When Will I Negotiate My Postal Lease With CBRE and When Will I Negotiate with USPS?

Postal lessors will usually negotiate a new lease with a CBRE agent. A new lease starts when the old lease expires and there are no options remaining.

A renewal lease is one that contains options. When an option on a lease is given to the USPS, the lessor is giving the Postal Service the right to lease the building at a specified price for a specified time. The Postal Service has the power to choose if it will accept the option and is not obligated to exercise it.

When considering exercising an option, the Postal Service or CBRE can 1) exercise the option as it is written or 2) re-negotiate the option. If the Postal Service chooses to exercise the option, the lessor must accept the terms that were negotiated when the lease was written. USPS is not obligated to exercise an option.

When a lease expires with one or more renewal options on it and the annual rent is below $25,000 per year, the lessor will usually negotiate with a Postal Service Real Estate Specialist.

When a lease expires and there are one or more renewal options left on the lease with an annual rent above $25,000 per year, negotiations are handled through CBRE. In some situations when the annual rent is $25,000 or more, CBRE may determine that the rent is within fair market value. If so, CBRE may return the lease for negotiation with the Postal Service.

Many lessors have postal facilities on the POStPlan (retail service hours have been reduced to two, four or six hours per day). If a post office is on the POStPlan, the Postal Service may look more closely at the building during lease negotiations. Additionally, only buildings on the POStPlan will be subject to a termination clause.