Real Estate Operational Counsel
A growing company's real estate is mostly operational: the office lease, its renewals and amendments, the build-out, and the vendor agreements that keep the space running. As outside general counsel, we handle that work as it comes up, so the company's space supports the business instead of becoming a liability.
Talk to an attorneyFounded
1965
Attorneys
11
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Founded
1965
Attorneys
4
AV-rated
Martindale-Hubbell
Office
Bellevue, WA
Commercial lease and operational real estate attorneys for Bellevue and Seattle companies
Oseran Hahn handles the operational real-estate work a company generates as a tenant and occupant: office, retail, and warehouse leases, the amendments and renewals that follow as the company grows, the estoppels and subordination agreements landlords and lenders request, and the construction and vendor contracts that come with a build-out. This is the day-to-day real-estate side of being outside general counsel; the firm's real-estate group handles acquisitions, development, and the larger transactions.
Operational real estate is the steady stream of property work a company generates without ever being in the real-estate business. We negotiate and review the company's commercial leases; we handle the amendments, renewals, and expansions that follow as it grows; we review the estoppels and subordination agreements landlords and lenders ask it to sign; we paper the build-out, vendor, and facilities contracts; and we step in when a dispute with a landlord develops.
Office and commercial leases
The lease is usually a company's largest fixed obligation after payroll, and the terms decide how much flexibility it keeps. We negotiate and review commercial office, retail, and warehouse leases, focusing on the provisions that matter over a multi-year term: rent and escalations, common-area maintenance charges, the tenant-improvement allowance, renewal and expansion options, assignment and subletting rights, and any personal guaranty. Commercial leases fall outside Washington's Residential Landlord-Tenant Act (RCW 59.18) and are governed almost entirely by the lease itself, so what the document says is what the company gets.
Amendments, renewals, and expansions
A lease is not a one-time event for a growing company; it is an ongoing relationship that changes as the business does. We handle the amendments, renewals, expansions, and subleases that follow, including the lease assignment that comes up when the company is acquired or restructures, and the blend-and-extend or early-termination negotiations when the space no longer fits. Because the same attorney holds the lease history, the company is not re-explaining its deal every time it needs to adjust it.
Estoppels, SNDAs, and lender requests
Landlords and the company's own lenders regularly ask a tenant to sign estoppel certificates and subordination, non-disturbance, and attornment agreements, usually on a deadline and usually presented as routine. They are not always routine: an estoppel can lock in a landlord's version of the facts, and an SNDA affects what happens to the lease if the building is foreclosed or sold. We review these requests, correct what is inaccurate, and tell the company what it is actually agreeing to before it signs.
Build-outs, vendors, and facilities
Occupying space generates its own contracts, and we handle them as part of operational counsel: the tenant-improvement and construction agreements for a build-out, service and maintenance contracts, equipment leases, and signage and access agreements. On construction work, we keep an eye on Washington's mechanics-lien exposure so a contractor dispute does not become a lien against the company or the landlord's building (RCW 60.04). The goal is operational contracts that protect the company without slowing the move-in.
Disputes with a landlord
Most landlord-tenant friction is operational, a CAM reconciliation that looks wrong, a repair the landlord will not make, a security-deposit or restoration fight at move-out, and we resolve those as counsel before they escalate. When a dispute does harden, into a lease default, a holdover, or an unlawful-detainer action (RCW 59.12), the firm's litigation and real-estate groups take it, already knowing the lease because we negotiated it. Handling the lease and the dispute under one roof keeps the company from starting over with new counsel mid-fight.
Six decades of Pacific Northwest real-estate work, with attorneys who handle a company's operational property needs as outside general counsel rather than treating every lease as a new matter. We read the lease, the amendment, and the estoppel the way someone who will still be here at renewal.
We hold the lease history.
The same attorney handles your lease, its amendments, and its renewals, so you're not re-explaining the deal each time. The institutional memory is part of what you're paying for.
We read what landlords call routine.
Estoppels and SNDAs are presented as formalities and aren't always. We tell you what you're actually signing before the deadline, not after.
The real-estate group is right here.
When operational work crosses into an acquisition, a development, or a real fight with a landlord, the firm's real-estate and litigation groups step in already knowing the property.
The attorneys behindthe work.
Our business and corporate attorneys handle this work alongside our litigation team, so you have coverage whether your matter stays transactional or becomes something more.
What clientsask us first.
Can you review our office lease before we sign?
Yes, and it's worth doing before signing, not after. We focus on the terms that matter over a multi-year lease: rent escalations, CAM charges, the improvement allowance, renewal and expansion options, assignment rights, and any personal guaranty. Commercial leases are governed almost entirely by the document, not by statute, so the language is what you live with.
Do you handle lease amendments and renewals too, or just the original lease?
Both, and the ongoing work is much of the value. We handle renewals, expansions, subleases, assignments when you're acquired or restructure, and blend-and-extend or early-termination negotiations. Because we hold the lease history, each amendment starts from context rather than a cold read of the original document.
Our landlord sent an estoppel certificate and wants it signed this week. Is it routine?
Usually presented that way, not always actually routine. An estoppel can lock in the landlord's version of the lease facts, and a subordination agreement affects your lease if the building is sold or foreclosed. We review it quickly, correct anything inaccurate, and tell you what you're agreeing to before you sign on the deadline.
We're building out new space. What should we watch for?
The tenant-improvement and construction contracts, who pays for what, and Washington's mechanics-lien exposure, which can put a lien on the space if a contractor isn't paid (RCW 60.04). We paper the build-out agreements and lien protections so a construction dispute doesn't become a problem with your landlord or a lien against the project.
We're in a dispute with our landlord over CAM charges. Can you help?
Yes. Most landlord disputes, CAM reconciliations, unmade repairs, move-out and restoration fights, resolve through counsel before they escalate. If one hardens into a default or an unlawful-detainer action (RCW 59.12), the firm's litigation and real-estate groups handle it, already knowing the lease because we've been working with it.
When should we bring in counsel on our space?
Before signing a lease or a renewal, before signing any estoppel or subordination agreement, before a build-out, and as soon as a landlord dispute surfaces. The lease is a multi-year obligation, and the cost of reviewing it up front is small next to being stuck with terms that don't fit.
Recentarticles.
Commercial leases, amendments and renewals, estoppels, build-out contracts, and landlord disputes for Washington companies, as outside general counsel.
Oseran Hahn P.S. · 11225 SE 6th St, Suite 100 · Bellevue, WA 98004
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