This is my fourth and final article in a series where I give insight into the world of a California commercial real estate broker. A commercial real estate broker leases/buys/sells commercial real estate (CRE) for the client (tenant/buyer/seller). Commercial real estate is defined for this article as office, retail and industrial spaces.
As reminder from last time, there are four main things a good CRE broker does. They: find suitable locations, negotiate the offer, negotiate the lease itself (the many clauses) and are there when the client needs help thereafter. The first article I wrote was about finding locations; the second about negotiating the major deal points, the third one about negotiating the lease and this one will focus on how I as a broker help my clients after they sign the lease.
What happens if you have a dispute with your landlord after you sign the lease? Common disputes with landlords that I get involved with quite a bit are a tenant needing to terminate a lease early, HVAC too hot or cold, tenant being overcharged for its share of common area expenses, and many other similar disputes like these. Shouldn’t you just hire an attorney to help you? My answer is not right away. If I can settle the dispute, it will save you a lot of money by not having to hire an attorney.
Why can I handle these types of dispute when other brokers can’t and why can I resolve them without usually using an attorney? Because my experience is mainly from the landlord side of the tenant/landlord equation. After negotiating over 1,000 leases, handling the property management and legal disputes for large landlords – I’m truly equipped to know how to deal with landlords with disputes like those aforementioned. It is one of my largest value ads as your broker. And if you are a landlord, I can even help you also to negotiate these matters with a tenant or the tenant’s attorney because it works both ways with my experience. I am an expert witness on these matters in court and am used frequently and successfully by real estate attorneys for these types of disputes.
Don’t get me wrong; I value good real estate attorneys highly and use and recommend them often, but only when needed. I have clout with a landlord because I bring tenants to their property; an attorney does not have this clout. If a landlord upsets or is unfair to one of my clients, and I share this information with a new potential client, there is a good chance my new client won’t want to lease at this landlord’s project. I don’t know of any other brokers that offer this service to their clients like I do and have such a high track record of negotiating acceptable settlements between the parties for these types of disputes.
Pick a broker that can help you properly in all areas including these types of landlord/tenant disputes and you will sleep much better at night while saving money and time. When searching, you will find that the list of brokers with this type of expertise is very narrow. Picking the right broker is the key to getting your best deal. You can never do as well, or even come close, if you try and negotiate the deal without a good broker.
If you have questions about any of the above topics or have any CRE needs, please contact David Massie at david@djmcre.com or 805-217-0791.