Tenant Advocacy Opportunities for Commercial Real Estate Brokers
In commercial real estate brokerage, there are plenty of opportunities to get commissions working as a tenants advocate. The facts of the matter are that larger companies in any town or city do not have the time, the desire, or the experience to understand the property market and the issues involved in changing premises. Eventually companies have to move or expand to other premises; that is where the role of a tenant advocate is both relative and lucrative.
Most agents work with landlords and try to lease vacant premises; that is the ‘normal’ way to do the business. Why not add a variation to that process and act for corporate tenants in relocating to other properties. Many businesses will move as tenants to other premises, but others will want to buy in new locations, so you then also have the opportunity to work as a ‘buyer’s agent’.
If this is an attractive variation on your property activities, there is a special rule to the process. Only work for the larger corporate tenants. They are typically the tenants that are prepared to pay commissions in the process and allow an agent to professional serve them in doing so. Small tenants do not pay the fees or need the service.
There is another variation on the ‘special rule’ to consider; the larger companies that you serve will generally require larger properties in good quality locations. The whole equation allows a leasing agent or broker to service the corporate tenant professionally and completely. A good sized property also provides a quality fee.
So how do you get this process underway? Here are some ideas:
- Make contact with all local businesses to see what their leasing requirements are when it comes to property use, staff, rental budgets, customers, and end user markets. A business today can have occupancy pressures in many different ways. Look for the pressure points.
- The easy way to contact local businesses is through the local business telephone book. Make a number of calls every day to new businesses.
- Create a market report that you can supply to local businesses about market rentals, vacancy rates, incentives, and property availability.
- Work closely with architects in your town or city; they are likely at some stage to have corporate tenants considering relocation.
- Understand the lease deal from a tenant’s perspective. Their focus will be on rental budget, fit-out design, keeping a cap on occupancy costs, and the ability to exercise an option in the future if required.
In these 5 simple things there awaits an opportunity for a professional leasing agent to open up a specialized tenant advocacy service in their town or city. It is likely that this segment of the market is less ‘populated’ than the standard landlord service.
Are you up to the challenge in establishing this new service of leasing in your commercial real estate market?
