In the face of continuing economic conditions, powerful national retailers and restaurant corporations are actively and aggressively renegotiating their leases with their landlords. Taking this kind of proactive approach, these leading corporations are using their nationwide buying power to persuade landlords that rent relief is essential. Smaller retailers, if they are to survive, must now do the same, and put in place a survival plan of their own, according to the commercial rent reduction specialists, Reduce Your Rent (RYR). RYR is a nationwide company that champions the small business retailer, using the experience of local commercial real estate professionals to convince landlords that rent reduction is not only necessary, but is in everyone's best interest, including landlords'.

Smaller retailers, just like their larger brethren, are faced with reduced consumer spending, along with spiraling triple net and common area expenses. If these smaller businesses go out of business, property owners also face significant problems releasing these dark store fronts, which act as a kind of retail cancer, possibly causing landlords to violate key loan covenants, and risk losing it all. Taking a proactive, insightful approach, RYR works with tenants across the U.S. to assist in properly evaluating and restructuring their commercial leases. Historically, tenants that try to reach out and renegotiate their leases with their landlords almost always fail, according to RYR. Lacking a clear understanding of the intricacies of their leases, the market and its direction, they run into stone walls, time and again.

But there is a false sense of security among landlords, say the RYR specialists. Landlords may be in the position to say, "no," but they could end up just hurting themselves. "I've watched real estate cycles come and go since the 1970's, and I've never seen a crisis of this magnitude, particularly with respect to retail properties," said Tom Lackman, founder of RYR. "The bottom line is: if tenants don't get some kind of rent relief, they are going to fail in increasing numbers. That will be followed by empty malls, and half built office buildings owned by lenders that have no idea what to do with them. Tenants, landlords and lenders must start working together now, or this already bad situation will get much worse," Lackman added.

To try to give tenants a better understanding of their situation, RYR has published a white paper entitled, "Rational Rent Relief: Commercial Landlords, Lenders and Tenants Must Face Reality." The paper discusses consumer savings and spending trends, tenant reactions and concerns, commercial real estate vacancy trends, commercial financing and loan default issues, options and cost/benefits of rent relief, and a business case approach to a tenant's request for rent relief. "Rational Rent Relief," and its comprehensive approach to today's commercial real estate crisis, is designed to deliver better results for all, and most importantly to the small business tenant. The full white paper can be downloaded from the home page of www.ReduceYourRent.com.

RYR was formed early this year by Tom Lackman, a retired CPA; Colleen Canale and Michael Jackowitz, a lawyer. It covers many major U.S. markets, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, Las Vegas, the TriState area of Connecticut, San Diego, Portland, Los Angeles, Tampa, Dallas, Charlotte, Chattanooga, New York, Phoenix, Minneapolis Raleigh and Baltimore. A local RYR agent in each market is a specialist in leasing.