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Selling the easement, keeping the building

After signing an LOI to sell a rooftop easement at 301 W Osborn, I personally drafted the carve-outs our conversion required.

At 301 W Osborn we had signed a letter of intent. It sold an 85-year rooftop easement. Then the draft wording handed the buyer an exclusive easement over the whole roof. We needed that same roof for HVAC equipment and future amenity space as the building converted to about 22 residential units.

I wrote seven carve-out sections myself ahead of the closing attorney meeting. They covered a mechanical equipment zone sized for the HVAC condensers that code requires, access corridors, a pair of reserved corner areas for a roof deck down the road, a rooftop plan exhibit prepared jointly, construction rights, structural loading coordination, and aesthetic approval over any equipment visible from the street.

The LOI's non-interference clause backed our side in principle, yet a principle cannot be enforced. A drawn exhibit can. The HVAC space was non-negotiable for me because the conversion needed it under code. The two reserved corners were my flexible ask, and I was ready to drop to one.

Going into that meeting, we had a mapped position, and an aerial view planned to show the carve-outs, so we were not counting on the LOI's general wording to hold later.

Put the rights you will need in writing before you sign, not after you discover the need. Knowing which asks to hold and which to trade comes from understanding what the other side needs, as opposed to what they merely request.

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