Commercial Condo Lease/Option Negotiation

[Susan Dellea]

I am seeking advice and mentoring about an unencumbered, commercial condo lease/option deal in a mixed residential/commercial complex.

The owner/user is selling it without a broker.  I want to use it as an owner/user and start a business.

It’s vacant and tax assessed for $1 SF.  

It’s a basement studio type condo with columns, but mostly open except for two bathrooms and a corner office build out.  It has been used for telemarketing, but now  selling due to age and health reasons.

He wants $90K cash with a 2 year lease/option and lease payments to be credited to the down payment.  I want him carry the paper.

He has agreed to graduated lease payments based upon me growing into the space.  We verbally agreed to $600 mo., including utilities with my initial use of 900 SF.

When I meet with him, again, I am asking how he arrived at $90K and is that before or after the lease payments are credited.  What else am I missing here?