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Do you consider your existing or future landlord a friend?

The answer is: if you give all your friends money, enjoy increasing their revenues, and covering all their operating expense costs then “YES,” the landlord is your friend!

Enough with the reality TV; in the real world, the landlord is not your friend but needs you to maintain revenue and increase a property’s value. You, as a tenant, are entering into a partnership when you lease any office, warehouse or retail commercial space.

A tenant must always remember, the landlord is in the business of maximizing profits and increasing the value of their building.

How do you ensure your lease transaction resonates with the landlord?

A tenant’s priority revolves around operating their business and maximizing profits, not spending valuable time trying to gain a landlord’s attention and making sure their voice is heard.  Believe it or not, your “friend” the landlord is extremely busy.

What is the best way for a tenant to ensure their voice is heard and their lease is prioritized? By engaging the services of the right tenant representative.  A tenant representative’s priority is to ensure that your commercial real estate needs are represented, and that your priorities become the landlord’s.  A great tenant representative knows how to remind the landlord that his value and profits are generated by your tenancy.

Here are 4 ways an effective tenant representative maximizes your rent dollars in the market:

1. By making you the Landlord’s priority

Landlords, like corporate leadership and business owners, are charged with completing numerous core business tasks on a daily basis. Depending on the size of the office building, warehouse location or retail center, landlords are constantly working to find numerous leasing opportunities and close existing commercial real estate transactions. When you make a call or send an email, what do you consider a timely response? Not asking the right questions or providing enough details when leaving a message for a landlord can quickly land you on the “call when I have a chance” list. Whether you’re a large or small company, commercial real estate transactions can be frustrating, especially when the door to communication is never opened. Hiring the right tenant representation firm ensures your message is received loud and clear by the landlord, thus prioritizing you  so that you do not become the landlord’ profit center.

2. By ensuring you have as many choices as possible in your chosen market area  

To effectively reduce your real estate occupancy costs, you need an advocate that will provide you with a realistic transaction timeline and help you keep your promise to adhere to the critical timeline.  Having adequate time to properly survey the market, identify viable locations, and thoroughly negotiate business and legal terms with multiple landlords measurably improves your chances of making the “right” real estate decision.  An effective tenant representative will bring your occupancy strategy to life by providing you with detailed market data focused only on market opportunities  that are the right geographical fit, providing maximum workplace flexibility and productivity.  Having multiple “right” choices in the market based on detailed research and geographical factors will allow you to keep your business’ financial goals intact, and your employees working hard.

3. By making sure you see the right spaces

It is important that your space meets not only your financial and operational needs, but the needs of your employees as well.  Using a tenant representative to help manage your transaction, and minimize your frustrations helps you stay focused on occupying the right space.  Your representative should be focused on making sure the temptation to lease a new modern property, or simply the least expensive property, is managed.  Your representative should only be concerned with making you the Landlord’s priority and ensuring you lease the property that meets or exceeds all of your financial and operational requirements.  The right space does not only meet current financial and operation needs, but accounts for growth needs as your company begins to scale.

4. By eliminating frustration through proper representation

Real estate is expensive; it doesn’t have to be emotional and expensive. Effective communication with the landlord, being responsive to the tenant’s needs, fighting diligently for the tenant (since the tenant creates the value) — that is what your representative should be doing for you.  The right tenant representation will amplify your success in the market and effectively convey your message to any respective landlord.

Choosing a tenant representative to advocate on your behalf gives you a competitive advantage in the market, manages the emotional issues that can come into play, and helps keep you from becoming the Landlord’s cash cow.