Once your office needs are identified, as discussed in my previous blog, your office broker should be able to provide you with a list of properties that meet, or come close to meeting, your geographic parameters and physical facility needs.  In many markets, such as the market my firm, CARMEN Commercial Real Estate, primarily works, which is the Indianapolis commercial real estate market, a search can uncover many possible alternatives.  Therefore, in order to conduct an effective evaluation of the property alternatives it makes sense to make a first pass through of the property survey provided by your broker to further identify the best alternatives to meet your needs.

 It may seem easy to eliminate building alternatives that at first glance don’t appear to meet your needs; however, be cautious and maintain an open mind in tossing out the weaker alternatives.  Often times, the buildings which are most frequently dismissed can be a “diamond in the rough” because owners of these buildings will frequently discount the rental rates or provide tenants with greater tenant finish and other moving related allowances to induce tenants to lease space in these buildings. 

Once the survey provided by your Commercial Real Estate Broker has been thinned out you will be prepared to take the next step, which often times is an actual tour of the various properties

A talented commercial real estate broker is worth their weight in gold, unless of course, the broker is packing on a few extra pounds as I am currently. In general, I’ve found that when a broker represents a business in its lease negotiations, the business will save approximately 10 to 25% purely on the economics of its lease occupancy cost. These savings are gained through rental abatement, above standard tenant improvements, and moving allowances. Further savings are incurred by a business that utilizes a commercial broker through time savings and, in the cases of a firm that provides clients Project Management services, through efficiently managing a relocation and procurement of furniture, fixtures and equipment

Most businesses conclude that it makes a lot of sense to bring an expert on the team and engage a broker for the reasons I identified in my earlier post, Part II – Why use a Broker.. In the Indianapolis commercial real estate marketplace, where Carmen Commercial Real Estate Services is based, approximately 98% of all transactions that occur in the Indianapolis commercial real estate marketplace involve a broker representing at least one, but usually all, of the parties involved in the transaction.

Once a business has determined that it will engage a broker to represent the business in searching for a new office or simply to renegotiate an existing lease, the question then becomes how to choose the right broker. Making the right choice can mean a pretty dramatic difference in the project outcome as measured in lease savings and minimizing the interruptions to a business..

Over the coming week, I’ll provide you with criteria and explanations that should be helpful in selecting a broker to represent your business.