly concerned about the two slots that remained.  So I explained how those empty positions on the monument would  serve as a magnet to attract new tenants!  That sealed the deal.

Some of the credit goes to the landlord who was intelligent enough to embrace the benefits of the sign.  But I had the satisfaction of scoring an unlikely victory for my client and creating long term value for the landlord.