A noticeable shift in the mindset of lessees has come to the forefront as demand increases for options in short term leases with the possibility of an out clause if the business looses a major client or is forced to file bankruptcy.  Given the current global economic conditions and all the uncertainty associated with it, business owners are justifiably apprehensive about locking themselves and their business into rigid lease terms. Leasing office space with a flexible term would allow a tenant to adapt based on the ever changing requirements of the business.  Many landlords have been forced to change their policies for renting space based on these changing needs of their clients.  A recent shift towards these terms within the commercial loft realm has been noticeable. While the concept of live work lofts has become trendy, many are now experiencing first hand how practical they can also be. In these times, the ability to roll rent to live and rent to work in one lease term can prove to be financially prudent for business owners. This urban concept allows these owners to cut down on costs significantly. While many are trying to determine how they can afford to balance car payments, residential rents or mortgages and business expenses; flexible terms and situations have become essential. Commercial lofts give the tenant a potential tax write off and because many of these spaces are in urban centers, a car may become a superfluous luxury. That eliminates the costs of gas, insurance, registration and parking.  Most businesses have transitory properties in that they rarely remain the same size for long. Successful ones grow and we all know what happens to the other kind. Flexible lease terms aid the latter and for both; loft space affords the business owner with the ability to grow or contract as needed. High ceilings and multi-levels allow the tenant to be creative with use of space. When the walls will simply no longer accommodate the business, the walls must come down. Many loft building owners allow tenants to tear down walls to combine units, eliminating the need for tenants to continually relocate, which aside from being a hassle can prove to be quite costly as well.For a business that may be floundering, there is always the possibility of dividing the space in such a way that enables the tenant to sublease part of their space to another small business. Some lofts are even being designed as modular so that walls can be moved easily and efficiently to best use the space according to the needs of the ever changing businesses. In many of these loft developments tenants also have the ability to network and even at times barter services. In these uncertain times, networking and bartering are becoming crucial for survival. A skill, a talent or a business focus can prove to be as valuable as money these days—especially when money seems quite hard to come by.

As the new budget is making its way to the ballot we all need to prepare for the reality that as expensive as it is to live in Los Angeles or in California overall it is about to get more expensive.  Looking back we only have ourselves to blame.  Several years ago we took Grey Davis out of office to replace him with the Terminator.  The main reason many fought to remove Davis was due to an increase in the vehicle registration tax.  Now look at where we are a few years later.  The state budget only has more probelms and that car tax we brought Arnold in to repeal is now coming back with additional taxes including an increase in the sales tax.  I am only left to wonder how different this would have been had we stayed with Grey Davis and his plan to correct the California budget crisis.  While many across the United States are on the verge of losing their homes and have lost a great amount in the stock market this increase in taxes is only going to weaken the already crippled economy.  It is time we start to realize that it is going to be a long time before this economy comes back to a healthy level and that we should think twice before ousting a politician.