Commercial Real Estate Lease Analyst

About the role

The Commercial Real Estate Lease Analyst reads signed lease documents and turns them into accurate system records, rent schedules, tenant charges, key dates, and reports. This role supports a commercial real estate portfolio owned or managed by the company and collaborates with Real Estate Accounting, Property Management, Leasing, Asset Management, and Legal. The signed lease is the controlling document; if lease language is unclear or conflicts with another document, the analyst records the issue and escalates it to the appropriate team before it impacts finances, reporting, or deadlines.

Responsibilities

• 35% Lease Review and Setup
  • Read and summarize signed leases, amendments, renewals, expansions, reductions, assignments, subleases, terminations, and waivers.
  • Enter important terms, including space, dates, rent, increases, options, notice deadlines, recoveries, caps, base years, gross-ups, taxes, insurance, percentage rent, deposits, letters of credit, allowances, co-tenancy, and other rights and requirements.
  • Determine which document controls when multiple documents modify the lease; flag conflicts, missing support, and unusual terms for review.
  • Convert lease terms into accurate rent schedules, system fields, tasks, notices, and reports.
  • Complete a documented quality check before records or charges go live.
  • Maintain complete, organized, and supported electronic lease files.
• 20% System and Document Accuracy
  • Enter and update complete lease records in the company’s lease or property accounting system on time.
  • Attach signed documents, maintain correct version history, and support important data changes.
  • Compare the signed lease, lease summary, rent roll, lease system, accounting system, and billing schedules; fix or escalate differences quickly.
  • Maintain approved recovery settings, pools, tenant setup, and budget assumptions.
  • Support data transfers, acquisitions, property sales, and system changes; test transferred data.
  • Use the signed lease as the legal source and the lease system as the daily working source.
• 25% Rent Charges, Recoveries, and Financial Support
  • Set up and verify recurring charges, fixed rent increases, consumer price index (CPI) increases, percentage rent, utilities, and other bill-backs.
  • Prepare or support CAM, operating expense, real estate tax, and insurance estimates and year-end reconciliations.
  • Apply caps, base years, gross-ups, exclusions, and other special terms exactly as stated in the lease.
  • Research discrepancies and tenant questions; prepare lease-based support and coordinate approved corrections or escalations.
  • Assist in preparing tenant estimate and reconciliation statements; enter approved charges into the accounting system.
  • Review rent rolls, occupancy information, and portfolio reports for accuracy.
  • Provide Accounting with lease data and schedules; Accounting owns accounting policy and final conclusions.
• 10% Critical Dates and Contractual Compliance Controls
  • Maintain controls over rent commencement, option and notice deadlines, expirations, renewals, holdovers, insurance requirements, reporting duties, and other time-sensitive provisions.
  • Use system alerts, recurring reviews, and documented backup procedures to ensure compliance does not rely on individual memory.
  • Monitor unresolved obligations and obtain missing documents, data, approvals, or evidence of completion.
  • Assess the timing and significance of exceptions and escalate them early for action by Accounting, Property Management, Leasing, Asset Management, or Legal.
• 5% Reporting, Close, Budget, and Audit Support
  • Prepare recurring and ad hoc lease, billing, recovery, variance, and exception reports for operational and management use.
  • Support monthly close, annual budgets, tenant estimates, reconciliations, and portfolio reporting with accurate, traceable lease data.
  • Assemble complete evidence for internal controls and internal or external audit requests.
  • Analyze aged exceptions, recurring data defects, and financial discrepancies; document root causes, ownership, status, and resolution.
• 5% Team Support and Process Improvement
  • Research lease questions and explain answers in clear, practical language.
  • Maintain issue and status logs, meet response deadlines, and communicate delays or risks early.
  • Update procedures, reduce manual work, and measure whether process changes improve speed or accuracy.
  • Use only approved automation or AI tools, protect confidential information, verify results against source documents, and remain responsible for the final work.

The Analyst owns assigned lease summaries, system data accuracy, key-date tracking, approved calculations, reconciliations, issue records, and escalation. They may recommend or support accounting inputs, tenant issue positions, transaction review, estoppels, SNDAs, acquisitions, and process changes but do not independently provide legal advice, sign leases, negotiate business terms, set accounting policy, approve concessions, or approve write-offs outside assigned authority.

Success is measured by accurate work completed on time, no avoidable missed dates, charges and reconciliations finished by deadline, problems fixed or raised quickly, audit-ready support, and fewer unresolved items.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Real Estate, Business, or a related field, or an equivalent mix of relevant education and work experience.
• 3+ years of commercial real estate lease administration, tenant recovery, or property accounting experience.
• Proven ability to read complex leases, amendments, and related documents and summarize the terms correctly.
• Working knowledge of base rent, rent increases, common area maintenance (CAM), operating expenses, real estate taxes, insurance, percentage rent, recoveries, and tenant billing.
• Experience with at least one lease administration, property management, or real estate accounting system and the ability to learn the company’s system.
• Strong Excel skills, including reconciliations, lookups, pivot tables, variance review, and schedules that others can follow.
• Clear written and verbal communication, sound judgment, strong organization, and close attention to detail.
• Ability to handle several deadlines, explain assumptions, and quickly raise unclear language or risk.
• Minimum of 1-4 years of lease audit or commercial real estate experience with some understanding of basic accounting principles.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with large or multi-company portfolios, straight-line rent, internal controls, audits, acquisitions or sales, estoppels, SNDAs, or letters of credit.
• Experience using approved automation or AI tools and checking results against signed documents.
• Accounting software experience (JDE, MRI, or Yardi).

Pay

The salary is $65,000 - $80,000 per year. The annual base rate may vary within the anticipated range based on factors such as the ultimate location of the position and the selected candidate's knowledge, skills, and abilities. The position may be eligible for additional compensation, including commission and/or an incentive program.

Position requires verification of employment eligibility to work in the U.S.

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Medical, dental, and vision benefits
• Retirement and savings benefits
• Flexible Spending and Health Savings Accounts
• Life insurance
• Short-term and long-term disability
• Educational assistance
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Employee Assistance and Wellness Programs
• Parenting benefits
• Employee discount programs
• Pet insurance
• Ryan Foundation – charitable matching funds
• Paid time for volunteer events

Eligibility may vary based on factors such as role, hours worked, employment status, length of service, location, and other considerations. Detailed information will be shared with eligible candidates during the hiring process.