Most tenants focus on the space and the rent number. The real savings come from running a disciplined leasing process.

Landlords price deals based on leverage, timing, and how “stuck” you look. When you look stuck, you pay: higher rent, less free rent, weaker improvement dollars, and more risk pushed onto you.

If you’re renewing or relocating in 2026, use the 12 moves below to keep control, create competition, and protect your downside.

The 12 leasing process moves that cut cost and reduce risk

Start early enough to have leverage
Begin 12–18 months out. Even if you ultimately stay, time is what makes your alternatives credible. If you wait until the last minute, your landlord knows you’re boxed in and will price you accordingly.

Set the strategy before you tour
Define requirements, budget range, and your non-negotiables first. Touring without a plan creates emotional decisions and wasted time. The strategy should tell you what to look for and what to ignore.

Build a credible Plan B fast
Move two to three legitimate alternatives forward in parallel. One real option changes the entire tone with your landlord. If you can’t move, you can’t negotiate.

Control the timeline
Publish deadlines for proposals, shortlist, and decision. The side that controls the clock controls the concessions. A clear timeline also prevents deals from dragging and keeps the market competing.

Qualify buildings before you waste weeks
Ask early about concession expectations, operating expense trends, parking, HVAC hours, and credit/guarantee requirements. If the economics won’t pencil, move on quickly. Most tenants waste time touring buildings that were never realistic.

Force apples-to-apples proposals
Require a standard format from every option: term, rent schedule, free rent, improvement dollars, annual increases, expenses and any expense caps, parking, and flexibility terms. If you can’t compare it, it’s not real. Standardization is how you prevent games.

Treat the LOI as the real negotiation
Don’t rely on “we’ll fix it in the lease.” You won’t. Lock the economics and key protections in the letter of intent while you still have leverage. Once you’re deep in legal, urgency and momentum start working against you.

Negotiate the package, not just rent
Optimize total occupancy cost, not a headline rate. The best deals are built on the full package: rent structure, free rent timing, improvement dollars, landlord work, expense caps, and guarantee/security deposit exposure. Tenants that fixate on rent usually give it back somewhere else.

Align decision-makers early
Finance, operations, and leadership need the same target and authority from the start. Late internal disagreement is how tenants get squeezed. Landlords can sense indecision and will use time pressure to force a bad compromise.

Run a short competitive round at the end
Shortlist two finalists and request best-and-final offers by a specific date. Competition is where the last meaningful value shows up. Without it, you typically leave money and protections on the table.

Keep flexibility for change
Expansion, contraction, and assignment/sublease protections matter more than most tenants think. Your needs will change before the lease ends. If you don’t build flexibility in up front, you’ll pay for it later when you have the least leverage.

Execute like a project
Permits, construction, furniture, and IT drive your real move date. Delays can erase a great deal through lost time and holdover penalties. A lease is only a win if you can execute the move on schedule.

What this looks like in practice: a simple 24-week process

Weeks 1–4: Define the plan, shortlist buildings, and request standardized proposals.
Weeks 5–12: Tours, underwriting, and landlord Q&A to eliminate bad options and narrow to finalists.
Weeks 13–20: LOIs on two finalists, then best-and-final to close the gap and select a winner.
Weeks 21–24: Lease negotiation, build-out planning, and lock the move timeline.

The bottom line
Tenants don’t overpay because they picked the wrong building. They overpay because they ran a weak process. A disciplined process creates leverage, produces apples-to-apples choices, and forces landlords to compete on real economics and real protections.

If your lease expires in 2026, the window to build leverage is now.

If you want a quick gut-check, we can review your timing, your leverage, and your realistic alternatives and tell you where the money and risk are hiding.

For businesses in Itasca and the surrounding suburbs, leasing office space often makes more sense than owning. Here’s why:

Why Lease?

Lower Upfront Costs – Leasing avoids the heavy down payments that ownership requires. You typically only cover first/last month’s rent and a deposit.

Flexibility – Businesses evolve. Leasing lets you expand, downsize, or relocate without being locked into long-term ownership.

Preserve Capital – Keep your money working in your business instead of tied up in real estate.

Tax Benefits – Rent is fully deductible as a business expense.

Less Responsibility – Maintenance, repairs, and capital improvements fall on the landlord, not you.

Better Space Access – Leasing allows you to occupy Class A or well-located space without carrying the cost of buying a building.

Attractive Gross Rents – In Itasca, gross rents for office space generally range from the mid-teens to low-$20s per square foot. That’s often 30–40% lower than comparable space closer to O’Hare or downtown Chicago, giving tenants cost savings without sacrificing access to transportation and amenities.

