Commercial Real Estate Agent Career Tips
In commercial real estate agency part of your role as a leasing agent or sales agent should be in providing financial improvement in a property. Most investment property owners require financial performance from the net income of the property. That will involve some or all of the following:
- Leasing of vacant space in a property given the current market conditions
- Lease negotiation with new and sitting tenants for a property
- Finding the right tenants that suit the tenant mix
- Selecting the right rental types to allow outgoings recovery for the landlord
- Changing the tenant mix so the property attracts more tenants and customers
- Minimising the risk of vacancies in the property
- How to optimise the rental returns across the tenant mix
- How to manage the outgoings in a property using leases and recovery processes
- Helping the landlord move through a refurbishment or renovation strategy
- Undertaking a material change of use to improve property viability
- Knowing what type of lease will best suit the landlords investment plans
- Working with anchor and specialty tenants to maintain property performance
- Establishing a tenant retention plan that stabilises the tenant mix for the landlord
You can see that all of these things hinge on the leasing and tenant mix performance in a property. You can be the real estate agent that specialises in the financial improvement of a property using some or all of these skills.
Gone are the days of an agent simply being the ‘leasing agent’ for the property. They need to bring a solid group of skills to the process; all of the above topics are non-negotiable. You must know all of these things.
When you really know how to improve a property through leasing, you can easily take the step into investment property sales. Top agents usually focus on leasing and sales, albeit at the top end of the market with the best properties and clients.
It is the value that we bring to our clients that help us secure quality listings on an exclusive basis.
So let’s say that these things are part of your skill base. The other things that you need to learn are the facts of the market that apply to the property types locally. That information will include:
- Market rentals
- Lease terms and conditions
- Outgoings management and standards
- Tenant lease requirements
- Incentive strategies
- Vacancy movements
- Supply and demand for local space
- New developments coming up
- Landlord plans and priorities.
To establish your market share as a commercial real estate agent, it does take some time but that is why we get paid reasonable commissions. Our knowledge is valuable; don’t sell yourself short on fees or commissions. Focus on the top quality clients and properties, and the business will grow for you. Stay away from time wasting and poor quality listings.