Cornish & Carey Commercial

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A CAM audit is a systematic process comprised of the examination of all documents associated with a tenant's lease, invoices and other correspondence from the landlord, as well as data from other sources to determine whether charges assessed by the landlord under a tenant's lease have been proper. A CAM audit is also commonly referred to as a Rent Audit, a Lease Audit, an Escalation Expense Audit, Lease Compliance Consulting, or a Lease Review.

The entire CAM audit process is a multi-step review that generally takes from four to nine months to complete. It often includes negotiating with the landlord and verifying that overcharges are recouped. Nearly all CCCS clients request that CCCS complete all the steps in the entire process: from initial lease screening for feasibility, to desktop auditing, to the actual field audit and research, to recovery of funds from the landlord.

CCCS' goal is to generate significant financial savings on behalf of our tenant-clients by identifying errors and overcharges made by landlords that will lead to both refunds and future savings. Typically, we examine costs such as base rent, percentage (or contingent) rent, common area maintenance charges, operating expenses, and real property taxes. Most locations should be assessed annually to review their specific situation, particularly if they have audit rights defined in their leases.

One or more of the following characteristics generally categorizes locations where CAM audits have the highest potential for material recoveries for the tenant:

Large premises and/or large prorata share
Significant changes in occupancy, especially of major tenants
Change of ownership and/or change of property management
Locations where real estate taxes have changed significantly
Utility rate fluctuations
Newly-constructed buildings
Buildings undergoing significant renovation

Benefits

Receive immediate financial savings – CCCS identifies errors and overcharges made by landlords, so tenants can recoup significant amounts of money they may have already overpaid.
Provide future financial savings - Mistakes we find today can result in direct reductions in rental obligations that can carry forward to minimize the tenant's expenses for many years to come.
Outsource lease audit services to experienced professionals - The negotiation of refunds or credits is managed by a bona fide team of lease audit experts. CCCS will represent the tenant's interests, while protecting their relationship with their landlords, and simultaneously maintaining their confidentiality.
Deter future overcharges - Companies can signal to their landlord that they are aware of the terms of their lease, thereby avoiding any attempt at overcharges in future years.
Augment your staff - CCCS can help reduce the burden on a company's real estate team and accounting department, virtually for free. We assist them by managing the entire lease audit recovery process, and by identifying potential improvements for language in future leases.

Pricing

Contingent fee-based pricing assures CCCS' services are self-funding. Pricing based on a contingent fee structure assures that the client will not increase their costs by authorizing an audit. If the audit does not prove successful, there is no fee.

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