Negotiating New Commercial Leases as New Owner. Advice Please!

[David Gore]

After a roller-coaster ride for the past 2 months, it appears that I'll finally be closing on my first commercial property on October 1st.

Two of the three retail/office tenants in the building have leases expiring on October 31st. Tenant A is saying they are leaving, but they need an additional month to clear out. Tenant B is needing more space and renovations or they intend to leave as well.

Tenant A hanging around is going to make it difficult for me to plan and perform expansions and improvements for Tenant B. I don't want to risk losing both tenants, as it'll leave my new property 2/3 vacant.

Ideas I have in my head are:

1. Force Tenant A into a new lease for 3 months, and give concessions to Tenant B to wait 3 months for their expansion. This would keep the property fully occupied for the next 3 months, which would help give us more time to find a replacement for Tenant A. However, Tenant A is most likely not going to want to renew for 3 months. They just want 1 month. So how tough should I be? (They haven't had a rent increase in 9 years. They've been extending for 1-year periods for the past couple years supposedly claiming the same thing about moving.)

2. Force Tenant A to vacate completely on October 31st and start tenant improvements immediately for Tenant B, with less concessions given to Tenant B.

I'm new to all of this, so I'd really appreciate any advice from more seasoned professionals.

Specific questions I have:

1. How much of an increase should be charged to Tenant A for a 3-month extension, that inconveniences us and Tenant B?
2. What if Tenant A refuses to sign a 3-month extension and intends to stay, paying monthly? If I give them 30-days notice that this will not be allowed, will I have the right to force them out when their lease expires on October 31st? I kind of feel like they're trying to force this into a month-to-month situation.

Thanks!
David