After the Hurricanes: What Can Owners and Tenants Expect?

Wilson: “Make sure to the best of your ability you understand the terms of your lease and know what that means if your building is impacted.”

SAN DIEGO—Lease preservation is the ideal situation for owners and tenants after a natural disaster, but understanding what your lease says and provides for is key, Douglas Wilson, CEO of Douglas Wilson Cos., tells GlobeSt.com. Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have brought certain questions to the fore: When things return to some sense of “normal,” will residents of Texas and Florida have workplaces to which to return? What happens if their building is damaged and cannot be occupied?

Acting as a fiduciary, Wilson has expertise in remediating, fixing and repositioning damaged/broken assets. His company has handled $18 billion in distressed assets nationwide, including Florida. We spoke with him about the pressures on commercial property owners, landlords and lenders after a natural disaster, the legalities of lease preservation and the covenants in a loan, as well as what happens when property owners just “hand back the keys” on a damaged building to their lender?