“Boil them in oil!” “Bring me their heads!” “Hang them from the gallows!” “Don’t pay ’em a dime!”
Given the often fiery relationships that exist between landlords and tenant real estate advisors, one can envision high-powered landlords sitting behind large desks waiving their cigars and pounding fists in the air, decrying the fate of their arch enemies, those lowly tenant representatives. While some landlords wish for all tenant representatives to sink to the bottom of the ocean on that same ship where many suggest we should put all the lawyers, the best landlords recognize the value a good tenant representative brings to a lease transaction. Of course, some landlords, not the best-in-class, prefer to have no one between them and their prey, so they can feast on their opponents and extract maximum benefit on their own behalf.
However, the most successful landlords recognize that they actually need tenant representatives in order to achieve their own objectives. They know that many companies are now operating with smaller management teams and the need to remain transparent. For most tenants, it would be unacceptable to negotiate a real estate transaction directly with a landlord, their transactional opponent, without the benefit of objective third-party advice. This is especially true, given that most companies, whether public, private, or owned as part of a portfolio, are operated for the benefit of others…owners, investors, stakeholders, beneficiaries, charities, and so on. As such, given the fiduciary responsibilities most management teams must bear, being objectively advised before they negotiate, what are most often, multi-million dollar real estate transactions, is the only way they will proceed. And, seasoned, quality landlords get that.
Professional landlords recognize that a great tenant representative will guide its client through the thinking and planning stages prior to engaging in discussions or negotiations with the landlord. The result is most often a significant savings of the landlord’s time and resources in having to educate the tenant as to market conditions, transaction structure, how to distill operating needs into real estate transactions, and more. The approach taken by professional tenant representatives actually increases the likelihood that landlord will make quicker deals.
By the time a tenant who is advised by a tenant representative engages the market, the tenant can be expected to have completed its planning, will better understand its objectives, and will be better able to make internal decisions. Accordingly, as a result of the information gathered under the typical tenant represent process, landlords are most often better able to satisfy the needs of prospective tenants and can better arm themselves to negotiate terms and successfully complete transactions.
While many landlords blame tenant representatives for lost transactions, increased cost, decreased revenue, and more, the most successful landlords realize that they benefit when tenant’s engage their own representatives. They also know that, while engaged to protect the interests of tenants, tenant representatives indirectly create value for landlords, as well.
About CFO Studio
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About Real Estate Strategies Corporation
Real Estate Strategies Corporation is a respected corporate advisory and transaction services firm that provides thought-leadership, decision-making, planning, project management, and transaction execution services to finance and senior executives at management team-led public, private, and portfolio companies, and not-for-profit organizations. Under the leadership of its award-winning CEO, Andrew Zezas, RealStrat’s clients engage the firm when acquiring, disposing of, renegotiating, or enhancing occupied leased or owned real estate in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, and throughout North America. By creating and executing Business DRIVEN Real Estate Solutions and identifying hidden Opportunities, RealStrat drives greater operational and financial performance in support of its clients’ stakeholder objectives, M&A requirements, and exit strategies.
In the current economic environment, RealStrat’s efforts are focused on uncovering, capturing, and re-purposing hidden liquidity and minimizing risk in its clients’ leased and owned real estate. The firm provides counsel as to competitive advantage strategies in preparation for the eventual economic recovery. Visit www.RealStrat.com. Follow CFO Studio at http://www.Twitter.com/CFOstudio.
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