Most people don’t realize that a commercial broker specializing in office leasing is a highly specialized expert in a unique niche of commercial real estate. Residential realtors and even many commercial brokers rarely have any expertise in commercial leases. While I would not recommend using me to buy a house, I can tell you that utilizing my expertise for your office renewal or relocation will inevitably save you time and money.
Finding the right office space is only about 20% of the process. To begin the process, a tenant rep broker must understand the market; know where deals are being signed; what concessions are available plus leverage relationships with the small niche of office leasing brokers in order to find off-market deals and to gather all that market information. The real work a competent tenant rep broker provides includes negotiating the business terms, financial analysis, overseeing the design of the space, construction pricing and lease review.
The next time you are meeting a real estate professional who wants to represent you on your office lease negotiation, ask a couple of questions:
- How many commercial leases have you handled in the past year?
- When would they recommend that you start on your renewal?
- Can you provide case studies and/or references for some recent lease transactions?
The first question just lets you know if this person has any expertise in commercial leasing. The second question is a trick question. If the answer is to start your renewal process about 90 days (or less) from your lease expiration, run away rapidly. They have already surrendered your best leverage – time. The third question just keeps the tenant rep broker on their toes and allows you to gauge their follow up.
When you work with me, I provide a wealth of knowledge from my years of working in this unique niche of commercial real estate. The bonus to you, the business owner, is that the landlord pays my commission as a concession to the deal, so there is no cost to you. Why not leverage my expertise to level the playing field with your landlord and save yourself time and money at the same time? Call me today for your free lease analysis.
