Commercial Real Estate: Choosing an Agent
October 11, 2009 | By
I am told I have a delightfully charming naïveté about commercial real estate. This is utterly true in the sense that I have no experience leasing or purchasing commercial property. However, as a freelance writer and handmade crafter, I do, fortunately, have connections. I know people who know people, if you will. And these connections give me a lot of power. As a handmade crafter your connections will give you power too.
One you’ve determined that now is a great time to consider leasing commercial real estate and figured out if you can afford a physical storefront in addition to your online store, the next step is to choose the right commercial real estate agent to help you out. This may well be the most difficult part of the whole process. Think of your agent in the same light as you would your dentist or personal health care provider. You’re going to be sharing a lot of information with them and it’s absolutely critical that your relationship starts out based on mutual respect and trust.
Commercial real estate agents are not the same as residential real estate agents. They have different skills sets and different connections. They ask different questions and are concerned with different information about you and your business. You don’t want to simply choose one by blind chance. Those commercial real estate signs you see on buildings and properties? Ignore them. Just because an agent has signs that you see regularly doesn’t mean that they’re a great agent. It just means that they’re actively marketing their name by getting it out there for you to see.
Instead of calling a name on a sign, tap your connections for information on good commercial real estate agents. Word of mouth is a powerful method of finding someone you can trust. You want an agent that other people are willing to tell you about, willing to share with you, and willing to recommend without hesitation. But word of mouth is only part of the search. People may recommend close friends and family members to help them out.
After you get names of potential agents, you want to find out about their reputation, their longevity in the business, and their ability to communicate with you. Ask an agent for references from previous clients and call those clients for information. Ask the agent specifically about whether or not they’ve worked with someone in your income level and demographic. A great agent will be able to give you examples of the kinds of businesses they’ve worked with in the past. They will know not only the demographics and income levels of those businesses, but also will know how far shoppers in any given area typically travel for different kinds of purchases.
Although there’s no single governing body of realtors, check to see if the commercial real estate agent you contact is a member of a board of realtors for your state or your area and find out about those boards. In order to belong to those boards, a commercial real estate agent needs to adhere to certain standards. Organizations such as the National Board of Realtors (NAR) offer a variety of certifications attesting to an agents ability to do their job. And affiliates such as the CCIM Institute in particular, recognize agents for their knowledge of commercial real estate issues AND their ability to put that knowledge into practice. My recommendation? Look for commercial real estate agent who is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) if you can find one.
Author’s Note: I owe immense thanks to Ms. Donna Figi for help with this article and those to come related to commercial real estate in the handmade crafting world. Donna is a 20+ year Senior Associate with CB Richard Ellis’ Retail Specialty Group in the Detroit, Michigan office.
Gaylin Walli is a happily married, ne'er-do-well freelance writer obsessed with books. She lives in south-east Michigan.
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