Rate, term, and payment compare cleanly across proposals, so that is where reviews stop. The costs that show up later sit somewhere else, in language that reads like administration rather than economics.
Most firms find at least one of the five in the first schedule they open.
Schedules renew on their own unless written notice arrives inside a set window, often 90 to 180 days out. Miss it and the term extends by months or a full year at the original payment, on hardware you already planned to replace.
Ask: When does the window open and close, who owns that date, and does notice have to be delivered a specific way?
Missing rails, power supplies, cables, and optics bill at replacement rates, not market value. Freight, de-installation, and certified data destruction can all land on the firm, and destruction has to satisfy client confidentiality obligations.
Ask: What counts as acceptable condition, who pays freight and de-installation, and is there a cap on end-of-term charges?
Value in place and in use and orderly liquidation value are two different numbers on the same assets, often far apart. If the document names no standard, the answer arrives when your leverage is lowest.
Ask: How is fair market value defined in the document, who performs the valuation, and is there a ceiling tied to original equipment cost?
Software, implementation, services, training, and multi-year maintenance folded into one equipment total on one term. A one-year engagement financed over 48 months is paid for long after delivery, and consumed services cannot be returned with the hardware.
Ask: What portion is hardware, what portion is soft cost, and can soft costs sit on their own term?
The proposal says dollar out. The executed documents can condition it on timely notice or on every schedule under the master being current, or phrase it as the lessor's election rather than the firm's right.
Ask: Is the option stated unconditionally in the executed schedule, and what happens if notice is late?
CoreTech's Lease Cost Analyzer is a human review of your existing lease, by people who structure these agreements for a living. We tell you plainly what will cost you later. Free, no obligation.