Doing a commercial real estate deal can be a daunting process with many pitfalls. The selection of a broker is one of the most important aspects of the task. The landlords are experts at making tenants believe they all have great relationships and have their best interests at heart. But the opposite is true. Landlords do real estate transactions 24/7 and the average company owner does it once every five to ten years…the landlords are holding all the cards. The company owner needs help and that help will be a good broker.
Landlords typically craft leases which are long with ambiguous wording meant to cause confusion. The details in the leases can cause the costs to escalate very rapidly and restrict the company’s ability to be flexible. Selecting the right broker is key to the company protecting itself for the long term…and leases generally last 5 to10 years or more.
Brokers that specialize in representing companies are called tenant representatives, which are similar to a residential buyer’s broker. The tenant rep broker should guide the company through the process by learning and understanding the company’s goals and then create the best market based scenario to achieve those goals. Selecting a broker should be based on their experience, (ten years minimum), as well as their recommendations and testimonials. Beware the broker from the large full service firm. These brokers most often seek landlord agencies which create a conflict of interest with the company. The experienced tenant rep broker will seek to level the playing field between the company and the landlords, with the goal of leaving nothing on the table.