Anthony Patete

Just file the claim. One way of managing the payment of claims is to ignore them and they will go away. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. I am in a similar position and will be filing a claim to be paid for repairs and maintenance clearly the responsibility of USPS. Please contact me to discuss this further, if you like. We may be able to share some strategy.

Anthony Patete

My experience was similar to Jeanette’s.

With regard to the commission, I merely refused to pay it. End of story. My rationale was they were not contracted by me, were representing the USPS, and in any event it was a conflict of interest. They attempted to include a termination clause, which I said would violate the terms of the my loan. That issue was quickly eliminated. Rental rates on the renewal was the real sticking point. I was flexible on this issue in favor of a ten year renewal. Waiting for countersigned lease.

The one issue I tried to resolve during negotiation was the repairs I made which were clearly the USPS responsibility. They were not interested to discuss this. Now I am left to enforce the terms of the lease.

CBRE response to refusal to pay commission:

“As part of our contract with USPS we are authorized to request our commission from the Landlord, as in any Tenant representation transaction done in Florida. We of course would like to be paid, however it is not a condition of the lease.”

Anthony Patete

Gentlemen-

Understand that insurance is not a legal requirement, meaning, just because you have it does not absolve the tenant (USPS) from its obligations under the lease, which is a contract. You are insuring your asset and it is not a repair or replacement policy. Note, USPS may also have insurance which insures them for any liability, but that may not be the case here. Insurance companies step into the shoes of the insured and from there they make a determination of LIABILITY under the law, their obligation under the policy, and the lease. In the event your insurance company pays, then they will go after the person liable for the damages, and that may be USPS. The only way to get a real determination on this issues is for a judge to make a determination, but the first step should be to submit the claim and let the carrier make a determination. I suspect it will be denied, but you will get a letter stating the reasons for a denial. From there, you can send that denial to EMCOR to support your position under the lease. Either way, I suspect USPS will be liable, either to you or to your carrier.

Good luck!

Anthony Patete