In 1597, Sir Francis Bacon is quoted as saying - “Knowledge is Power.” That’s as true today as it was when he said it and it’s our topic today on the Confessions of a Recovering Landlord podcast.

Can you think of a single situation in which you’re better off when you know less than the person trying to sell you something?

The landlord counts on the fact that you aren’t in the real estate business. That means limited market knowledge.

The less you know, the more the landlord can take advantage.

It’s especially true when renewing an existing lease.

There is a dramatic disparity in knowledge.

Professional landlords with professional leasing agents and professional property managers do hundreds of lease deals a year.

Tenants usually do 1 or only a few deals every 5 years.

Whether you intend on moving or not, you need knowledge from inside the market every time you do a lease.

So what’s the best way for a tenant to get the knowledge they don’t have?

Is it more important than ever now with the world of COVID-19?!?

REATA Commercial Realty, Inc. is our sponsor. Find out more at www.TexasTenantRep.com or call 972-677-0028.

Why is it important to talk about how the office reflects the culture of the company?

How do you “create” this feeling?

What about an open plan where everyone is on a wide-open floor?

What if wellness and health are part of your company's core values?

Designs in new buildings

Other things that impact culture in the office

How does all this change with COVID?

Learn more about REATA Commercial Realty, Inc. at www.TexasTenantRep.com or call us at 972-677-0028.

The top 10 list was published by Bisnow but was created by The Counselors of Real Estate.

No. 10: Environmental, Social and Governance

No. 9: Infrastructure

No. 8: Technology and Workflow

No. 7: Space Utilization

No. 6: The Flow of People

No. 5: Affordable Housing

No. 4: The Public and Private Debt Bomb

No. 3: Capital Markets Disruption

No. 2: Economic Renewal

No. 1: The Coronavirus – Duh!

Learn more about REATA Commercial Realty, Inc. at www.TexasTenantRep.com or call us at 972-677-0028.

In today's episode, we interview Charlene Aldridge of Aldridge Kerr & Associates and Tracy Voltin of CoSource, Inc. They have joined forces to offer companies a process for determining how they plan and implement a return to the office. 

Tracy Voltin is President of CoSource, Inc. whose primary focus is office space and fit up strategy and implementation.

Charlene Aldridge is the President of Aldridge, Kerr & Associates, Inc., an operational consulting firm that delivers solutions in process optimization, documentation, operational analysis, facilitation, business continuity planning, and change management to improve efficiency and business performance for clients.

Fun Fact:  Charlene and Tracy worked for the same Insurance company up until they started their own businesses 24 and 23 years ago, respectively.

This week Bob & Jan discuss the various ways that tenants of office buildings are dealing with returning to their offices. 

On part 2 next week, we'll interview two experts on processes and procedures to consider once you have decided to definitely re-open the office.

Commercial lease credit – What is it? How do you get it?

In this episode, Bob & Jan discuss how a landlord underwrites a lease from a credit perspective. Some of the issues/questions they address include:

The definition of lease credit. What does that even mean?

Is it like a personal credit score?

What specifically does a landlord look for when reviewing a tenant’s credit?

Examples.

The difference between public and privately-held companies.

What about flow-through entities like S-corporations and LLC’s?

What do you do to get the landlord comfortable with start-ups?

Letters of credit, cash deposits, personal guarantees, pre-paid rent, transfer costs to tenants.

Does subleasing figure into this in any way?

What should a tenant do to get their credit ready when thinking about future leases?

At REATA Commercial Realty, we exclusively serve companies that lease or purchase office space. You can find us at www.TexasTenantRep.comor call us at 972-667-0028.

So you’ve signed a lease and moved in. Will you ever hear from your broker again? What should you expect of your tenant rep after the lease is signed?

In this episode, Bob & Jan discuss the following questions:

What should a tenant expect from their broker after they move into the space?

