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Unless you have an amazingly high degree of trust in the other party, you should. But what exactly do you need a commercial real estate attorney for? Well, let’s hear it from a few practicing commercial real estate attorneys themselves (Remember we do not endorse any particular attorney or legal practice. These are their professional opinions.): 1. You Can “Destroy Your Business“ This is what Alexander Powhida says for the Albany, New York area. He goes farther to say that “disputes about commercial property can destroy a successful business even before it gets off the ground.” Sounds fairly alarming, doesn’t it? 2. If It Goes Wrong, It Costs a Lot to Fix It This is the perspective of Cornetet, Meyer, Rush, & Kirzner. So it’s best to make sure you’ve got everything right in the first place. A sound contract protects your interests from the get-go so you don’t have to deal with any problems in the long-run. 3. They Resolve Disputes Quickly Waukesha, Wisconsin-based Walden, Schuster, & Vaklyes talk about the complexity of real estate disputes. They even take care of disputes you may have with your broker. When you need to make that big move, there’s no such thing as being “too safe.” 4. Give You All the Information So You Know What Path to Take That’s what Leo T. White of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania says. Because commercial real estate law’s so complex, you need a helpful guide who gives you all the most accurate information possible so you can make a good decision. Best of all? You get to stay in full control of the choice you make. 5. You Need Help with all the Contract Clauses and Fine Print So says the SBA. They also note you might want to add clauses in your contract regarding subleasing, exclusivity (prevents your landlord from renting to your direct competitors), and co-tenancy (allows you to move to another property if another tenant breaks their lease and your landlord doesn’t find another tenant within a specified timeframe). 6. You Can Save Yourself from Hidden Fees For example, the SBA says, some landlords sneakily hide the costs of utilities from you. They may apportion those costs by square footage of the building, rather than the readings on your meters. Your lease should also contain language specifying who’s responsible for what maintenance and repair. Do you have caps? Are you responsible for the whole thing? That’s where the help of an attorney comes in handy. That’s why a commercial real estate attorney is imperative. Now you have more detailed information that shows the exact help they offer. Hire a good one, and you get many more times your investment in return.