After we signed a letter of intent to sell an 85-year rooftop easement at 301 W Osborn, the draft language granted the buyer an exclusive easement over the entire rooftop. Same rooftop we needed for HVAC equipment and future amenity space as we converted the building to roughly 22 residential units.
Ahead of the closing attorney meeting I personally drafted seven sections of carve-out language. A mechanical equipment zone sized for the code-required HVAC condensers, access corridors, two reserved corner areas for a future roof deck, a jointly prepared rooftop plan exhibit, construction rights, structural loading coordination, and aesthetic approval over any street-visible equipment.
The LOI's non-interference clause already supported our position in principle, but principle isn't enforceable. A drawn exhibit is. I treated the HVAC space as non-negotiable because it was a code requirement for the conversion, and treated the two reserved corners as the flexible ask, something to trade down to one corner if I had to.
We walked into that meeting with a mapped position and a plan to bring an aerial view showing the carve-outs, instead of relying on the LOI's general language to hold up later.
Reserve the rights you'll need in writing before you sign, not after you find out you needed them.
Knowing which asks to hold firm on and which to offer up as a trade, that's a judgment call built from understanding what the other side actually needs versus what they're just asking for.