Does REATA have a special tool or system to handle this? REATA LeaseTrac

5 primary aspects to the REATA LeaseTrac system:

  Just the Facts

  Safety Check

  Lease Doctor On-Call

  Expense Hawk

  Market Manager

Are the landlord’s charges usually accurate?

What are the most common mistakes you see property managers make when calculating what the tenant should pay?

The Confessions of a Recovering Landlord podcast is brought to you by REATA Commercial Realty, where we exclusively serve companies that lease or purchase office, medical and warehouse space. You can find us at www.TexasTenantRep.com or call us at 972-667-0028.

Your office building may be growing and you don’t even know it. How is that possible? Today’s episode takes a deep dive into rentable square footage and usable square footage. What’s the difference and why should you care?  We discuss lots of questions like:

How can a building grow? That sounds ridiculous. Can it be true?

Who decides how to measure a building?

Leases use the terms rentable SF and usable SF. What’s the difference?

If a tenant takes a tape measure and measures each room and adds them up, will that equal the usable SF?

What’s included in the common area? Is that generally agreed upon in the industry?

Are new amenities like fitness centers, conference rooms, tenant lounges, etc. considered common areas?

Can rentable and usable be the same number?

Is 5,000 SF in a single-tenant building better than in a multi-tenant building because it doesn’t have common area?

Once a landlord remeasures a building, can they just change the square footage in the lease unilaterally?

How can a tenant protect themselves from the risk of this happening?

When a tenant is evaluating buildings, should they be more concerned about rentable or usable?

Thanks to our sponsor, REATA Commercial Realty, Inc., which is a tenant advisory firm exclusively representing companies and non-profits which lease or purchase office, medical, flex and warehouse space in the Dallas Fort Worth area.

#commercialrealestate #officespace #officelease #tenantrep #tenantrepresentation #officebuilding #office #squarefeet #cad #landlord #tenant #dfw #dallas #plano #richardson #addison #fortworth #irving #lascolinas #mckinney #carrollton #farmersbranch #coppell

If you need office space, or it’s time to renew your current lease, or you want to consider buying a building, should you use a tenant rep? In this episode we address these questions and plenty more!

Why should someone use a tenant rep, and, what exactly does a tenant rep do?

Conflicts of interest.

How can someone know who represents who in a transaction?

Can’t a broker represent both parties to a lease or sale?

Can’t the agent work exclusively on one deal for the tenant and exclusively on another deal for the landlord?

Does a conflict of interest occur only if a broker tries to represent both sides of the same transaction?

What does a company have to do to make sure they have a broker work exclusively for them?

Doesn’t the landlord’s rep know the building better than the tenant rep does?

Shouldn’t companies use more than one tenant rep to be sure they don’t miss something in the market?

It seems like there is a lot of specialization within commercial real estate. Why is that?

How should a tenant interact with their landlord once they hire a tenant rep?

What does it cost to use a tenant rep?

What if the landlord offers to pay the tenant the commission if they don’t use a tenant rep?

What issues do tenant reps negotiate in addition to the rental rate?

So how does someone find the right tenant rep to help them?

Many people pick their tenant rep based on who they know from college or the country club. Is that a good idea?

If someone has a great relationship with their landlord, should they still engage a tenant rep?

Once the lease is negotiated, does a tenant rep’s service end?

Thanks to our sponsor, REATA Commercial Realty, Inc., which is a tenant advisory firm exclusively representing companies and non-profits which lease or purchase office, medical, flex and warehouse space.

On today’s episode, Bob & Jan talk about rental rates. How much should they be? How to know if you have a good one? What’s with all the different ways they are quoted?

The most important question first: how much does it cost to lease office space?

How does someone know if they have a good rental rate?

Rental rates are quoted in many ways – full service, triple net, plus electricity – what’s the difference?

Why do some buildings quote rents one way while others quote them another way?

How can a tenant know which is the best rate structure for them?

Thanks to our sponsor - REATA Commercial Realty, Inc. – the experts in guiding companies and non-profits through questions like:

Learn more at www.TexasTenantRep.com or call 972-677-0028.