Tools for owner-users

Lease or buy

Compare the cash to lease a retail space with the cash to buy a small building, year by year, before tax. What you type stays on this page.

Illustrative figures only, before tax. This is not tax, legal or investment advice. Talk with your own advisors before you decide.

Leasing the space

Size

Square feet you would occupy.

Base rent

Per SF per year Per SF per month

Per month is not treated as per year. $2.50 per SF per month is $30 per SF per year.

Annual increase

Year 1 is the base. Each later year compounds. Use 0 if rent is flat.

NNN charges

$ per SF per year, held flat. Use 0 if none.

Buying a building

Price

You can type 1.2M.

Down payment

Dollars, not a percent of price. The share of price is shown with the result.

Interest rate

Monthly payments. Use 0 for no interest.

Amortization

A 7.5 year loan pays 6 months in the last year.

Closing costs

Percent of price, cash at closing, not added to the loan.

Owner operating costs

Per year, held flat. Use 0 if none.

Comparison

Horizon

Whole years, from 1 to 40.

Enter the lease and the purchase to compare cash, year by year.

What this comparison holds still

NNN stays flat: NNN charges are dollars per square foot per year and do not step up.
Operating costs stay flat: Owner operating costs are one annual dollar amount and do not step up.
Closing costs are cash: Closing costs are a percent of price, paid in cash at closing. They are not added to the loan.
Price is held still: The comparison does not change the building's price over the horizon.
No deposit: The lease starts at year-1 rent. There is no deposit and no free rent unless you type a zero rent.
Cash is not the building: Cash out ignores the building owned at the end. Principal repaid is shown beside it, not netted against it.

Talk with the retail leasing team or landlord representation. Buying a net lease as an investor is a different question: the Investment Studio.