“What started as a routine audit turned into a full-blown investigation—and saved us more money than we ever expected.“
The Setup: A Standard Annual Review
We reviewed landlord reconciliations every year, but mostly for show. This year, though, a new team lead wanted to dive deeper.
She picked one high-expense location and began line-by-line verification. What she found changed everything.
The Charges Add Up
Administrative fees were marked up twice. Capital improvements were mislabeled as maintenance. Utilities were allocated at suspiciously high percentages.
So we expanded the review to five more properties. The same patterns emerged.
Then ten more. Same story.
The Floodgates Open
Armed with evidence, we confronted the landlords. Some pushed back. Others quickly “adjusted” their records.
Across 20+ sites, we identified nearly $2 million in overcharges—and recovered most of it.
The audit had exposed systemic overbilling we’d silently accepted for years.
The Costly Consequences (Almost)
Had we not caught it, those costs would’ve quietly compounded. Worse, our failure to audit would’ve gone unnoticed by senior leadership—until it became a budget crisis.
Instead, we caught it just in time.
Lessons Learned from the Deep Dive
- Audit reconciliations proactively—not reactively
- Train teams to spot common misclassifications
- Never assume the landlord’s math is your math
Don’t Wait Until the Numbers Hurt
Reconciliations are not routine—they’re risk management. When done right, audits don’t just confirm—they uncover.
This is Episode 8 of the Lease Administration Nightmares series.
Coming soon: The Mystery of the Mismatched Square Footage
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#LeaseAdminNightmares | Real Mistakes. Real Lessons. Real Results.
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