Why Retain an Exclusive Tenant Rep?

We Only Represent Tenants – Landlords and their brokers work for ownership. An exclusive tenant rep levels the playing field by representing only your interests.

Full Market Coverage – You’ll see every option—direct leases, subleases, and flexible workspaces—not just what landlords want you to see.

Negotiation Power – We know market concessions, sublease discounts, and vacancy leverage in places like Itasca, where competition favors tenants.

Time Savings – One point of contact handles your search, tours, and lease negotiations so you can stay focused on running your business.

No Cost to You – Our fee is typically paid by the landlord, not the tenant.

Flexibility in Your Lease – We fight for expansion rights, early termination options, and sublease provisions—critical protections that many tenants overlook.

In today’s Itasca office market, vacancy is high, gross rents are competitive, and landlords are motivated. That means leverage is on your side—if you have the right advocate in your corner.

Whether or not leasing office space in Oak Brook, IL is right for you depends on your specific needs and priorities. Here are some potential pros and cons to consider:

Pros:

• Accessibility: Oak Brook is conveniently located on the I-88 corridor, with easy access to both Chicago and major suburbs. This can be ideal for companies who need to attract talent from a wide range of areas or have frequent client meetings in different locations.
• Affluent Community: Oak Brook boasts a high median household income and a strong concentration of corporate headquarters. This can be attractive for businesses looking to project a prestigious image or tap into a wealthy consumer base.
• Amenities: Oak Brook offers a variety of amenities that can be attractive to employees and clients, such as upscale shopping malls, restaurants, and hotels. This can make it a more enjoyable place to work and conduct business.
• Office Space Options: Oak Brook has a diverse range of office space options available, from traditional Class A buildings to modern coworking spaces. This allows businesses of all sizes and budgets to find a space that meets their needs.

Cons:

• Cost: Oak Brook is generally considered a more expensive market for office space than other suburbs or even downtown Chicago. This can be a major downside for businesses on a tight budget.
• Traffic: The I-88 corridor can be congested, especially during peak hours. This can be a concern for businesses that rely on employees commuting on time or meeting with clients in person.
• Limited Transit: Oak Brook has limited public transportation options. This can be a disadvantage for businesses who rely on public transportation to attract and retain employees.
• Competition: Oak Brook is a competitive market for office space. This can make it difficult to find the right space at the right price, especially for smaller businesses.

Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to lease office space in Oak Brook depends on your individual needs and priorities. It’s important to carefully consider all of the pros and cons before making a decision.

The tenant’s market in Chicago continues.  There is good news and bad news for tenants in how the market is evolving.  The good news is that some landlords are finally willing, in some cases, to accept lower rental rates.  (Up until now, most landlords have held firm to their pre-pandemic rental rates, preferring to sweeten the deal with higher tenant improvement allowances and additional rent abatement).  The bad news is that many landlords don’t have the capital to fund tenant improvements.  They’re asking the tenant to fund its own improvements. This represents a major shift in the market.

Long Term Reset of the Market

The effects of the changing market will take years to be felt fully.  This is for two reasons: 1) many long-term office leases haven’t yet expired, and 2) many office building mortgages haven’t yet come due.

When leases expire over the next 2-3 years, it’s unlikely they’ll be renewed at the same size if they get renewed at all.  As for mortgages, when they come due over the next few years, often the reduced value of the property won’t support the outstanding principal balance.  The borrower then has two choices: 1) contribute significantly more equity to “buy down” the principal balance to market levels, or 2) hand the keys back to the lender in a “deed in lieu of foreclosure”.

Building Supply Declining

Some lower-end office product is beyond help and will never recover.  In many recent cases, buildings like this are either being renovated to serve another purpose (e.g. residential) or more likely, torn down to make way for an alternate use.  We’ve seen examples of offices buildings being torn down and replaced with apartment buildings, retail centers and warehouses.

Tenants Adapting to the Work from Home Phenomenon

Quite a few companies are mandating that their employees return to the office for at least a few days a week.  Still, it seems unlikely attendance in the office will ever reach pre-pandemic levels.   This has allowed many tenants to reduce the size of their space, and allocate more area to “we” space (conference rooms, break rooms, collaboration areas) and less to “me” space (private offices, large workstations, etc.)

Flight to Quality

As tenants downsize, many are opting to trade up to a higher quality building, partly to attract employees back to the office.  Often, they can make this move without increasing their total rent cost.  They end up with a nicer environment at roughly the same occupancy cost.