Lease Admin Nightmares: Ep 1 – The $100K Mistake You’ll Never Forget

Lease administration can be full of landmines. A small misstep—like forwarding the wrong invoice—can trigger massive financial consequences. In this case, it led to a $100,000 overpayment that took months to unwind. 

This really happened. The details are anonymized, but the takeaway is all too real. 

The Setup: A Simple Invoice 

It was a routine month. Rent was due, and a regional team member received an invoice from the landlord. Without a second thought, they sent it to accounts payable. 

What no one realized? The rent had already been paid automatically. The second invoice triggered a second payment. Just like that, an extra $100,000 was out the door. 

The Fallout 

Refunding the money wasn’t quick or easy. It took weeks of chasing, coordination, and cross-team communication. And when the lease administrator started digging deeper into the landlord’s billing history, they found more issues: 

• Utility amounts that did not match backup 

• Work orders billed to the wrong tenant 

• Operating expenses misaligned with lease terms 

These weren’t just flukes—they were symptoms of a broken process. 

What Went Wrong 

The problem wasn’t effort—it was structure. 

• Rent payments were handled by different teams in different regions 

• No one person or team had complete visibility 

• Lease terms weren’t being referenced before payments were made 

• There was no consistent process for flagging anomalies 

Without centralized oversight, errors were nearly impossible to catch in time. 

Turning It Around 

After the $100,000 misstep, the company made major changes: 

• Built a centralized rent payment process 

• Added approval cycles before funds were released 

• Routed landlord communication to a single, trackable inbox 

• Reviewed every variable charge against the lease before approval 

They also implemented consistent tracking of historical reconciliations—making it easier to spot year-over-year discrepancies or red flags. 

What to Take Away 

Rent is often one of the largest recurring costs a company carries. Yet too many organizations treat it like just another line item—until something goes wrong. 

“We’re centralized now. It’s better. But I’ll never forget that $100,000 mistake.”
— Anonymous Real Estate Manager 

Ask Yourself 

• Do we have a clear, repeatable rent payment process? 

• Are payments reviewed by someone with lease expertise? 

• Can we easily track what we’ve paid—and why? 

• Who’s responsible for spotting errors before they cost us? 

If you’re not confident in your answers, it’s time to tighten things up. 

 

This is Episode 1 of the Lease Administration Nightmares series.

Coming soon: The Expiration That Nobody Saw — when a missed date triggered unexpected penalties and a very unhappy tenant. 

Need help getting ahead of rent payment risk?
Let’s talk about centralizing your lease admin process for clarity, control, and peace of mind. 

#LeaseAdminNightmares | Real Mistakes. Real Lessons. Real Results.