If you don't hire Lease Advocates, please hire someone to watch out for you and your interests. Don't let the deck be stacked against you.

Consult with an advisor. If you were going into any other legal negotiation, you wouldn't proceed unrepresented. Doing so with your lease will cost you.

Along with hiring a professional to be on your side, let us share with you some things you can do to make sure you get the best possible lease.

• Plan ahead. Don't wait until the last minute to start negotiating with your landlord. Even if you're not planning a move, if you wait until the last minute, the landlord knows you don't have any other options and won't offer you the concessions that would be offered to a new tenant for your space.

• Make sure the key players know your plans. Negotiations can be spoiled by innocent comments made to the janitor or building handyman by your office manager or receptionist. Make sure everyone who communicates with a member of the landlord's staff knows what's going on. The landlord will often utilize the relationships your staff has with the building's staff to find out information that can hurt you in negotiating your lease.

You need someone on your side. Period. The landlord's agent will be negotiating with the landlord's interest in mind. The agent's job is to get you to pay the most possible for your new lease or renewal. You need someone who is watching out for you and your interests. The landlord doesn't want you to talk to us ... they might even tell you that you'll pay more if you do. Don't fall for these scare tactics. Remember, we generally save our clients 3-10 times our commission. If we could get paid based upon what we saved for our clients, we would love it!

To obtain the best lease possible, you need experience and local market knowledge. You also need someone who's on your side. (Sadly, it's not the landlord.)